A to Z Challenge 2020 - M

The Blogging from A to Z Challenge is to post everyday (except Sunday) in the month of April 2020 starting with the letter A and going all the way to Z. My theme is...
Ancestor Occupations 

MILLER

My 6th great grandfather was Thomas King of Loddiswell, Devon, England. In 1722 Thomas owned the Loddiswell Mill and mill lands freehold and much of the surrounding lands leasehold for 2000 years. 

Choice of Pursuits, pg52

In 1740 Thomas owned a water powered mill. He milled corn into flour and supplied local bakeries. Mill lands included a garden, orchards, 2 marshes, a plantation, a malt house and malt house orchard, pasture lands, a dry glade and a nursery. My 5th great grandfather Thomas King took it over when his father died.

The Mill at Loddiswell and the bridge pg.146-147 

After Thomas died his only living son Clement King, my 4th great grandfather, was the next proprietor. He is on the 1798 tax rolls for Loddiswell. 

Clement King died in 1822 and he left the Mill lands (in green) to his eldest son Thomas. Thomas King was described as a miller and maltster.

This included the house, gardens, orchards, pastures, malthouse and orchards, etc 

Tithe Apportionments 1838 for Loddiswell, Devon pg.18

In 1841 George Blamy of Kingsbridge went bankrupt and Thomas was one of his creditors

The mill had a little visitor that made the newspapers!

Thomas King died in 1866 at the age of 75 and left the mill to his only living son John. 

John Clement King took over the Loddiswell Mill at the age of 31 and lived there with his mother and two unmarried sisters, Susanna and Mary. According to the 1871 census he employed 3 men and a boy. John died soon after in 1874 at the age of 38. He had no issue and so the mill went out of the King family. The mill was put up for let and his property for sale.

His sisters got a small inheritance and promptly married. Mary married Henry Hannaford and Susanna married Philip Foale. Philip took over running the mill although it was put up to let again in 1881 and 1885. Philip died in 1894. The mill was let to Mr J. Baker when there was a fire at the mill. 

My 3rd great grandfather George King was the fourth son of Clement King.  He became the miller at Woodleigh as occupier on lands owned by John Netherton.

 In 1856 George sold off some of his property to help his sons emigrate. 

George King died at Woodleigh in 1864.

Three of his sons and a daughter emigrated to Australia.  His oldest son George King, my great great grandfather, emigrated to Canada with his wife and son and worked as a miller in Montreal. 

A miller in the late 1800s worked a 10 hour day and made about $9-10 a week.

George had five more children in Montreal and died in 1875 at the age of 48.