1748
George Marsh (born 1683) aged 64/65
Francis Marsh – aged 39/49 – elder brother of Milbourne, Mary and George
Milbourne Marsh – aged 38/3
Elizabeth Marsh (ne Evans)
Eliza Marsh (later Crisp) – aged 12/13
Francis Milbourne Marsh – aged 9/10
John Marsh – aged 1
Mary Duval (ne Marsh) – aged 35/36 – Sister of George and Milbourne
John Duval – husband of Mary Duval
Elizabeth Duval – aged in teens
George Marsh – aged 25/26
—————————————————————————————-
16 Sept 1748
Commissioner Davies, tho’ not a man of business always behave like a gentleman, and informed me this day that a Peace would soon happen when he as a Commissioner of the Navy for the business of Deptford and Woolwich yards, should of course be left out of the patent for the Navy Board, when I should consequently be discharged, and at the same time he offered me his very best service and interest. Hereupon I applied to my worthy friend Admiral Mathews [Admiral Thomas Mathews, 1676-1751] for whom I had transacted some important private business on his Tryal; for a recommendation to the Lords of the Treasury for an order to attend the custom house keys to qualify myself for a Kings waiter land waiter, or gauger there, having no hopes of getting re-established a Clerk in the Navy Office Mr.Haddock being dead, and the new Comptroller having many followers, as well as the other Commissioners of their own serve. In consequence of having obtained this order, I did by the permission of Commr. Davies attend the Custom Keys from Deptford yard every morning by day light, and returned every day about 4 o’clock in the afternoon, from which time I did the business of the office except what my Bro’ Clerk did, and as this attendance at the Custom House wharf happened in the winter six months I went through a great deal of bad weather, and to save all possible expense I walked to the upper port of Rotherhithe and crossed over the river to Tower Wharf and back again every day the same way to my lodging at Deptford to dinner, which at that late hour was always cold and uncomfortable, but I was blessed with good spirits and established health, so as to have but trifling returns at times of my disorder and was wonderfully supported with the strongest hopes of prosperity, tho’ I had no good reasons for such hopes, by seriously reflecting on my then situation. My mind too at times was rather unsatisfied by reflecting on the way of life I was pursuing, so directly contrary to my inclination, for intemperance was always my aversion. The first day I attended with my order addressed to Mr White, a land waiter, I was upon the keys about 7 o’clock in the morning, which was very cold and frosty where I found him sitting under a shed receiving the goods from a Hamburgh shop wraped up in such a manner that no part of his face was to be seen, but his nose and mouth, with half a hot roasted pig, and a bowl of strong hot rum punch just brought to him.
The idea of this and the unseasonableness too at that time in the morning gave me great dislike of the employment. However, as nothing better offered, having miscarried in a recommendation from Mr Compton to be appointed a Naval Officer at Antigua, I persevered in my attendance every day to 17 March 1740 when I was called upon from my own application by the Board of land surveyors to the Custom house to pass an examination having attending the keys near six months as well as the gaugers office and produced proper certificate there, and was accordingly put into a little room and a sheet of paper filled with questions for me to resolve, set by Mr Sankeys one of the Surveyors whose turn it was to examine pupils, who then locked me in, and returned in about an hour and examined the same, and tho’ it was very cold, I perspired with fear least I should be deficient in the business, and began with observing to him I had done all his questions, except those relating to marvel pillers and Fir bauks, which were article I never saw received, consequently did not know the method of measuring them for the King’s duty. To this he made no answer, but examined the whole of the questions and my working of them and then took me by the hand and introduced me to the Board of Surveyors and signified to them that he would be answerable for my being fully qualified for a King’s waiter, a land waiter or a Gauger in the Port of London or any other port of England, a certificate thereof their Secretary wrote accordingly which they all signed as well as the Gaugers. When I first went to the gaugers office one of them behaved very uncivil because I had not attended them sooner, observing that an idea was conceived that one months attendance on them was sufficient, but they found many pupils could not qualify themselves in two or three months for their business, to which I replied I hoped that would not be my case, he then roughly asked when I meant to begin I answered that minute if he pleased, upon which he gave me a book and directed me to read it, in the first leaf of which was written that every pupil who had that book to read must pay a Guinea, which I immediately complied with, and after looking over it, I told him it would be no use to me, for that I could gauge any vessel or cask by figures or the common seale but was totally ignorant of the method and use of their rules. Upon which he set me many questions and having answered them to his satisfaction he became very kind and was very pleased to say one weeks attendance on them would do for me. Commissioner Mead of the Customs was related to my intended wife, but nevertheless I made no interest with him in passing my examination but endeavoured to qualify myself by study and application so as to want no favour on that account.