Robert Minter

1798 - 1856  (57 years)

• Name	Robert Minter
  Birth	15 Jul 1798	Isle of Thanet, Kent
  Christening	19 Aug 1798	St Lawrence, Thanet, Kent
  Gender	Male
  _UID	9F770FC7AB284E158BDB7156007A5891B2B3
  Death	26 Apr 1856	Broadstairs, Kent   [1]
  Burial	1 May 1856	St Peters, Kent   [2]
  Notes	May 2007: until recently no wife and family were associated with Robert. A number of strands of information now suggest that in 1825 Robert married Sophia READER, one of three sisters who would have a close relationship through the second half of the 19th century. The parents of Sophia READER were John and Mary READER. They had several children, of which the following have been found on the IGI, all being baptised at Birchington, Kent: Martha 3 Jun 1787 Thomas27 Mar 1791 Mary Ann10 Feb 1793 Stephen23 Mar 1794 Sophia 8 Mar 1795 Sarah 3 Sep 1797 Louisa18 Aug 1799 William15 Feb 1801 Maria 1 Jul 1804 Harriet24 Apr 1806 Of these, three are of significance in Robert Minter's story: Sophia - who married Robert Minter on 17 October 1825; Sarah - who married William Culmer Louisa - who married Christopher Ovenden It appears that Robert and Sophia had two children, John Thomas and Sophia. The fact that John Thomas was baptised in Shoreditch as the son of Robert Minter 'of Margate Cottage, gentleman' has caused a couple of interesting questions. Firstly, why 'Margate Cottage' when Robert probably originated in Ramsgate, Isle of Thanet? The answer may be that Robert had nothing to do with the name of the house he lived in or that he chose the name for reasons we cannot know. Secondly, why was Robert classed as a 'gentleman', when in practice he was a servant? This answer to this could be that he regarded himself as a gentleman and certainly by 1851 (admittedly a long time after John Thomas was born) Robert was a butler, perhaps a 'gentleman's gentleman'. Although Robert and Sophia married in 1825 they seem to have led quite separate lives, as the following census details illustrate: 1841 Robert Minter, aged 40, born 'out of county', was a servant at Eastbury House, Compton, Surrey. The entry [indexed as MINTEN by ancestry.com] for Sophia Minter, age 50, nurse, living at Long Alley, St Leonard Shoreditch probably relates to Robert's wife. But despite extensive searching, no trace of son John Thomas has been found. William (47, carpenter) and Sarah (42) CULMER lived in Hardres Street, Preston by Wingham, Ramsgate, Kent. Christopher (45, shoemaker) and Louisa (40) OVENDEN [indexed as COENDEN by ancestry.com] lived at Forest Cottages, St John Hackney, London. With them were Robert and Sophia's daughter Sophia Minter (9) and a six year-old Maria GOODMAN. 1851 Robert was living in Denne Park House, Horsham, Sussex, aged 52, a butler to the then Deputy Lieutenant, Charles G Eversfield. He was shown as being married, born Isle of Thanet, Kent. Sophia (indexed as MENTER by ancestry.com) (married, 55) was a visitor with William (59, carpenter) and Sarah (53) CULMER in Meeting Street, Ramsgate. John Tho. Minter (nephew, 23, boot closer) and Sophia Minter (niece, 18, no occupation), plus Maria GOODMAN (niece, 16) were with Christopher (55, bootmaker) and Lucy [presumably Louisa] (52) OVENDEN at 1 Forest Cottages, Forest Row, Hackney. At the time of son John Thomas's wedding in 1855, Robert was described as an inn keeper. 1861 Robert had died in 1856. His widow Sophia (65, gentlewoman) was living as a relative with William (69, master carpenter) and Sarah (63) CULMER at 8 Meeting Street, Ramsgate. Daughter Sophia (28, unmarried, no occupation) was with her uncle Christopher (65, bootmaker) and aunt Louisa (61) OVENDEN at 1 Forest Road (shoemaker's shop), Hackney. Maria GOODMAN (niece, 26, born Westminster) was still living there. Son John Thomas was now married - see his notes for census details for 1861 onwards. 1871 The older Sophia (76), wrongly described as 'retired carpenter's wife', lived with Sarah CULMER (74), also now widowed, wrongly described as 'retired publican's wife, at 46 Hardres Street, Ramsgate. It looks as if the two women's occupation were transposed by the census enumerator. The younger Sophia (33, unmarried) still lived as niece/housekeeper with her widowed uncle Christopher OVENDEN (75, bootmaker) at 8 Forest Road, St Johns Hackney. Maria GOODMAN (niece, 36, born Westminster St Johns) was still living there. The identity of Maria GOODMAN is a mystery; she has not been looked for after 1871. 1881 The older Sophia (85) and her daughter Sophia (48) lived at 38 Hardres Street, Ramsgate. Both were described as lodging house keeper. 1891 The older Sophia died in 1887, aged 92. Her daughter Sophia now 58 and unmarried, living on her own means, continued to live at 38 Hardres Street. She died in 1897. Thanks to Jan Peak and Joan Hoey for helping to piece the above together. Tombstone at St Peter, Thanet: Sacred to the memory of Robert Minter who died 26 April 1856 age 58 years Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord.
  Person ID	I62	Whitstable, Kent
  Last Modified	20 Nov 2010

  
  

  Father	Thomas Minter,   b. Bef 19 Apr 1767   d. Bef 10 Nov 1837 (Age 70 years)
  Mother	Sarah LANGRIDGE   d. Bef 14 Jan 1800
  Marriage	27 May 1797	St Lawrence, Thanet, Kent   [3]
  	Thomas Minter batchelor and Sarah Langridge spinster both of this parish by banns, sign/sign. Alice Langridge (sign), John Langridge (sign) witnesses.
  Family ID	F17	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Sophia READER,   b. Bef 8 Mar 1795, Birchington, Kent d. 23 Aug 1887, Ramsgate, Kent (Age 92 years)
  Marriage	17 Oct 1825	St George Canterbury, Kent   [4]
  	Married by banns. Robert Minter bachelor of St Mary Magdalene and Sophia Reader of this parish. Both signed. Witnesses William Reader and Harriet Reader.
  Children	1. John Thomas Minter,   b. 8 Apr 1827, Shoreditch, London d. Jun 1870, Hackney RD (Age 43 years)   2. Sophia Sarah Minter,   b. 30 Aug 1832, St George Hanover Square, London d. 21 Apr 1897, Ramsgate, Kent (Age 64 years)
  Family ID	F93	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	8 Sep 2009

  
  

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  Death - 26 Apr 1856 - Broadstairs, Kent  = Link to Google Earth

  
  

• Sources

  [S7] BMD index. [S51] Cliff Minter from Thanet St Peter PR. [S49] Cliff Minter from St Lawrence Thanet PR. [S23] Cliff Minter from transcript of Parish Register, April 2007.