John Ivall (1777-1832) of Bishop's Sutton

John Ivall was a brother of Thomas Ivall (1781-1835), my great, great, great grandfather. This profile contains information from research done by Dennis Ivall.

John was the third of six children born to James and Dinah Ivall, who lived in the Hampshire village of Wield, near the town of Alton. James was a farmer and wheelwright. I don’t have a record of John’s birth, but he was christened on 17 November 1777 in Wield. As christenings were normally performed soon after a child’s birth, it seems likely that he was born in 1777.

In 1797 John married Jemima Gardner in Ropley, a picturesque village about 5 miles from Wield. He was aged 20 and she was 21. They went on to have 10 children (3 boys and 7 girls). They were James (1798-1829), Jane (b1800), Olive (b1802), Charlotte (b1805), Harriett (1807-81), John (1809-29), Mary (b1811), Sarah (1813-76), William (1817-51) and Louisa (1820-6). The family lived in Ropley. John, like several other Ivalls, was a coachmaker.

Ropley Church

John’s father James died in 1809. John was one of the executors of his estate. In 1810, the family moved to the nearby village of Bishop’s Sutton where John continued to work as a coachmaker.

Rebecca Ivall, a spinster, was a sister of James Ivall, John’s father. In her will, made in June 1811, she left one sixth of her estate to each of James’s children who were alive then, namely Mary Norgate (1775-1828), John, Charles (1779-1832), Thomas (1781-1835) and David (1795-1850). The other one sixth was divided amongst the six surviving children of her niece Mary Collyer, the daughter of Rebecca’s sister Mary. Rebecca died aged 72 in August 1811 and John inherited £510 (about £17,300 in modern day terms) on which death duties of £12 15s (ie 2.5%) were paid.

 The following item appeared in the Salisbury and Winchester Journal dated August 24th, 1812 :

KING'S WORTHY, near WINCHESTER.

BENJAMIN HOBBS, BUILDER and WHEELWRIGHT, returns his most grateful thanks to his friends and the public for all favours conferred on him during his long residence at King's Worthy; and respectfully begs leave to recommend his Successor, Mr. JOHN IVALL, to their notice; not doubting but every effort will be used by him to merit their kind support.
All Persons having any Demands on Mr.HOBBS, are requested to forward the same to him, at Worthy, in order that they may be immediately adjusted; and all those indebted to him, are earnestly entreated to settle the same with as little delay as possible.
JOHN IVALL, having purchased the Premises and Stock in Trade of Mr.BENJAMIN HOBBS, begs leave most respectfully to solicit the same kind patronage and support in the BUILDING and WHEELWRIGHT Branches which has been so long experienced by Mr.Hobbs; at the same time requests permission to assure those who may be pleased to honour him with their commands, that his utmost endeavours shall be exerted to give general and universal satisfaction.

(Kings Worthy is about 9 miles from Bishop’s Sutton)

It seems that John was not able to make a success of the business he had bought. Only four months later (on December 21^st 1812) a notice appeared in the Hampshire Chronicle announcing the sale by auction at Kings Worthy of all the stock in trade of “Mr Ival, Wheelwright and Carpenter, quitting his Residence.”

A Court of Chancery document in the National Archives shows that there was a dispute over payment to Mr Hobbs. The document (reference C13/1404/26), dated 22^nd March 1813, is a petition from Benjamin Hobbs to the Right Honourable Lord Eldon, High Chancellor. Mr Hobbs says that John Ivall entered into an agreement to pay him £2,000 for the business and £830 for the fixtures and stock. John Ivall paid a deposit of £300 but has failed to pay the balance. According to Mr Hobbs, John Ivall pretends that the agreement is not fairly made and so is not binding on him. He queries Mr Hobbs’s title to the business. I can find no further records on this case and so don’t know what the outcome was.

During the time when John Ivall was living in Bishop’s Sutton, Jane Austen lived in the nearby village of Chawton (from 1809 to 1817). She wrote her best known books such as Pride and Prejudice during this period.

There is a document in the London Metropolitan Archives which relates to John Ivall of Bishop’s Sutton, coach maker. The summary states

“Dated 25^th May 1816, Manor of Staines, Mr John Ivall to Messrs H&R Horne, Letter of Attorney to Surrender Premises held in the above Manor to the use of Thomas Dexter.”

The premises were two copyhold messuages (ie dwelling houses with outbuildings and land) on the north side of Staines Street.

John’s occupation is given as carpenter in the baptism records for his children Sarah (in 1814) and William (in 1817). It is given as shopkeeper in the baptism record of his daughter Louisa in 1820.

Dinah, John’s mother, died in 1819. On her death John inherited ¼ of the trust fund set up for her under the will of James Ivall, her husband.

Louisa, John’s youngest daughter, died in 1826 aged 5. James, his eldest son, died in 1829 aged 31. His second son, John died the same year aged 20. Jemima, John’s wife died in 1830 aged 53. All were buried in Bishop’s Sutton.

A Hampshire directory dated 1830 lists John Ivall, Bishop’s Sutton under the heading “Shopkeepers and Dealers in Sundries”.

John Ivall made a will dated 3 April 1832 in which he is described as “Shopkeeper of Bishop’s Sutton”. He appointed his eldest daughter Jane Ivall and son-in-law Thomas White (a cabinet maker of New Alresford and the husband of his second daughter Olive) as his executors. They were instructed to sell his property and divide the proceeds between his six surviving children and his grandchild Henry Hasted (the son of his daughter Charlotte). The will instructs his trustees to retain the share of his daughter Harriett Ivall and supply it from time to time for her use as they think best, which could imply that she was mentally disabled. Harriett appears in the 1851 census living with her widowed sister Mary in Bishop’s Sutton and died in 1881 in the New Alresford workhouse.

Bishop's Sutton Church

John died on 2 October 1832 aged 55. He was buried in Bishop’s Sutton. I have visited the churchyard but could find no Ivall graves - most of the gravestones are illegible. 

An auction was held to sell the house and business of John Ivall after his death.

Item in Hampshire Chronicle, 29 October 1832

On 18 October 1843 (I don't know why there was an 11 year delay) Thomas White, the surviving executor, was duly sworn to administer John Ivall’s estate, which was worth less than £300.

As far as I know, none of John’s sons had children.

Phil Taylor ©2012