Part of the Earley family tree
Family background
Charles Osman was born in Mottisfont, about five miles north of Romsey, Hampshire, in the summer of 1809, and was baptised at St Andrew’s Church on 9 July 1809. He was the first child of John Osman (c.1785–1840) and his wife Martha née Carter (c.1786–1842), who had married at St Andrew’s on 13 April 1809 (less than four months earlier).
After the birth of Charles, John and Martha had a further six children:
Samuel, baptised at St Mary’s, Michelmersh on 26 May 1811
Mary, baptised at St Mary’s, Michelmersh on 21 November 1813
Edward, baptised at St Andrew’s, Mottisfont on 22 September 1816
Martha, baptised at St Andrew’s, Mottisfont on 6 December 1818
William Hall (known as Henry), baptised at St Andrew’s, Mottisfont on 9 February 1823
John, baptised at St Andrew’s, Mottisfont on 20 March 1825
On the baptism register for the last four children John Osman’s occupation is recorded as bargeman or bargemaster. Presumably, he worked on the Andover Canal which ran between Southampton and Andover; the canal opened in 1794 and closed in 1859, after which much of the route was used for the Redbridge to Andover railway. The canal followed the valley of the River Test, which passed between the villages of Mottisfont and Michelmersh. It is probable that the family cottage was situated close to the canal.
Marriage and children
On 26 August 1834, Charles (aged 25) married 20-year old Anne Reeves (originally from Dibden) at St Andrew’s Church.
The couple’s first two children died as infants: Mary Anne was baptised on 13 December 1834 at Mottisfont, but died at only a few weeks old and was buried on 31 December. A year later, on 17 January 1836, Ellen was baptised; she survived for little more than two months and was buried on 30 March.
Their third daughter, Sarah was baptised at St Andrew’s on 17 February 1837, but she only survived into her teens.
They had a further six children, all born and baptised at Mottisfont, and all of whom survived into adulthood:
Charles, baptised 26 April 1840, died 1920
Ellen, baptised 18 September 1842, died 1916
Annie, baptised 4 May 1845, died 1898
Emily, baptised 27 August 1848, died 1916
Henry, baptised 8 December 1850, died 1943
Edward, baptised 9 January 1853, died 1934.
Neither Anne nor her son, Charles, can be traced on the 1841 census, but Charles senior, an agricultural labourer, was living on his own at Mottisfont. Ten years later, Charles and Anne were living together with their six children at Mottisfont. Their address is recorded as “near the church”. Charles’s occupation was recorded as “dealer in wood”.
Tragically, Sarah died, aged just 15, on 23 September 1852 after a long period of fever and diarrhoea. Unusually, she was buried at St Andrew’s church in Mottisfont on the day she died. This tragedy was quickly followed by the birth of their final child, Edward, in December.
In the 1861 census, Charles (once again an agricultural labourer) and Anne were living at Mottisfont Street with their three youngest children, all now scholars.
Ten years later, Charles and Anne were at the same address; Charles was now working as a dairyman. Living with them were their two sons, Henry (a 20-year old general labourer) and Edward (an 18-year old railway porter), and a 5-year old granddaughter, Ellen Louisa Osman.
Charles Osman died on 16 April 1878, aged 68; the causes of death were recorded as “Gangrene of the leg” and “Prostration”. He was buried at Mottisfont on 18 April 1878.