John and Jane Byatt's children, baptised in Little Canfield, were:
- Susanna Byatt bap. 11 Jun 1803
- Jane Byatt bap. 9 Jun 1811
- William Byatt bap. 6 Mar 1814
- Elizabeth Byatt bap. 6 Oct 1816, died aged 31, in 1847 J Quarter in DUNMOW UNION Volume 12 Page 77, buried 8 Jun 1847
- John Byatt bap. 3 Oct 1819
- Catherine Byatt bap. 4 Apr 1824
- George Byatt bap. 30 Sep 1827
With significant gaps between births, there could have been others.
In 1841, John Byatt (65) Labourer, Jane Byatt (56), George Byatt (13) and Jane's widowed mother, Susan Stokes (78) were living in Hickeys Lane, Little Canfield. Living next door to them was son William Byatt. Son John Byatt was living in the household of John Rickett (40) at Goldings,
Netteswell, Essex.
The Essex Standard reported on the Dunmow Petty Sessions on 5 Mar 1855: George Byatt, labourer, of Little Canfield, was summoned for trespassing in search of game on lands of Mr W Barnard, on the 13th of February, and was fined £2, and costs 9s 6d., or to be committed for 2 months' hard labour.
The Essex Standard, of 8 Oct 1857, reported that George Byatt, 30, Labourer, for violently assaulting his father, John Byatt, at Little Canfield, on 24th September, was sentenced to 12 months hard labour.
John Byatt died, aged 80, on 10 Jan 1858 (1858 M Quarter in DUNMOW UNION Vol 04A Page 263) and buried on 14 Jan 1858 in Little Canfield.
The Chelmsford Chronicle of 15 Jan 1858 reported on the
SUPPOSED DEATH FROM VIOLENCE, AT LITTLE CANFIELD. - On Wednesday, an inquest was held at the parochial schoolroom before C C Lewis Esq. on the body of John Byatt, who in September last was brutally assaulted by his son, George Byatt, who was prosecuted for it, and sentenced to twelve months hard labour. As the father died on Sunday last, and the surgeon, Mr Freeman Smith [1], objected to give a certificate for burial otherwise than that death was caused by injuries received from the son, it became necessary to hold an inquest. The widow proved that her husband was a labourer, 81 years old, and that on the night of the assault the son came home as if tipsy, when he pushed his father over the groundsill into the bedroom; her son helped to pick him up, and he was put to into bed; he was tolerably well all night, but in the morning he was ill and could take nothing, and she went to Mr. Freeman Smith, the doctor, who attended him (or his assistant) from that time till last Sunday, when he died; before this her husband was quite well for an old man, but could do no work. Mr James Freeman Smith, surgeon of Dunmow, was called to the deceased, about a fortnight before Michaelmass, and considered him in dying state of collapse. Pulseless and almost insensible; there was a slight wound over the temple and paralysis of the left arm which he never raised again. He had made a post mortem examination of the head an body - he found the brain remarkably healthy - having described the state of the body, he added he should say that the cause of death was the general concussion, and the shock to the system likely to have been occasioned by the fall; the deceased had been previously in remarkably good health, he could not conscientiously attribute the death to anything else, having found no organ diseased. Supt. Rogerson, of Dunmow, proved that when before the magistrates the deceased said that his son had knocked him over the sill of the door. The widow being recalled, she said her husband was sensible the first two months but for the last month he was not so. The surgeon said he would just put out his tongue when asked. The Coroner said, there was no doubt the old man was considerably injured by the fall occasioned by the son, but there was no direct proof from the medical evidence that it caused his death. The evidence of the old woman was most unsatisfactory, and, it was thought, biased to shield her son, in consequence of his present punishment. The Jury hesitated in the decision, and it came out that two days before the alleged assault, the deceased and this son were found by a gentleman, who nearly drove over the old man, lying on the road in the night, both drunk. Ultimately it was agreed to record this special verdict, "
That the cause of death does not appear from positive evidence." (The same is on the death certificate.)
[1] James Freeman Smith
MRCS, General Practitioner of High Street, Great Dunmow, was listed in directories as the Union Medical Officer.
The Essex Standard, once again, on 6 Apr 1860, reported on an ASSAULT: George Byatt, 32, labourer, was indicted for assaulting Charlotte Byatt [2], his niece, by kicking her in the body, at Little Canfield, on the 19th of March. Prosecutrix said she kept her father's house, her mother being dead; and the prisoner lived next door. On the day named the prisoner came in for some tobacco he had asked her to get for him. She told him she had not been to the shop, upon which he called her a liar, and became so angry that he slapped her face. She asked him what he meant, and said she would hit him with the shovel, upon which he kicked her in the groin. She was going towards the shovel, but had not got it in her hand at the time. Emma Byatt, sister of the prosecutrix, corroborated her evidence. Mr Freeman Smith, surgeon, of Great Dunmow, said he attended the girl, who was kept to her bed some days. The contusion was a dangerous one, and might have been fatal. The prisoner's defence was that he tried to kick the shovel away, and that his kicking the girl was accidental. The Jury immediately returned a verdict of Guilty; and the CHAIRMAN severely commented upon the brutal conduct of the prisoner, following (as the Court were sorry to learn it did) an assault upon his own father. The Court did not believe that he seriously intended to injure the girl, but thought he was rather carried away by feelings of anger at the moment; and therefore he would receive the comparatively light sentence of three months' hard labour. (Happily, I can find no further trace of George Byatt.)
[2] Charlotte Byatt and Emma Byatt were the daughters of
William Byatt.
In 1861, Jane Byatt (79) was living at 6, High Canfield Lane, Little Canfield.
Jane Byatt died in 1866 S Quarter in DUNMOW UNION Volume 04A Page 258 - age listed as 86 probably from 'rounding' her birth year to ~1780 - she was 82, and was buried on 10 Aug 1866, at All Saints, Little Canfield.
