ALEXANDER REPPER (1773-1841)

Helston

Alexander Repper was born in Helston in Cornwall in 1773, the son of Alexander and Philippa Repper and their only known child. Alexander had a half sister and two half brothers - Mary Guy, John Guy & William Guy. Their mother Phillipa had previously married John Guy who had died. Phillipa died in Helston during August 1794.

Alexander was baptised in Helston Parish Church (pictured) on the 16th March 1773. It was not unusual in Cornwall for the name Alexander to be shortened to Sandrie and this may be how he was known. His half brother John Guy had a son baptised as William Guy in 1793 in the same Helston church.

Alexander was about nine years old when his father died. The rest of his childhood, as an only child, was spent with his mother, Philippa, and paternal grandfather, Richard Repper. Richard died in May 1794 and Philippa died just 3 months later leaving Alexander, aged 19, with no known immediate family. He had some first and second cousins in Redruth about whom he probably knew nothing. He had his half brothers John Guy and William Guy, who were both married and involved in their own families.

No other detail of Alexander's early life is known. The first recorded entry of his life after his baptism is his marriage to Ann Hutchinson in Hampstead, Middlesex in 1796 which identifies Alexander as a Cornish Dragoon.

Cornish Militia

Shortly after the death of his mother and grandfather in 1794, Alexander joined the local Cornish Militia, sometimes called the Cornish Dragoons, when Britain was preparing to defend itself against potential invasion from Napoleon's France. This would have provided Alexander with income, food and a horse.

Militias operated under the auspices of the local gentry who would raise a local volunteer force, made up a group of local men. The men may have been supplied with a carbine by the person raising the force. When saddled up they would collectively represent the local militia, in reality being nothing more than armed mounted yeomen. The local family with the responsibility for raising the force in Helston was most likely to have been the Vivyans on behalf of the Basset family.

The following is a copy of a notice which first appeared in 1794:

The leading authority on Cornish Militia is a Professor A C (Charles) Thomas of St Clement, Cornwall. He has written to me (3 September 1996) as follows:
"I think it is fairly certain that your ancestor was in the (Royal) Cornwall (Fencible) Dragoons and was a Fencible, not a Volunteer. This would explain an aspect that rather puzzled me - enlistment in the Marines, like the regular infantry, would normally be via service in the Militia ... volunteers were very seldom wanted in the regulars because they were insufficiently trained or not the right standard. Men used to join the Militia to be 'fed up' to the right height and weight!"

The uniform of the Fencibles was a red jacket with black facings and white lace, a leather Light Dragoon helmet being surrounded by a yellow "turban" or pagri.

Professor Thomas doubts the ability of this force to resist an invasion from the French, the prime reason for setting them up, but advises that they did become an effective local "police" force. He also advises that these forces were frequently used to control public disturbances.

The British economy had been weakened by many years of war and recent poor harvests. A consequence of this was that the cost of food, particularly bread, was high. The poorer members of society expressed their dissatisfaction in many ways, one being the "Bread Riots". There were several civil disturbances in 1795 leading up to the act of the King being stoned by a crowd in October 1795. Government then introduced the Seditious Meetings Act which prohibited gatherings in excess of 50 people. Militia were brought in from distant counties to control the situation because many militia troops in the capital were sympathetic to the rioters. Militia from Derbyshire were billeted in London and it seems to be the case that the Cornish Dragoons were also engaged in the London area at this time, billeted in Hampstead.

Although no records have been found to evidence that the militia ever left Cornwall, Alexander was married as a "Cornish Dragoon" in Hampstead on 24th April 1796. The parish records for Hampstead show other marriages where the groom had a Cornish surname, two of them are noted as Cornish Dragoons. This is the indication of the presence of the dragoons in the Hampstead area.

The witnesses to the marriage were Eliz Beale who signed for herself and James Woon who made a mark. The ceremony was conducted by the curate of St John's Hampstead, Charles Grant. The parish register indicated that both Alexander and Ann were "of the parish of St John's, Hampstead" but no evidence of other Ripper or Hutchinson family events (baptisms, marriages or burials) has been found in the registers.

It is likely that the dragoons would have been disbanded in Cornwall. This may mean that Ann had made the journey to Cornwall and back with him. Alexander and Ann married in 1796 and their daughter Ann was born the following year. The baptism of Ann is not recorded in the registers of St John, Hampstead in the period 1797 to 1810. This may indicate that baby Ann was baptised elsewhere, wherever the militia was posted at the time. Armies, even including the regular army, of the time often had soldiers’ wives moving with them from place to place as they provided a useful support in terms of cleaning, mending and cooking duties.

An unexplained entry in the 1841 census records a William Ripper, aged about 45. He indicates that his place of birth is Middlesex. He has not been found in the 1851 or 1861 censuses but in the 1871 census he gives his birthplace as Hampstead. No record of his baptism has been found there. This William was present at the death of Alexander's son, also called William, in 1870.

The Marines

Alexander joined The Marines in Uxbridge on 25th February 1808 showing he was born in "Elston" and his occupation as a leather dresser.

The description register gives him as being 31 years old, with a fair complexion, grey eyes and brown hair, being 5 feet 3 inches tall; he was enlisted by Captain Hunt, entering company #43.

The recruitment of marines resembled that of the army. As they were essentially 'landmen' they could not be "impressed" like seamen. Posters were printed and stuck up in market places, and recruiting sergeants roamed the area trying to recruit young men with tales of action and adventure. Persuasion was not enough and in wartime a substantial bounty was offered which by 1801 had reached £26 per man. Despite this the rapid expansion of the Royal Navy caused a crisis as recruitment of marines did not match impressment of sailors. Some soldiers from the army were consequently used at sea and, to overcome line of command problems, many were offered bounties to transfer to the marines full time.

The marines continued to expand throughout the Napoleonic Wars so that by 1805 some 30,000 marines had been voted by parliament. Marines, like soldiers, were traditionally recruited for life - however during the 1790's there was some attempt made to recruit for the "duration" instead.

Marine shore organisation centered on three divisions, with barracks near the dockyards at Chatham, Portsmouth and Plymouth. Training on shore was almost entirely in the skills of an infantryman. The first many marines knew of a ship was on their first posting aboard.

Alexander’s wife later reported to the Guardians of the Poor in Hampstead that he was a marine and the record shows that he was on board the Arboukir. It is this record which enabled his marine record to be found.

On the 12th April 1808 Alexander was posted to HMS Aboukir, the only member of the 43rd company intake at this time to go to this ship. His last entry on the records of the 43rd shows that he had received pay for 12 days in April at 1 shilling per day. The pay of a marine private was £1-8s-0d per month as it was with the army. On board ship, howeverthis was reduced to 19s 3d per month as victualling and accommodation were provided free.

The Aboukir was the second vessel of the name in the British line. Like its predecessor it was a third rate ship of the line. The first Aboukir was captured from the French in the 1790's at the Battle of The Nile also known as the Battle of Aboukir Bay, having been called 'Aquilon' the British renamed it as a slight to the French. The second Aboukir entered service in 1807 and remained in service until 1824, although not active much after 1815. When Alexander was posted to the ship it was still in a state of first preparations ahead of sea trials.

The ship’s log for the Aboukir on Wednesday 13th April 1808 records westerley winds and this entry:
"Light airs and fine clear w~ [weather]. Employed embarking the marines. Rec’d [received] on board 106 being the compliment (sic) for the ship. PM Do w~. [Afternoon Ditto weather] . Riggers and Shipwrights at work on the ship. Rec’d provisions from lighter".

Marines are often associated with the suppression of mutiny and this role greatly expanded during the Napoleonic Wars. They had always carried out guard duties aboard ship and had enforced regulations below deck. Marines were to stand guard whenever punishment was inflicted. They were deliberately separated from the seamen and in harbour, when mutiny was most likely, they were kept 'constantly at drill or parade, and not to be diverted by the ordinary duties of the ship'. The marines were of prime importance in amphibious warfare. Co-operation between the army and the navy often led to disputes of authority, the marines however were clearly under naval discipline and hence more effective. Marine duties on shore were not restricted to amphibious warfare. They could be landed as guards in a friendly port or to keep seamen from desertion. Their smart uniformed appearance was also used to impress enemies and allies. Occasionally they were used for impressment duties.

A small pension was taken from his pay for Alexander's wife Ann, as shown when she is examined by the Guardians of the Poor in Hampstead at a time when Alexander is at sea with The Marines. This was in fact a "standing order" deduction from his pay for the benefit of his wife. This is evidenced in the naval pay books by the letters "FB". In September 1810 Anne Repper’s pension was suspended, according to the records in Hampstead Workhouse. This was, presumably, for some transgression on Alexander's part.

Hampstead

By Sunday, 26th February 1809, the family were resident in Hampstead, as evidenced by the record of the baptism of Alexander and Ann’s second and third children, Mary Ann and William at St John's on that date. Mary Ann was born on 10th July 1805 but not baptised until she was 3½ years old. William was born on the 16th February 1807 and baptised when he was 2 years old. Where Mary Ann and William were born is not recorded in the register. It is not valid to assume they were born in Hampstead, despite the declaration in later census returns by William that he was born in Hampstead. This would have been either his belief, because he didn't know where he was born or because it continued his entitlement to poor relief from the Guardians of the Poor. To have declared he was born elsewhere could have initiated his resettlement to his place of birth. In the 1860s and 1870s he was wholly reliant upon the workhouse for survival.

It is probable that Alexander was not present at the baptism of his two youngest children as he was likely on board his ship, HMS Aboukir. The baptism ceremony may have been prompted by the Hampstead Board of Guardians whom Ann had approached for financial help. On the day after the baptisms she asked the Guardians of the Poor for permission to leave the workhouse, and leave the children there. This indicates that the family were already resident in Hampstead. Whether they had left and returned or had remained there since the marriage of Alexander and Ann is not known.

The only known record of Alexander's whereabouts between 1796 and 1809 was when he enlisted for the marines in February 1808 when he was in Uxbridge. With Alexander having left for Chatham to commence his training and service, Ann and the children may well have turned to Hampstead as a home. Ann had lived here before and it seems her mother lived nearby. Ann informed the Hampstead Guardians of the Poor in March 1810 that her mother does not take good care of the children.

It may be significant that their eldest daughter, Ann, was not baptised in 1809 along with her siblings. The Hampstead records appear complete for this period and it is likely that she had been born and baptised elsewhere.

It is clear that the family had fallen on hard times. The following records have been transcribed from the book of the meetings of visitors to the workhouse:

Ann, the wife of Alexander, died during early 1835 and was buried as a pauper in St John’s Hampstead on 4th February 1835.

Ann, their eldest daughter, has been recorded at St Luke's, Chelsea in 1821. The parish register shows the baptism of William, son of Ann Repper and John Burton. Their residence is recorded as the poorhouse. The baby was buried six weeks later. No further evidence of Ann's life has been found. Searching the Hampstead St John's registers up to 1842 has not revealed her marriage or her burial.

HMS Aboukir

The muster rolls of HMS Aboukir show that Alexander was on the pay list from 13th April 1808, initially as a 3rd class marine, and then as a 2nd class marine. His promotion occurred whilst the Aboukir was in Genoa harbour on 24th February 1815. The contracted period for signing up to the marines was 7 years and upon achieving that Alexander received automatic promotion. He remained on board the Aboukir until discharged from the service on 11th September 1815. The muster rolls show unbroken service for the whole period as a member of #43 company, and all of that on board HMS Aboukir.

The political situation of the time was wholly influenced by the war against Napoleon and the desire to defend against any invasion of Britain. The most obvious and direct route for attack on Britain was from the French occupied mainland of Europe. To deter this threat, Britain stationed many warships offshore around Britain's coast, but particularly from Cornwall, through the English Channel up to the Scottish border. For its early service, Aboukir was part of this first line of defence, patrolling the coast from the Channel to The Wash.

In July 1809 the Aboukir was part of the fleet which sailed on the Walcheren expedition and Alexander was one of the crew.

"After two months of discussion the Cabinet decided to strike at the Scheldt with an army of 40,000 men. Lack of transport, however, prevented it sailing until July, secrecy was lost and the French fleet escaped above Antwerp, our commander Chatham was unenterprising, and co-operation with the navy very bad. A prolonged siege of Flushing, on the island of Walcheren, destroyed any hope of surprising Antwerp, the dykes were cut, the troops knee-deep in water, and in September, when a quarter of our strength were sick, the survivors were brought home." (A History of England, Keith Feiling, pub. Macmillan 1966, p.773).

The strength of the Napoleonic Armies in 1807 forced Russia into a treaty with France which, as a consquence caused the Anglo-Russian War. Napoleon reneged upon the treaty and Russia signed apeace agreement with Britain on 18 July 1812. On this date HMS Aboukir sailed into Riga and saluted the Russian Governor General and the Admiral of the Russian Fleet, cementing a relationship which contributed to the end of Napoleon's time in power.

In a letter from Lieutenant-General Lord William Bentinck KB in Genoa to Earl Bathurst in Downing Street which was sent on 20 April 1814 which arrived on 8 May 1814 the following was written:
“I learnt that they were only 2000 men in Genoa. The possession of that harbour and fortress was of very great importance...Upon my arrival at Sestri I found that the enemy had been reinforced at Genoa. The garrison consisted of between 5,000 and 6,000 men...On the 16th [April] dispositions were made for attacking the enemy...On 17th at daybreak the attack began...Sir Edward Pellew's squadron came in sight and anchored in front of Nervi...In the evening a deposition of the inhabitants, accompanied by a French officer came to beg that I would not bombard the town;...The next morning several communications passed between myself and the French General but I would not listen to his propositions...the French garrison [marched out the following] morning...In the whole course of their service the navy have borne a distinguished part.”

A letter written on the 18th April 1814 from HMS America to Downing Street included the following:
"Captain Thompson in the Aboukir, who, assisted by the ships and vessels Iphigenia, Furieuse, Swallow and Cephalus, blockaded the fort [of Genoa] conducted with much effect a false attack to the westward of the town, which drew off a number of the enemy's troops."

Return to Cornwall

Alexander's son, William, married in 1826, when just 19, at St Mary, Lambeth to Mary Ann Smith. In 1838 William remarried as a widower in St Pancras and the marriage certificate shows Alexander as being dead. It also shows that William has 'adopted' the full name of William Alexander Ripper and referred to his father as William Alexander Ripper as well.

Alexander was not dead but living in Cornwall and it's likely that William, who was still in the London area, had no knowledge of whether his father was alive or dead. William was aware of his father's financial situation and as they had probably not spoken for at least a couple of years, the prognosis for a long life for Alexander on poor relief or in the workhouse was not positive. The fact that Alexander was recorded as dead in 1838 at the time of his son's marriage satisfies both conjecture on the part of any interested parties at that time and the real likelihood of his chances for survival.

The 1841 census, however, shows Alexander Ripper (not Repper) as a resident of the old Helston Workhouse which was in Wendron Street at that time. As the 1841 census rounds ages down to the nearest 5 years and his actual age was 67, and given that there is no other Alexander Repper who is contemporary, this is certainly the correct person.

How he came to be back in Cornwall is not documented but it is probable that his financial position was a salient factor. Alexander had shown throughout his naval career an affection for his family as evidenced by his wife's reports to the Guardians of the Poor in Hampstead that Alexander provided a pension for them from his wages. His wife, Ann, died in 1835 and was buried as a pauper. His children were no longer his responsibility, having attained adulthood. It is not likely that either he or his children were living at anything other than poverty level. He had no trade, having spent his civilian life labouring in the leather working industries, and work would have been difficult for him, as an older man, to find. As he would probably have been a drain on the Hampstead parish resources it is likely that the local Guardians of the Poor would have exercised the statutory regulations of The New Poor Law to remove Alexander back to Cornwall.

The Poor Law Amendment Act (1834) was also known as The New Poor Law. The Act's clauses established the parish to which a person belonged (i.e. his/her place of "settlement"), and clarified which parish was responsible for him should he become in need of Poor Relief. Central to the New Poor Law was the workhouse test. Relief officials could not refuse to grant relief to a poor person, but they could "offer the house" which meant requiring that the applicant enter the workhouse to obtain relief. Since those in the workhouse were maintained in deliberately unpleasant conditions, this was not an attractive option. If the need was a continuing requirement the pauper could be removed to his parish of settlement; in Alexander's case this would have been Helston. The details of his removal have not survived but it is likely that this happened after his wife died in 1835 and that the removal was forcible.

His death is recorded as being on the 21st October 1841 at Adelaide Street in Madron, Penzance, Cornwall. The fact that he was on old salt and this was Trafalgar Day probably did not go unnoticed at the time. The house in Adelaide Street was occupied at the time by Joseph Rowe, a mason, and family. Joseph made his mark as the informant of Alexander's death and was probably being paid by the Union of Parishes to provide shelter and sustenance for Alexander because the Helston workhouse was at its inmate capacity. The workhouse in Helston had room for only 100 inmates and those who could not be accommodated were placed with households in the area.

Alexander's occupation was given as a fellmonger, reprising his working life in the leather industries. When he entered the marines in 1808 he gave his occupation as a leather dresser and later his wife had established a connection with Horsleydown in Bermondsey, the centre of the British tannery industry at that time.

The highly unusual entry on his death certificate is the cause of death "Drinking cold water 4 days before his death". This may have meant that he drank impure, unboiled water, possibly from the stream that ran behind Adelaide Street which was probably polluted.

Alexander Ripper was given a pauper's burial in an unmarked grave in the churchyard of St Mary's, Penzance on 24th October 1841. No family would have been in attendance. On the same day two other paupers (78 year old Jane Avison and Jane Dyer, an infant) were also buried and it is probable that they were all in a common grave.