Thomas Prigmore

Thomas Prigmore
A Brief History
Written by son, Charles H. Prigmore


Date of Birth: May 1839
Place of Birth: Felmersham, Bedfordshire, England
Parents: Ann Saunders and Dickens Prigmore
Spouse: Elizabeth Smith
Date of Marriage: 12 October 1882
Child: Charles Henry Prigmore
Date of Death: 7 July 1896

My father was in the British Army before he married. He was never at war but was a guard in the British colonies in India. After he left the service he married and lived at Oakley, Bedfordshire, England. He was employed on an estate owned by the Duke of Bedford. He had some kind of disagreement with the foreman of the estate, and as all the homes were owned by the Duke of Bedford, Father had to move from Oakley to Milton Ernest, a village about 2 ½ miles from Oakley. I was about 10 months old when we moved. Father was employed by farmers part of the time and part of the time he worked for himself. He used to earn money gathering mushrooms, water cress, getting violets and many other wildflowers and taking them into Bedford where the wealthy people would buy them like hotcakes. He had a pension from the British government which kept us going financially. His money from the government came through the mail every 3 months. I well remember the envelope in the mail for on the top was “On Her Majesty’s Service.” (Queen Victoria was queen at the time) I looked forward to these envelopes as Father used to hire a horse and trap (as we used to call it in England). It was a real treat to go to Bedford in a horse and trap and to eat in the restaurant, go to the grocery and clothing store, and sometimes to the store for tools to work with. I always got candies, nuts and oranges.

When Father got sick I remember the doctor coming and telling Father to have patience. Dr. Hicks said he was doing all he could for Father. I remember at times Father had to struggle to get his breath, and Mother would try to help him. I used to go to Sharnbrook to the doctor’s office for medicine. The doctor used to make up the medicine himself. We did not go to the drug store or the chemist shop as it was called in England. If we wanted a doctor in a hurry we just had to go in person to get him as there was no telephone. My father died when I was 12 years old. I do not know what caused my father’s death, but Mother used to think it was the Indian climate that had a lot to do with it.