The twelth generation of pysdens
Thomas Pysden
1849 -1899
Thomas was born in Margate, Kent to Thomas Pysden (1827-1905) an agricultural and a bricklayers labourer and his wife Martha nee Fasham (1825-1898) and baptised at St John the Baptist church. Martha was the daughter of Stephen Fasham and Sophia Cowell from Margate.
Thomas was the eldest of five children being followed by:
- Martha Pysden in 1851 who became a launderess
- Sarah in 1853 who also became a launderess
- Edward in 1856 who became a blacksmith like his father
- Emma (1859-1956) who married William T Hughes,
- George (1862-1947). George married Emma Jane Savin and had four children the youngest of whom was George Ernest Savin who died at the age of 20 in WW1
Thomas married Alice Sarah Morrison at St Lawrence Church in 1871 and they had ten children with their first child being my Grandmother, Alice Florence Pysden who married George William Mockett.
Alice was born in 1872 in Ramsgate and followed by:
- Emma in 1873
- Jane in 1878
- Julia in 1880
- Thomas in 1881
- George in 1884
- Ellen in 1885
- Jesse in 1887
- William in 1890
- Walter in 1892
I was very lucky when doing the research into the Margate Pysdens as so many went to St John’s church and someone had put all the church records online. As a result I was able to trace all the branches of the family back to the 1600’s. Unfortunately the site is now removed.
All the children except for Alice were born in Deal. In the 1881 census Thomas is a boarder in Walmer but I was unable to find out where his wife was on that day. Ten years later in 1891 they are all living at 4 Railway Terrace and Thomas is a blacksmith, Emma is working as a general servant and Jane as a nurse girl.
Thomas died in 1899 at 4 Railway Terrace, Deal leaving his wife the sum of £48 9s which today would be worth about £5700.
I have traced the Pysden family back to Thomas Pysinge who died in Canterbury in 1559 as someone kindly put all the church records online for St John’s Church helping me trace a long way back and then I went to the Cathedral archive centre. However I did get in touch with Chris Pysden in America who also was tracing the family and he sent me records which trace the family back to the Danes who invaded England. The name was originally Pysinge which meant ‘short, fat people’. I have not tried to trace them that far.
Being a blacksmith seemed to run in that family and I found that Thomas’ brother Edward was the village blacksmith in St Peters living at 12 Church Street which is still there. I see it each time I come out of my bridge sessions. There is a pathway at the side of the house and the smithy was up there until mid 1900″s
Alice Sarah Pysden nee Morrison
1851-1927
Alice Sarah was born in Ramsgate, Kent to David Morrison and Ann Collins.
David Morrison was born in Scotland in 1813 and met and married Ann Collins in Faversham in 1839. In 1841 they were still living in Faversham with four children and by the time of the 1851 census had moved to St Lawrence, Ramsgate, where he was a shoemaker. They were living at 28 Castle Cottages.St Lawrence, Ramsgate and were still at 9 Castle Cottages in 1881. Ann died in 1884 and David, sadly, went into the Minster Workhouse and died there in 1891. I have just found that Castle Cottages is very close to Chatham House School in Ramsgate where both of my brothers went.
They attended St Lawrence Church which is the oldest building in Thanet apart from Minster Abbey and it has an interesting history.