Richard Price - The Burial Record, 2 April 1815

I've recently decided to turn my attention to Richard Price who died in 1815 and was born sometime before that. My approach has been to assemble and examine everything that we really "know" about Richard in hopes that some of this will allow us to determine exactly when and where he was born and who his parents were.

This entry for Richard's burial in the parish registers of Great Missenden (FHL 919241). Richard is the sixth entry down, no. 86 and gives the following facts:

Name: Richard Price
Occupation: Drover
Abode: High Street Village
When buried: April 2d
Age: 39 years
By whom the Ceremony was performed: R. Armstrong, Vicar

Age & Birth. Richard's burial on April 2, 1815, at age 39 years, put his birth between April 1875 and April 1876 (assuming his age has been correctly reported in the burial register).

Occupation. His occupation is that of Drover. The Oxford English Dictionary gives the following definition of Drover:

1.

a. One who drives droves of cattle, sheep, etc., esp. to distant markets; a dealer in cattle.

c1425   Wyntoun Cron. viii. xxiv. 53   The Dravere he gert, and oþir ma be examynyd, þat swne þa Tald hym, þat þe Carle þame stall.

14..   in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab. (1884) I. 585/10   Fugarius, a dryvere or a drovare.

1552   Act 5 & 6 Edw. VI c. 14 §13   Counties where Drovers have bene wonte..to buy Cattell.

1600   Shakespeare Much Ado about Nothing ii. i. 183   Claudio I wish him ioy of her. Bened. Why that's spoken like an honest Drouier, so they sell bullockes.

1683   N. Luttrell Diary in Brief Hist. Relation State Affairs (1857) I. 254   A quarrell between some gentlemen..and a drover of sheep by Temple Bar.

1870   E. Peacock Ralf Skirlaugh III. 59   A little wayside alehouse..much frequented by drovers.

†b. fig. A dealer, trafficker. Obs.

1585   Abp. E. Sandys Serm. xiii. 207   Hauing entred the temple he findeth there..drouers and brokers making sale.

1602   2nd Pt. Returne fr. Parnassus iv. ii. 1763   The yong drouer of liuings..that haunts steeple faires.


So this tells us that Richard either drove cattle for a living or both drove & sold cattle for a living. There is good reason to believe the latter, as we will see later.

Residence. The register indicates that Richard lived at High Street Village. There is certainly a High Street in Great Missenden, but I'm not sure what what is meant by "Village." I'm guessing that High Street

The Vicar. "R. Armstrong Vicar" refers to Robert Armstrong, who was the vicar of Great Missenden parish from 1803 until his death in 1820.

Richard Price - 20 December 1803 - Five per Cent Annuities, 1797

Richard Price had a 5 per cent annuity purchased from the English government. This was similar to a savings bond in the U.S. today. It was purchased for £199.14.6 on December 20, 1803 and would be redeemable at a future date for £220.1.8. This would be equivalent today to buying a bond for $19,400 and redeeming it for $21,500.

Ezra Poulsen in his biography of Robert Price stated the following regarding this document:

Another document of unusual interest is a receipt to Mr. Richard Price for 199 pounds, fourteen shillings, six pence from "Five per Cent Annuities," dated December 20, 1803. The total maturity value of this investment was 220 pounds, 1 shilling, 8 pence. "Five per Cent Annuities," a governmental agency set up by act of Parliament in 1797, was a means through which the government borrowed money from its own citizens for a specified rate of interest. In principle, this investment operated like our modern United States savings bonds.

There are numerous examples of these annuities on a website entitled the AnnuityMuseum.

It is unknown when or how this was redeemed.

It is also unknown who has possession of this receipt today. The reproduction here was taken from the biography of Robert Price where it appears on the plates between pages 36 and 37. It would be nice to locate and scan the original in color--judging from the reproductions in the AnnuityMuseum it is likely that the words at the head of this document "Five per Cent. Annuities. 1797" were printed in red ink.

Richard Price and Maria Watts - Marriage and Banns Records, March-April 1802

Richard Price and Maria Watts were married in Isleworth, Middlesex, England on April 20, 1802 by W. Langford. The witnesses were Simon and Sarah Pearce. They were married by banns, the banns having been read on March 21st, 28th, and April 4th.

Banns:

Marriage Record (the middle entry, no. 10 on the following image):

Both the bride and groom must have been of age to marry, but beyond that, this record doesn't give us any clues to their age. It would be interesting to find out more about the witness couple: Simon Pearce and Sarah Pearce--probably husband & wife (but not necessarily). They could have been friends, neighbors, or relatives, or none of these, I suppose.

Richard Price - Militia Society Receipt, 10 Feb 1803

At the time of Richard Price, all men between 18 and 45 years of age were subject to being conscripted in the Militia. Wealthy individuals could pay for a substitute to go in their stead. Less wealthy individuals had an option to subscribe to the Militia Society. Members of the society would pay a nominal amount which collectively would be used to pay for a substitute for any members of the Society who were balloted.

Richard Price was one who joined the Militia Society, paying 16 shillings on February 10, 1803, as evidenced by the following receipt:

Do any family members reading this know where the original of this document is now located? It would be nice to obtain a modern, color, digital scan of this document.

Richard Price - Earliest Document? - Buckinghamshire Posse Comitatus, 1798

Right now--until we find an earlier document--the Buckinghamshire Posse Comitatus of 1798 is the earliest document mentioning Richard Price, grandfather to Robert Price.

The Buckinghamshire Posse Comitatus of 1798 is document containing "A Register of the Names and Occupations of all persons residing within the County of Buckingham (not engaged in any Military capacity) between the Ages of 15 and 60 years, And also of the Number of Draught Horses, Waggons, Carts of Burthen, Wind and Water Corn-Mills, within the same ... pursuant to a precept issued .. for the better ascertaining the Posse Comitatus."

Posse Comitatus means "force of the country;" however, it was not really used to conscript men into the military, as Roy Stockdill explains on his GENUKI webpage "Newbies' Guide to Genealogy & Family History," The following is a very informative explanation of the Posse Comitatus:

"Under the Defence of the Realm Act , lists known as "Posse Comitatus" lists and "Levee en Masse" lists were made in 1798 and 1803/04 respectively. These Defence Lists, despite their name, were not lists of those intended for military service. Their intention was to organise reserves of men not already serving in a military capacity for the defence of Britain against a French invasion. They would have been needed to evacuate the civilian population, remove wildstock and crops from the path of the invaders, gather arms and equipment and deal with food supplies to the forces and civilian population." (http://www.genuki.org.uk/gs/Newbie.html)

Richard is listed as a servant in Little Marlow on p. 236 of a copy of the Posse Comitatus, edited by Ian F. W. Beckett and published by the Buckinghamshire Record Society in 1985. The transcription was made from the original manuscript which resides in the Centre for Buckinghamshire Studies, Aylesbury.

This document shows us that Richard was residing in Little Marlow at least as early as 1798 and to my knowledge is the earliest document mentioning Richard Price.