John Smith, Potter of Frimley

Was he William Smith's son, and uncle of George Sturt?

Jo Gosney writes (25 Aug 2006):

There is a companion book to ‘William Smith, Potter and Farmer’ entitled ‘A Farmer’s Life’. This is written in the same anecdotal style by George Sturt, who was William Smith’s grandson and John Smith’s nephew. The book outlines the life of John Smith and says that despite learning the trade of a potter, he utterly disliked the industry. It becomes apparent from the book that after working out the tenancy of the farm in Farnborough, (confirmed in the 1881 census), he spent the remainder of his life as a dairy farmer living in Frimley, possibly at Mytchett Farm. The book also infers that there were a number of John Smiths in the vicinity. ‘A Farmer’s Life was originally published in 1922 as a limited edition under George Sturt’s pseudonym George Bourne. A facsimile of the original was published by Caliban Books in 1979.

According to William Smith, Potter & Farmer by George Bourne (George Sturt) William Smith's first marriage was short lived and nothing was known about her. It also states that his second marriage took place at Westminster on January 6 1821 to Susannah Blackburne. Other documents indicate that

Susannah's family also came to live in Farnborough.

The Farnborough Parish records show that William & Susannah had six children, one of which died at 2 yrs old. John was the eldest, born on 10/10/1833. The family is recorded on the 1851, 61 and 81 Censuses. John married Jane Hicks on 7 October 1861 and lived in Farnborough until after 1881. On re-reading 'A Farmer's Life' it would appear he lived at Coleford Farm, not Mytchett Farm because the book refers to a new villa at the end of the lane leading to the farm. The 1901 OS map seems to bear this out.

From this it would seem that William's son was not the John Smith, Potter of Frimley.