Persons of Interest – Samuel Squire Gimblett

Samuel was born in Exbourne, Devon in 1822. He was the fourth of eight children, only one of which died in infancy. His father William was an ‘Ag Lab’ but was obviously determined that his children would do well. Four of his five sons left wills and followed professions. Samuel followed his elder brother John into the shoe-making business and made quite a name for himself. He became a boot and shoe manufacturer, running shops, warehouses and a factory at Crediton. He employed a large number of people, both in his properties and those who worked at home for him. He even set up a wholesale and retail establishment in Ballarat in Australia.

Samuel didn’t suffer fools gladly and at least two apprentices ran away from him. He was summoned to court by another apprentice for assault but was cleared. A fourth apprentice, however, proved that Samuel had ‘exceeded his right to chastise’ and he was fined £2. He was very quick to take to court creditors and thieves (including his own employees); although on one occasion he was told that he shouldn’t leave boots hanging outside the shop where children can reach them.

In 1890 Samuel faced a strike over some new boots he wanted to produce. A lot of the wrangling took place in the newspaper columns (great for historians). The strike took over a month to resolve, but eventually found a peaceful solution. In common with many employers, Samuel funded an annual outing for all his staff and often hired a band to entertain.

Samuel obviously didn’t like being alone and married four times, the last time when he was 71 years old. He had eight children from his first two marriages but only one son, Samuel Richard Hambly who was to take over the business. Samuel retired to Teignmouth in Devon and died in 1908 at the age of 86. He was buried in his beloved Crediton.

Barbara Roach, Member 4013

On the second and fourth Mondays of each month, we share a short story provided by a member about a person of interest in their one-name study. Whether your person is good, bad, or simply interesting or unusual, please send us your story.

This post is from Guild member Barbara Roach, who is working on her Gimblett ONS.  Barbara is a member of the Guild’s Devon South Region. Her Gimblett ONS is a category 3 with 5 variants, and it has a DNA project website, a members’ website, and a majority of reconstructed family trees for this surname. Barbara also has another ONS for the surname Doidge. She has been a member of the Guild since 2002.

Why not submit a story (200-300 words OR a bit longer if need be) about a person of interest in your own one-name study. Email each story and image(s) to marketing@one-name.org.