Thomas Wale was a
Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and North ...
gentleman born at
Risby, Suffolk
Risby is a village and civil parish in the West Suffolk district of Suffolk in eastern England, located around west of Bury St. Edmunds, north of the A14 road. It is believed that the village was founded in about the tenth century, presumably o ...
on 7 September 1701 and died in 1796. He is notable for having left a significant quantity of documents collated throughout his life which constituted the book ''
My Grandfather's Pocket Book''. His documents provide a unique insight into 18th-century English life. The
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...
refers to him as "an eighteenth-century squire".
Background
He was the son of Margaret Sparke of Risby and
Gregory Wale
Gregory Wale (1668 – 5 June 1739) was a Cambridgeshire gentleman, a Justice of the Peace for Cambridgeshire and Conservator of the River Cam.
Parents
Gregory Wale was the son of Thomas Wale of Lackford, Suffolk (born 8 January 1642) and Penel ...
. His personal papers were sealed in a cupboard in his house and only discovered a century later when the property was destroyed. These papers form the basis of the book "My Grandfather's Pocket Book", published by his Grandson.
Early life
He grew up and was educated at
Raslingworth,
Walden
''Walden'' (; first published in 1854 as ''Walden; or, Life in the Woods'') is a book by American transcendentalist writer Henry David Thoreau. The text is a reflection upon the author's simple living in natural surroundings. The work is part ...
, and
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
. He became an apprentice to Mr William Allen at
Lynn for six years, starting in about 1718.
Career
Thomas Wale was a merchant in
Riga
Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...
and
Narva
Narva, russian: Нарва is a municipality and city in Estonia. It is located in Ida-Viru County, Ida-Viru county, at the Extreme points of Estonia, eastern extreme point of Estonia, on the west bank of the Narva (river), Narva river which ...
over a period of thirty years. He described his occupation as "trafic and merchantdise" (page 339). Part of his business involved the trade of ships' masts. This family business had been commenced in the 17th century. It passed under a number of different names during the 18th century, according to his current partners. Most notably it was known as
Wale, Fraser & Company (c1747),
Wale, Auchterlony and company and
Wale, Peirson & Ouchterlony. He also pursued farming in Cambridgeshire.
The family Business
In 1653 Robert Wale's wife was joyntured for life out of
Harston Hall
Harston is a village and civil parish in South Cambridgeshire, England, located around 5 miles (8 km) south of Cambridge. In 2011, it had a population of 1,740.
Village Sign
The village sign was erected in the Queen's Silver Jubilee yea ...
and her son Robert started the merchants business at Riga with £500 obtained by mortgage on this property. The Hall had been purchased by an earlier Thomas Wale in 1613.
Thomas Wale first visited Riga in 1724 aboard the Larke and traded there until 1730. He described his early business there as "chiefly in the factorage and commission way: For his said patron Mr Allen and his own friends".
Family life
He married Louisa Rudolphina Rahten at
Mittau,
Courland
Courland (; lv, Kurzeme; liv, Kurāmō; German and Scandinavian languages: ''Kurland''; la, Curonia/; russian: Курляндия; Estonian: ''Kuramaa''; lt, Kuršas; pl, Kurlandia) is one of the Historical Latvian Lands in western Latvia. ...
,
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
on 17 March 1749. They married again in Riga in 1760 "to convince the world of their connubil rights". She was the daughter of Hoff Prediger the Reverend Nicolaus Friedrich Rahten of Lunenburg,
Brunswick.
Thomas Wale had eight children, but only four survived. His sons included General Sir
Charles Wale
Sir Charles Wale KCB (16 August 1765 – 20 March 1845) was an English General and the last British governor of Martinique between about 1812 and 1815. On 25 February 1831 he was appointed Colonel of the 33rd Regiment of Foot and was given the g ...
(born 15 August 1752) who became Colonel of the 33rd (The Duke of Wellington's) Regiment of Foot on 25 February 1831. Charles Wale was the last British governor of
Martinique
Martinique ( , ; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Matinik or ; Kalinago: or ) is an island and an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France. An integral part of the French Republic, Martinique is located in th ...
between about 1812 and 1815. He was responsible for capturing Guadeloupe from the French and was given the governorship in recognition of this.
Wale's sister Margaret Wale (born 24 February 1699 died 1762) lived at
Harston
Harston is a village and civil parish in South Cambridgeshire, England, located around 5 miles (8 km) south of Cambridge. In 2011, it had a population of 1,740.
Village Sign
The village sign was erected in the Queen's Silver Jubilee ye ...
, probably in
Harston Hall
Harston is a village and civil parish in South Cambridgeshire, England, located around 5 miles (8 km) south of Cambridge. In 2011, it had a population of 1,740.
Village Sign
The village sign was erected in the Queen's Silver Jubilee yea ...
. She married Allen Hurrell (senior, died 1740) at
Little Shelford
Little Shelford is a village located to the south of Cambridge, in the county of Cambridgeshire, in eastern England. The River Granta lies between it and the larger village of Great Shelford, and both are served by Shelford railway station, whic ...
on 12 January 1719 and their daughter Margaret (Peggy) Hurrell (junior) married John (Littel) Bridge (died 1776, buried at Harston) an "eminent counsellor at law" at
Lackford
Lackford is a village and civil parish in the West Suffolk district of Suffolk in eastern England. Located around four miles north-west of Bury St Edmunds on the A1101, in 2005 it had a population of 270.
The parish contains the Lackford Lake ...
, near
Risby,
Suffolk
Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...
near Bury St Edmunds in 1752 (In "My Grandfather's pocket book" this marriage is given (on page 307) as follows: "married Mr. Budge
.e. Bridgeat Lackford, Aug.12th, 1758
he '58 here may also be an error John Littel Bridge's brother Thomas was also in business in Riga, associated with Thomas Wale. Margaret Bridge's son was Thomas Bridge (Little) of
Shudy Camps
Shudy Camps is a village in the south-east corner of Cambridgeshire, England, near the border of Essex and Suffolk, and is part of the Hundreds of Cambridgeshire, Chilford Hundred. In 2001, according to the census, the population was 310, increa ...
(died c1830). Thomas Bridge's daughter Henrietta Bridge married William Long and their daughter was
Henrietta Langhorne. All of the above were notable landowners in Harston John Littel Bridge was the son of Robert Bridge of Shudy Camps and Sarah (or Susanna) daughter of Thomas (or John) Littel of Halstead Co, Essex
[E.N. Geijer, Rouge Dragos Pursuivant of Arms, College of Arms, Queen Victoria Street London EC4]
Thomas Wale left an early description of how foreigners became naturalised in England.
Other Details
He left papers containing to all details of his life and times, including recipes, ledgers, descriptions of his journeys and family, and copies of contemporary documents.
As well as accounts of his travels within England, Thomas Wale also left details about his voyages to
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
,
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
and
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
.
References
Further reading
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Wale, Thomas
1701 births
1796 deaths
People from Harston
People from the Borough of St Edmundsbury