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This is an outline of the ancestors and
descendants of William Jacob Pritchett and his
wife Annie BROWN. William, raised in difficult
circumstances in the East End of London emigrated to
Sydney, Australia in the early 1910s. He worked hard
and established an electrical engineering business. In
1914 he was joined by his bride to be, Annie
Brown. Now to the beginning of what I have
uncovered so far...
It is said the name Pritchett is Welsh
in origin and, along with Pritchard and other spelling
variations, as being derived from the "son of Richard".
In the middle ages people were usually given a
christian name only, names of kings, queens saints and
apostles were popular. In later years surnames came
into use, maybe as people needed to be identified
accurately for Tax purposes. Another theory is it is an occupational
names derived from makers of pointed instruments. Or
maybe the nick name for a tall thin man. Research was conducted using the International Genealogical Index covering may parish records going back to the 1600’s. The LDS (Mormon) Church has a mammoth index of over 160 million names. It is freely available in large libraries and research centres. I also used the St Catherine’s Index of civil registration of births, death and marriages going back to the early 1840s in the UK. The records show the Pritchett name scattered around England. During the late 1800's each year would show twenty or thirty births. Large families were active in Birmingham, Bingham and Isle of Wight. In Oxfordshire the towns of Bicester, Banbury and Deddington had significant numbers. There were several Pritchett convicts
in NSW during the early 1800's, and at least two
families arrived in NSW as immigrants in the 1880's.
Three Pritchetts served in the AIF in WW1. I can find
no connections with our family. About sixty Pritchetts
are currently on the NSW electoral roll. A similar
number are registered in Victoria, mainly in Gippsland
east of Melbourne. There are many Pritchetts in the
USA; a town named Pritchett and even a ship in the US
Navy. Our Pritchett family goes back to
Bicester, Oxfordshire |
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 Bicester Links Bicester Village Wikipedia |
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note from Annie (Brown) Pritchett to David Pritchett
says his great grandfather, Jacob Pritchett was born in
Isbester and later moved to London. I could not find an
Isbester but noted many Pritchetts christened and
married in Bicester, Oxfordshire. Bicester is pronounced
"Bister".
Bicester is 13 miles from Oxford, 54 miles from London and on the old coach road to Birmingham. In the mid 1800s it was an agricultural and market town with lacemaking as a cottage industry. The town is said to be originally a Saxon frontier garrison town built from the ruins of a Roman town, Alchester. Its historic church, St Edburg’s dates to Norman times. The town has two parts, named Market End and King’s End. In 1861 the population was, Market End, 2711, King’s End, 338 giving a total of 3049. The earliest relevant record I believe is the marriage of Jonathan Pritchett to Frances SHEERS in Bicester, on the 30th November 1778. Their son, William Pritchett (b. 1790) married Ann GRIMSLEY in 1811. William and Ann had nine children christened in Bicester including a Jacob in 1825. The St Catherine’s records (the civil index of births) show the birth of an Isaac Pritchett in Bicester, Oxfordshire in December 1857. I obtained a copy of the full entry and it showed the following detail.. Isaac: born 11th December, 1857 at Chapel Street, Bicester, Market End. Father: Jacob Pritchett, Coalmerchants Labourer Mother: Ann Pritchett formerly Wakenell (difficult to read) There is no mention of a marriage or christening in the parish records but these are incomplete. I estimated a marriage date of about 1846 and assume there are other children. More research is needed... |
| 1823 | William Grimsley
Bricklayer, George Wakelin Plumber/Painter/Glazier |
| 1830 | William Grimsley, Water
Lane, Plasterer, George Wakelin, Sheep Street, Plumber/Painter/Glazier |
| 1890 | Thomas Grimsley &
Son, Builders James William Grimsley, Builders William Grimsley, Sheep Street, Fishmonger |
| We know Isaac Pritchett moved to London in the late 1870s. The 1800’s was a time of increasing mechanisation on the farms of England. Workers were forced to move to the cities with their factories to find work. Isaac’s move could be seen in this context. In 1878, aged twenty, he married Agnes Mary KING. The marriage was solemnized in St Mary’s, Plaistow, on the eastern edge of London. His occupation was noted as a labourer. Annie (Brown) Pritchett says his occupation was a clock and watchmaker however it seems he could not use his skills in London. Agnes was the daughter of William and Mary King. William King’s occupation was listed as a labourer. We are told Agnes was born in Wales. | ||
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| We
know Isaac Pritchett moved to London in the late 1870s.
The 1800’s was a time of increasing mechanisation on the
farms of England. Workers were forced to move to the
cities andr factories to find work. Isaac’s move could
be seen in this context. In 1878, aged twenty, he
married Agnes Mary KING. The marriage was
solemnized in St Mary’s, Plaistow, on the eastern edge
of London. His occupation was noted as a labourer. Annie
(Brown) Pritchett says his occupation was a clock and
watchmaker however it seems he could not use his skills
in London. Agnes was the daughter of William and
Mary King. William King’s occupation was listed as
a labourer. We are told Agnes was born in Wales |
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William Jacob Pritchett was born in 23rd October 1888, his birth registered in Romford and their address being "The Ferry", Rainham. William sold papers at the Tilbury Docks, among other jobs, to help the family make ends meet. He decided to emigrate to Australia and worked his passage out. He studied Electrical Engineering on the voyage through an ICC correspondence course. After he established in Sydney himself he wrote to his girlfriend, Annie Brown, asking her to join him in Sydney and be his bride. When William proposed marriage to Annie Brown half the world away she hesitated; but her father urged her to go. When the ship docked in Melbourne, its first port of call in Australia, she was surprised to see William waiting for her on the wharf. He insisted they marry immediately. Her wedding dress was in her trunk, deep in the cargo hold, and she was unable to retrieve it for the ceremony. They married in Melbourne, at St Paul's Cathedral in 1914. He was 25, she 23. His occupation was listed as Electrical Contractor and their residences were S.S. Norseman and S.S. Miltiades respectively. A witness to the wedding was Albert Pritchett who had come with Annie on the voyage.. |
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 William and Annie with baby Bill |
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The following letter from Annie (Brown) Pritchett to David Pritchett, in the late 1970's fills in some details. David, William Jacob Pritchett came to Australia in 1911 and worked at the AMP as maintenance man for that company and some other insurance companies. Then he did contract work for a while. He patented the Pritchett Switch. He sent for me and I came in 1914 and we were married at St Paul's Cathedral, Melbourne on the 18th April 1914. We lived at Bondi
until he built a house in Fairweather St, Bellevue
Hill. We had four children and later moved to
Vaucluse. You know the rest I think and I am
sending these books of the factory he bought at
Waterloo. Thought you may be interested but let me
have them back. Bill also brought out a switch which helped save life.(an early electromechanical earth leakage circuit breaker, a safety switch) |
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 William's portrait |
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| They
lived initially in a rented house in Bondi .William
built, with help from subcontractors, their house in
Fairweather St., Bellevue Hill. All four children were
born at home, two at Bondi and two at Bellevue Hill. He
was involved in the wiring of the first AMP building in
Sydney and installing the telephone system in the huge
Anthony Horden building (now demolished). In those days
telephones were all installed by electrical contractors.
He started an electrical switchboard manufacturing
business sometime in the 1920's. He worked out of his
garage at first, then rented factory premises in Ebley
Street, Bondi Junction, NSW and later purchased a
factory in Waterloo, NSW.
He integrated switches and fuses onto a switch board, engaging a porcelain manufacturer, Brown & Hordern, to provide the components. In those days household switchboards were marble boards mounted off the brickwork with porcelain switches imported from the UK. This involved a lot of tedious drilling so William designed a self contained unit. The business was a success and during the 1930's he was able to purchase the property Takapuna in Vaucluse. The name came from a suburb of Auckland in New Zealand. It came on the market during the 1930's having been previously owned by a New Zealand steel merchant by the name of Rylance. William arrived home to announce the purchase. Annie had not been consulted. This property has now been subdivided. William enjoyed boating
around Sydney harbour. He purchased, for 300 pounds, a
30 foot yacht, Goora which is still afloat at
Little Manly today(1990s). He also owned a 36 foot
cruiser, Maigre. During WW2 Maigre was
requisioned by the US Navy. It went to the Pacific,
never to return and its final fate unknown He was rather keen on motor vehicles. First an Indian motorcycle, then an American Oakland Tourer , This had a two tone paint finish with cabriolet leatherette (imitation leather) on the rear of the hood. Then a La Salle sedan, The La Salle was a secondary Cadillac such as the Bentley is to the Rolls Royce. Next followed a Vauxhall (a beast), a Studebaker President, a Studebaker Dictator and after WW2 two Rovers. He always sent money
back to his mother in England. In the 1930's he
arranged for the entire family to visit England, and
catch up with the family left behind. Also in this era
Aunt Maud visited from England. During the 1940's the
three sons joined their father in the electrical
business. The factory was involved in the defense
industries of WW2. William Jacob died of a heart
attack at the Rose Bay Bowling Club in 1959. Some time
in the 1960's the business was taken over by an
English company. |
 Elizabeth Pritchett |
Sons
Jack, Bill and Ron Pritchett became keen sailors. They
were involved with both the Royal Prince Edward Yacht
Club at Point Piper and the Royal Prince Alfred Yacht
Club at Newport. Jack Pritchett rose to be Commodore of
the Royal Prince Alfred Club. Bill was affectionately
called Captain Bligh by his colleges. Ron progressed to the elimination trials for the 1956 Olympic Games crewing in the 5.5 class. He was been awarded life membership of the Royal Prince Edward Yacht Club Ron also crewed aboard the cutter Morna, owned and skippered by Sir Claude Plowman. Sir Claude skippered Morna to three successive 'first across the line' wins, in the Sydney-Hobart race, beginning in 1946. Regrettably Ron was not not aboard for the "Hobart" wins due to family commitments. |
 Ron Pritchett |
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William's brother, Albert Pritchett, also came to Australia, on the ship with Annie Brown. He became an electrical contractor, lived in the Bankstown area and was in charge of the electrical systems on the Sydney Harbour Bridge project. His son Frank, worked for many years at the Pritchett factory as a toolmaker. Eliza Pritchett with her husband Charlie MAY, emigrated also. Charlie's son operated a team of bricklayers and did the brickwork for both houses built by Ron Pritchett in St Ives. Another brother, Herbert Pritchett, emigrated to Australia going on to Queensland, Experiencing financial difficulties in the great depression he returned to Sydney. William helped him purchase two acres of land at Milperra in Sydney’s south. He started poultry and pig farm; he also raised canaries. The property, near Bankstown Airport was sold to the aircraft manufacturer De’ Havilland for a factory. Herbert moved further west, and is remembered for buying a Hudson-Redicut pre fabricated home for his new property. |
| 1936 | Albert James P. Herbert Isaac P. Emma Lillian P. |
Electrician Poultry Farmer Home Duties |
Lavender Ave. Bankstown,
Ashford Ave. Milperra, Ashford Ave. Milperra |
| 1941 | Herbert Isaac P. | Labourer | Roselind Rd. Milperra |
| 1947 | Herbert P. | Turner | Beaconsfield St. Revesby |
| 1950 | Herbert P. | -as above- | -as above- |
| Dear Peter and Jennifer, While searching for the surname of GRIMSLEY on the internet, I came across your PRITCHETT web site. My GRIMSLEY line also comes from Bicester in Oxfordshire, and I had seen the marriage for Ann GRIMSLEY to William PRITCHETT. Ann is either the daughter of Richard or George GRIMSLEY. Richard and George are, I believe, brothers of my ancestor Robert GRIMSLEY. So we are probably distant cousins. You may have already come across further information, but in case you haven't, Jacob PRITCHETT married Ann WAKELIN on 8 February 1846 at St Edburg, Bicester. He was buried on 9 December 1891 at St Edburg, aged 65. According to the marriage entry in the parish register, Ann's father was Benjamin WAKELIN, and one of the witnesses was a William WAKELIN. As neither Ann nor William signed their names, it is very likely that their surname should be WAKENELL. There is an Ann WAKENELL baptised in 1827 to parents Benjamin and Elizabeth WAKENELL. Isaac PRITCHETT, the son of Jacob and Ann, was baptised on 8 March 1858 at St Edburg's I found the above information at the GSV. They have microfiche transcripts of the Bicester Parish Registers. Marriages go up to at least 1915, baptisms to 1925, and burials to 1960! I hope this is some help. If you want to know more about the GRIMSLEY's, just send me an email. Regards, Joan Wood |
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Hello There,
This isn't exactly an email to fill in
gaps in your family tree - but just to say hello and
that we may have had ancestors who lived/worked
together??? Perhaps I should explain -
I was looking for information on the
Ferry Rainham Essex as I had just received a copy of my
gt.grandfather's birth certificate (William Joseph
Goodwin) which gave his birth as18th July 1890, The
Ferry, Rainham, Essex and also gave The Ferry Rainham as
the place of residence for his mother, Mary Jane
Goodwin (nee Bonsor) and his father as Rober Goodwin
occupation, sailor. And up came your web pages as
a possible match. Anyhow as the dates for your
William Jacob Pritchett and William and Mary King cover
the dates from 1888 to 1891, I felt I had to get
in touch and say "Nice to meet you".
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Hello
I came across whilst looking for
something else as you do your web page on Pritchett King
family.
I can not add anything to it but I
found it interesting, I am looking in to my family
tree here in the UK and found I can trace it back to the
isle of white to around 1820 as the isle of white is not
to far from Oxford I can't help but wonder if there
is a connection there.
There is a Pritchett (or was,his family
must still be) in Australia descended from my
ancestors in the IOW I do not now where and just to add
to the confusion I have found out he was christen Fred
Pritchett but went by the Name of Jack Pritchett DOB 23
October 1910 south east London, great!
Any way great to read your web page. Have
a good Christmas.
Regards
Paul Pritchett
London
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