James R. Winder - The End and the Beginning

When James R. Winder awoke in his Trenton home on April 16, 1910, it probably seemed like a typical Saturday.  First he would walk the short distance from his home on Rutherford Avenue to his job at the Delaware Pottery Company.  That evening he would spend time with his family, possibly he and daughter Elsie would sing, perhaps he would see some of his grandchildren.  Sadly, however, this was not just another Saturday, it was the last day of James R. Winder's life.  After work he felt ill and although at first it didn't seem serious his condition worsened and he died late that afternoon.  According to his obituary, James was being treated for heart disease which proved fatal.

Both James’ obituary and the account of his funeral testified to his accomplishments in almost two decades in Trenton.  Described as “one of the best known potters” in Trenton, James’ funeral was attended by family, friends, co-workers, and representatives of four different masonic orders, who all told gave more than 20 floral arrangements.  Yet no matter how well the mourners may have thought they had known James, few probably knew the whole story.

Just over 53 years before that fateful day in Trenton, a boy named James was born in the small village of Astley in England, about 12 miles north of the city of Worcester.  When, however, in accordance with English law, his mother, Mary, registered the birth, the last name was not Winder.  Instead the surname was Ricketts because his mother and father were not married and James was illegitimate.  Working backward from January of 1857, James was conceived sometime between April and June of 1856, the child of Mary Ricketts of Astley and William Window, then a soldier in the British army.

Like his son, William had an extraordinary life.  Born in the small Gloucestershire village of Horsley in the southern Cotswold’s, William joined the British army in 1839.  At some point during his long military service, William’s name was corrupted to Winder (he was illiterate) probably because of a misunderstood accent.  Serving first with the 21^st regiment of Foot and then the 29^th, he spent over 13 years in India and was slightly wounded in the 2^nd Sikh War.  After returning to England in 1854, William briefly left the army before re-enlisting in the 80^th regiment.  During the crucial period of 1856, William was stationed at Aldershot some 145 miles from Astley.  How he and Mary met is a mystery, but however it began, this was no casual encounter.

                                          James R. Winder's Birth Certificate 

As Mary’s due date approached, she returned to her home in Astley, most likely to stay with her father, Samuel, and Ann, her step mother and there James was born on January 3, 1857.  Given the strict morals of Victorian society, it’s hard to imagine how Mary, and the totally innocent, James, escaped some level of shame and perhaps condemnation.  But then, as now, there were economic as well as moral implications.  Breakdowns in morality were one thing, expecting the community to support mother and child was something else.  To date, however, no evidence has been found indicating Mary and her young son lived “on the parish,” the Victorian equivalent of welfare.  Instead, somehow, some way, Mary and William became a family in every sense of the word.

                         St. Peter's Church, Astley where James R. Winder was baptized.

As a British soldier, William probably could have “disappeared” into the army and abandoned Mary and James.  However, the records of his last five years of military service tell a very different story.  For much of the period William was either on extended furlough or on recruiting duty in Worcester, not far from Astley.  Both sound like accommodations made by the military authorities to a good solider.  Finally in early 1861, William joined the regiment in Ireland and stayed there until his discharge in September.  During that time the 1861 British census was taken and no record has been found of Mary and/or James anywhere in England suggesting they were with William in Ireland.  Similarly no record of a marriage between William and Mary has been found, but in post 1861 records, Mary Ricketts is listed as Mary Winder and James Ricketts is now James R. Winder.  It seems very likely, therefore, that William and Mary married sometime during those nine months in Ireland.

When William finally left the army in 1861, he had a military pension which was important, but not enough to support a family of three.  So probably almost as soon as they arrived in Worcester, William got a job a Royal Worcester Porcelain where he would work for the next 30 years.  Employing some 400 workers at the time (50 women), Royal Worcester enjoyed a thriving business.  Given that the company continued to do well and William worked there, it’s no surprise that when James went to work six years later, at the tender age of 10, he also joined the work force at Royal Worcester Porcelain.

                                            Royal Worcester Porcelain Works 

At this point in Victorian England, there was broad consensus that children should stay in school until the age of 10.  However school was not mandatory, nor was it free so many working class children never went to school simply because the expense and lost wages (no matter how small) was too much of a financial burden.  There is no documented evidence that James went to school, but based on his later life it seems highly probable he enjoyed some formal education.

According to Royal Worcester’s records, James began work on May 1, 1867, “to train as a mould maker,”  It took him no more than four years to achieve the goal (at 14) as the 1871 census lists his occupation as mould maker.  A mould maker takes the original piece made by the modeler and makes molds which are used to produce the piece in large quantities.  While the original model making requires more artistic skill, mould making required not only skill, but also strength and stamina.  Molds were made by carefully cutting the model into pieces (sometimes as many as 20-30 different pieces) and then making a mold for each piece.  At 14 when most of his descendants were just starting high school, James R. Winder not only had a job, but a trade.