---

James Richard Morey

Born: 1833
Died: 1879

Author: Linda Martin

---

BACKGROUND

This is the remarkable story of James Richard Morey and the sad ending of his life: laid to rest in a pauper’s grave in the Sussex Asylum burial grounds (latterly named St Francis Hospital).

On admission records to Sussex Asylum, James is listed as a Coast Guard for Selsey. He was reportedly suffering from Dementia of General Paralysis and Epilepsy – the late stage of Syphilis when the symptoms of dementia along with Epilepsy are known as Neurosyphilis. (Damage to the central nervous system leading to conditions like Dementia and Psychosis). 

We will never know when James was infected. Many people had no idea they were infected because syphilis has a deceptive latent stage where symptoms disappear for years or even decades, tricking its victims into thinking they are fine. 

If the diagnosis was correct I imagine it was more than possible James was infected whilst he was serving in the Royal Navy.

In his working life he used his baptised name, James. However, in his later personal life, his marriage, and in the baptisms of his children he used his second name: Richard. This initially led to some confusion. 

I have hopefully untangled his life, even though it contradicts some of the ~80 family trees he appears in on Ancestry. I will be happy to update this story if any information I found proves to be incorrect. 

JAMES’S EARLY LIFE

James was born in Sidmouth, Devon.

His father Joseph Morey was a Tailor from Exmouth, born ~1789. His mother Anna Maria Cruse was from Littleham (near Exmouth), born ~1800c. The couple married on 9th April 1816 in Littleham.

I could not find any baptisms or possible children in Littleham. I then searched through the Sidmouth baptism book page by page, starting in 1816, their marriage year.

The first child I found was Joanna Eliza; she was baptised in Sidmouth in 1826, 10 years after the marriage. Joanna was followed by Henry in 1828, James Richard in 1833, Ann in 1835, and Elizabeth in 1838. 

Henry seems to have been baptised twice as he is shown being baptised along with James. This isn’t another Henry as the 1828 baptism age aligns with the Henry in the 1841 Census.

1833 Sidmouth

In the 1841 Census we find the family residing at the Market Place, Sidmouth. Joseph is recorded as a Tailor, aged 40 (wrong age; he was in fact about 50). He is listed alongside:

• Maria, aged 40
• Henry, aged 12
• James, aged 7
• Ann, aged 5
• Elizabeth, aged 2

Sadly, James’s mother Anna Maria died on 10th March 1842. The cause of death is omitted on the certificate.

Within a few weeks, Joseph married a widow named Mary Ann Board nee Snook. She had three young children:

• Mary Ann, born 1832
• John William, born 1834 (known as William)
• Henry Evans born 1838

Together they had three more children:

• Joseph, born 1843
• George, born 1845
• John, born 1848

---

JAMES’S MISDEMEANOURS

In 1846 James (aged 12) and his stepbrother William Board (aged 10) were acquitted from a charge of Larceny.

Exeter and Plymouth Gazette 28 Feb 1846

In the 1851 Census, the family were living in an area called ‘the Marsh’ which was on the east side of Sidmouth. The Census lists:

• Joseph, aged 60, a Tailor (Master)
• Mary, aged 44
• James, aged 17
• Elizabeth, aged 12
• Joseph, aged 8
• George, aged 8 (should be 6)
• John, aged 4
• William Board, aged 15
• Henry Board, aged 12

Unfortunately, there is a criminal charge for a James Morey on 26th Nov 1851. There is another James Morey of a similar age in Newton Abbot. However, the charge is for stealing apples from a Mr Lousada of Sidmouth, so I am leaning towards believing our subject James was responsible. 

It wasn’t James’s best idea as the Lousada family were very prominent in Sidmouth. Two members of the family were residing in Sidmouth at this time: Issac and his older brother Emanuel. 

Emanuel had inherited Peak House, a large estate on the west side of Sidmouth, from his Uncle Emanuel. The family was associated with Plantations in Jamaica, which produced rum and sugar. 

Emanuel did much to develop Sidmouth into a seaside resort. He was also active in public life, serving as the High Sheriff of Devon and a Magistrate. His influence in the town may explain why James received the harsh sentence of six weeks hard labour and whipping for stealing apples.  

Exeter and Plymouth Gazette 29 Nov 1851

(Thank you to Peter Wingfield Digby for the story of the Lousada family link. You can read more about it here.)

---

LIFE IN THE ROYAL NAVY

We do not know how much of James’s sentence was served in prison. However, his Royal Navy records show he volunteered for a year on the HMS Diamond, a naval training ship, from December 1851. Was this instead of prison?

After a year James transferred to HMS Edith. I have no information about this ship. 

On 16^th August 1853, James was enlisted to HMS St Jean d’Acre. Ordinary Seaman, aged 20.

This was a new ship commissioned in Plymouth by Captain Henry Keppel on 21st May 1853. The ship was completed for Sea in September 1853 and had her trials in Stokes Bay in the Solent on 3rd December.

HMS St Jean d’Acre served in the western squadron. In May 1854 she formed part of the allied fleet serving in the Baltic against Russia in the Crimean war. In 1855 she joined the fleet in the Black Sea. (Crimean War dates: 16th October 1853 – 30th March 1856.)

James was presented with his Crimea Medal whilst on board the St Jean d’Acre.

On 7th July 1856, Captain George King took command and set sail again to Russia. Earl Granville was on board: the leader of the Liberal party in the House of Lords and head of the British delegation, attending the coronation of Tsar Alexander ll. They returned on 7th November 1856. 

James‘s naval records inform us that he was transferred to HMS Cornwallis at the end of 1856. This was an older wooden sail ship that launched in 1814. HMS Cornwallis played a major part in the Crimean War and was commanded by George Wellesley, the Duke of Wellington’s nephew. James remained on the Cornwallis until 24th March 1859. 

JAMES’S FIRST MARRIAGE?

I found a marriage record that fits James, dated 4th December 1856 in Sidmouth. However, the family trees which mention him on Ancestry do not include this. The record lists:

• James, of full age, Sailor (husband)
• Louisa Bucknell, of full age (wife)
• Joseph, Tailor (James’s father)
• John Bucknell, Gardener, (Louisa’s father)

The witnesses used ‘X’ to sign the certificate and were:

• John Bucknell
• Elizabeth Morey (James’s sister)

HMS MERSEY

On 25th March 1859, James joined HMS Mersey. The Mersey had been fitted out in Portsmouth; its Captain was Henry Caldwell. 

On 18th-24th March 1859 the ship went through its steam trials. On 10th May HMS Mersey joined the channel fleet at Portland. She then continued to sail between Spithead Eastern Solent, Portland, Plymouth, and Cork. 

On 24th-25th February 1860, the Mersey was damaged during a storm in the western approaches (an area of the Atlantic Ocean immediately to the west of Ireland). The yoke of the rudder was bent and some of the rigging was carried away. Two men tragically washed overboard and drowned.

The ship then suffered further damage in a collision with the HMS Algiers; the Mersey was struck on the port quarter and lost two of her boats (World Naval Ships).

This newspaper report states the collision occurred before the storm on Saturday. However, the 24th was a Saturday night in 1860, so I believe the World Naval Ships account is correct.

The Liverpool Albion, 5 March 1860

JAMES’S TRAVELS: 1860-1862

Between 27th February and 13th March 1860, HMS Mersey was being repaired in Plymouth. On 14th March she sailed to join the fleet off Lisbon, continuing to sail around Britain from 8th to 24th June in the Firth of Forth.

By August, HMS Mersey was in Holyhead, Milford Haven, before cruising in the Western Approaches again. Her subsequent journeys are as follows:

• Spithead, 3rd October – 27th November
• Setting sail for the West Indies, 28 November
• Lisbon, 10th-16th December, where she was visited by the King of Portugal
• Jamaica, January 1861
• Bermuda, 18th-20th February
• Spithead, 22nd-25th February
• Portsmouth (for refitting), 26th March-10th May
• Setting sail for North America, 11th May
• Halifax, Nova Scotia, June
• Bermuda, July
• Veracruz, Mexico, August and September
• Bermuda, October and November
• Jamaica, December
• Veracruz, Mexico January to April 1862
• Havana, Cuba, May
• Halifax, Nova Scotia, June and July

On the 17th July 1862, HMS Mersey sailed for England, arriving at Portsmouth on 13th August 1862.

James was discharged a few weeks later, and HMS Mersey was paid off into reserve. 

James had certainly travelled the world, but he must have endured hard work and, more crucially, war. The latter part of his naval life was hopefully more peaceful.

WHAT NEXT FOR JAMES?

On the 10th September 1862, one naval records states that James had become a Coast Guard. Another record lists him serving on HMS Hector. 

HMS Hector was an armoured frigate, assigned to the Coast Guard, and it was part of the channel fleet. In 1868 HMS Hector was paid off at Portsmouth; the command was taken over as a ship of the first reserve for Southampton’s Coast Guard.

HMS Hector protected the Solent waters. During summer months she was reserved and used to guard Queen Victoria and her family at Osborne house. I am not sure of the actual years she was employed to do this or whether James played any part in the operation. 

In 1870, an outbreak of smallpox was reported on board.  

James was pensioned off on 31st Mar 1874. In the document below, James’s birth date is wrong. However, another document records the correct year (1833).

The National Archives

JAMES’S PERSONAL LIFE

I could not find James in the 1861 Census. The Mersey was being refitted in Portsmouth on the Census date of 7th April, but I searched the area to no avail.

On 29th July 1865, James married Sarah Prouten in the parish church Sesley, Sussex.

The record is difficult to read, but appears to list:

• Richard James Morey (James), aged 28 (he was in fact about 32), Single, Coast Guard, residence Sesley
• Joseph (‘Father’), Fisherman

Sarah is 18, from Selsey, no father. She was the illegitimate daughter of Elizabeth Prouten, who was a witness to the marriage alongside Joseph Morey. Is this James’s father or his brother?

So James appears to have made a few changes to his status, because I also found the marriage to Louisa Bucknell. The signature on both certificates look very similar. 

Was this a bigamous marriage? If so, where is Louisa? I will leave that for later in the story.

I am not sure where the marriage took place. Between 1864 and 1866, the parish church was being moved stone by stone from Church Norton to its present-day position at the top of the High Street. The locations are about two miles apart.

The couple started a family straight away. Sarah was 6-7 months pregnant at the time of their wedding, and their son Joseph was baptised on 8th Oct 1865. The parents are listed as Richard James and Sarah.

Elizabeth Ann was born in 1867, baptised 31st August. Sadly, Elizabeth, died when she was just one month old and was buried on 20th September 1867. Again, the parents are listed as Richard James and Sarah.

The couple’s next child Sarah was born on 20th Aug 1868, according to the 1939 register. As shown below, her baptism is entered in the baptism book on 20th August, with a private Baptism in the column “rec’d Oct 11, 1868”. The book doesn’t show an entry on 11 Oct.

It is possible they didn’t think Sarah would survive and the vicar was called in to baptise her hours after birth, especially as they had already lost a daughter.

Next is Eliza, baptised 14th Aug 1870.

The 1871 Census shows their address as Wall End, Coast Guard cottages, recording:

• James, aged 37, Coast Guard from Sidmouth
• Sarah, aged 24, from Selsey
• Joseph, aged 5, Scholar
• Sarah, aged 2
• Eliza, aged 1

Another son, named James Richard, was born on 21st Aug 1872 and baptised on 24th August 1872. 

Lastly, Willam Henry was born on 29th July 1874 and baptised on 30th August 1874.

JAMES’S HEALTH DECLINES

As mentioned before, James was pensioned off on 31st Mar 1874. 

On 7th September 1875, James was admitted to the Sussex Asylum, Wivelsfield.

The cause was recorded as “Dementia of Gen. Paralysis. Epilepsy, Very Enfeebled” and James is listed as being “42, Pensioner, [and] Coast Guard”

James resided in the Asylum for four years and died on 7th Oct 1879.

Sadly, on 10th Oct he was laid to rest in a pauper’s grave in the Sussex County Asylum burial grounds, Haywards Heath.

I assume the family was unable to afford to have him buried in Selsey. It is unknown whether James had any visitors during his time in the Asylum. 

---

JAMES’S FAMILY

The 1881 Census finds Sarah, aged 34, a widow, working as a Charwoman. She was living next door to her mother Elizabeth on the High Street, Selsey. The Census also records:

• Joseph, aged 15, Agricultural Labourer
• Sarah aged 15, No Occupation
• Eliza aged 11, Scholar
• James, aged 9, Scholar
• William, aged 7, Scholar

Another child is listed as Elizabeth, aged 2, father unknown.   

Elizabeth Ann was baptised on 7th February 1879, and her mother is listed as Sarah Morey. This is the same name as the daughter lost in 1867. 

In 1883, James and William were charged with damaging a rick of hay, the property of Mr Sharpe a farmer. The boys pleaded guilty, and the bench dismissed the case with a caution. 

The Sussex Express 4 September 1883

The 1891 Census shows the family still living on the High street:

• Sarah, aged 45, Widow, Charwoman
• James Richard, aged 18, Bricklayer’s Labourer
• William Henry, aged 17, No Occupation
• Elizabeth Ann, aged 13
• Richard Henry, aged 6, Scholar

Richard Henry was baptised 10th June 1885. His mother is recorded as Sarah, Widow. The Father is Unknown.

The 1901 Census records the following family members living at No. 38 on the High Street:

• Sarah, aged [59?], Widow, Laundress
• Richard, aged 16, Postman

The 1911 Census records them still living at the same address:

• Sarah ,aged 63, Widow, Laundress
• William H, aged 36, Single, Farm Labourer
• Richard H, aged 25, Single, Postman

Sarah doesn’t remarry and her death is recorded in 1920. Sarah was buried in Church Norton, the Selsey burial ground, in November 1920. (Plot A 312.) 

---

JAMES AND SARAH’S CHILDREN

Joseph

Joseph married Louisa Jane Lewis, and the couple had 13 children.

Joseph’s death is recorded in 1943. He was buried in Pagham, just across from Pagham harbour where he was born in the Coast Guard cottages at Wall End, Norton.

The Disaster of the Arno records a coal carrying ship from Sunderland wrecked on the boulder sandbank off Selsey. Joseph found one of the drowned sailors.

Sunderland Daily Echo 15 February 1899.

Elizabeth Ann

Elizabeth Ann was born in 1867 but died the same year.

Sarah

Sarah married John Henry Collis. They only had one son, who was called Leslie.

Some Ancestry Family Trees record Sarah’s death in 1920. However, I found her in the 1939 register, where her birth is recorded as 20th August 1868, and she is described as a widow living in Woolwich with “Domestic Duties”.

I could not verify Sarah’s date of death.

Eliza

Eliza married Harry Patrick in 1896. They had one son, who was called Harold.

Eliza lived in St Pancras, London. She died in 1925 and was buried on 2nd September in Camden, London.

James Richard

James Richard followed in his father’s footsteps and joined the Royal Navy in 1891, where he served until 1903. In 1909, James joined the RNR (Royal Naval Reserves) in Portsmouth, serving on several ships during WW1.

He married Mary Elizabeth Shirley on 26th November 1898, whilst he was serving on the Victory II. The wedding was in Islington, London. The couple had one daughter, named Daisy Elizabeth.

James died in Islington in the summer of 1930, aged 57.

William

William was a builder’s labourer and a painter. He married Ethel Kate Rowe later in life, and their marriage was registered in 1926. However, they were already living together as a married couple in 1921, residing in York Terrace, Selsey. 

William and Ethel lived in Rutlands, Manor Road, Sesley, until they both died in 1964.

I tried to trace Ethel, who was born in Oakley. Her date of birth was recorded as 2nd June 1880. I found an Ethel Kate Dicker, who was born in Oakley, Hampshire, in 1880. Her parents were Jesse and Elizabeth and the 1911 Census recorded her address as The Bungalow, Gloucester Road, Bognor.

Is this Ethel Kate Rowe? I cannot find her marrying anyone before William, so no change of name. Very confusing.

LOUISA BUCKNELL

The story is too long to include James Morey Senior’s siblings. But what about the marriage I found to Louisa Bucknell? The wedding between James Richard and Louisa took place in Sidmouth in 1856, but no Ancestry Family Trees show it; and I couldn’t find any children born to the couple. 

By 1859, Louisa was recorded living in Wales, where she had given birth to a son named Richard. 

In 1861, Louisa was living in Porthcawl, Newton Nottage, Glamorgan. She was married to Richard Ward, who was also from Devonshire.

Richard was aged 24 and working as a stone mason; Louisa was aged 25. At this time, their son Richard was two and their daughter Elizabeth was 2 months old. Both children were born in Newton Nottage. 

Another daughter, named Mary Ann, was born in 1862.

In 1863 the couple married in Swansea. They went on to have more children, and in the 1871 Census Louisa’s birthplace was listed as Sidmouth. She died in 1906.

There are several Ancestry Family Trees for Louisa but none of them show the marriage to James. They all show her married to Richard Ward, recording her father as John, a gardener. 

Was the marriage to James annulled? Did they divorce? Did they both have bigamous marriages? Have I got the wrong couple? 

I will leave my theory for the reader to decide.   

---

THEN AND NOW

  

---

AUTHOR’S THOUGHTS

This has been an amazing story to follow. Such a life for the times in which James was living.

I was very fortunate to find his naval records, which revealed so much of his life: from local waters, across the Atlantic, and even the conflict in the Baltic.

It was therefore devastating to discover that James died young from a terrible illness – especially as he may not have known he’d contracted it. I assume that the admission diagnosis is correct, even though the official death certificate only states Epilepsy. (Neurosyphilis information is thanks to online research.)

It wasn’t an easy research project as a couple named Mary and Joseph (an Agricultural labourer), lived in Dawlish – just across the estuary from Sidmouth – at the same time. Some Ancestry Family Trees have mixed up the families. 

There was also a James Morey who served in the Navy at the same time. This James was from Portsmouth, Hampshire.

Then there is the marriage record between Sarah and James – with what I believe is false information. James using his middle name (Richard) initially caused confusion. 

I hope I have done James justice with my research. It is sad that he was not buried in the Selsey cemetery, which would have been beyond the family’s financial means. I also doubt James would have had any visitors given he was about 45 miles from home.

RIP James. A brave man, not forgotten.

AUTHOR: LINDA MARTIN