Tom Patch

Tom Patch II ties the knot

The Spokes family had bought the cottage next to the Patches in 1733, when Mary was about 6 years old, so the two of them had known each other for most of their lives. Mary grew up and went into service, working as a servant to William Facer, a very prosperous master woolcomber who died, young and unmarried, in 1757. William left Mary £4 ‘to buy mourning’ and since she was the only servant mentioned in his will, she was probably his housekeeper.¹² William had apparently lived in some style and meant to be remembered so. He left money to his many relatives to buy mourning, and guineas for funeral sermons in both West Haddon and Long Buckby, as well as bequests to the poor spinners of several local villages who had worked for him. He must have been a hard act to follow as Mary looked for a new position. Perhaps the prospect of a home and husband of her own began to appeal to her...

Thomas and Mary were married in 1760 and Tom III was born in 1761. His sister Mary followed in 1765. They both survived to grow up and, at the age of 18, young Mary was to marry Thomas Facer, a nephew of William the woolcomber.

© West Haddon Local History Group (2010)