Jason Povey was a butcher of Great Marlow with a shop open in the town by 1840. He occupied sufficient property to qualify as a voter, a hungered for privilege for many. In the months running up to the 1842 election Jason was in financial straits to such a degree that he was declared bankrupt. Amongst other creditors he owed money to wealthy local landowner William Clayton for animals bought for slaughter. So much so that Clayton's employees would no longer supply him with any fresh stock.
Imagine Jason's surprise then when the day before the parliamentary election in which Clayton was a candidate, he got a visit from one such employee. Jason was handed 7 sheep which he is paid an unspecified amount of money to 'take off their hands'. Before he went Clayton's employee checked that Jason had understood the situation. Jason reassured him he wouldn't dream of voting for anyone but Clayton at the election.
Such bribery was a Marlow speciality- we were as famous for that as our lace making- though it happened everywhere.
Unfortunately Jason seems to have talked about his good luck. The bribery was reported to authorities and after an enquiry his vote was thrown out of the count. Other dodgy Marlow votes went the same way.
This would not have stopped him voting another time.
Some background:
Jason was originally from Englefield near Reading in Berkshire, the town where he married his wife Keziah Eagle in 1835. Keziah was from a Marlow family. Her dad Joseph and sisters Elizabeth and Harriet ran a grocery shop in Spittal Street while her widowed sister Charlotte Sawyer ran a West Street bakery for many years. Keziah herself also served in Jason's shop.
The couple suffered robberies of meat from their premises in both 1838 and 1840. Butcher's shops were particularly prone, along with the drapers in Marlow, to fall victim to shoplifting.
Their son Jason junior also worked as a butcher.
Researched and written by Charlotte Day.
Related Posts To Read
All about the Eagles here
Charlotte Sawyer and her bakery here
©Marlow Ancestors. You are welcome to use content from this post with credit to this blog.
Some sources:
The Jurist, volume 6 part 1 1843 published by S. Sweet. Copy owned by Uni of California, digitized by Google. Accessed November 2020.
Bucks Herald 9th April 1842. Copy at the British Library, accessed via the BNA November 2020.
The Era, 13th February 1842. As above.
Great Marlow Parish Registers.
Englefield baptism found by Jane Pullinger.