Harris (Bigg) Bigg-Wither Esq
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Harris (Bigg) Bigg-Wither Esq (1781 - 1833)

Harris Bigg-Wither Esq formerly Bigg
Born in Chilton Folliat, Wiltshire, Englandmap
Ancestors ancestors
Husband of — married 2 Nov 1804 in East Dean, Sussex, England, United Kingdommap
Descendants descendants
Died at age 51 in Wooton Saint Lawrence, Hampshire, England, United Kingdommap
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Profile last modified | Created 6 Jul 2018
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The man whose proposal of marriage was refused by Jane Austen. [1]

Biography

Notables Project
Harris (Bigg) Bigg-Wither Esq is Notable.
Harris Bigg was born at Chilton Folliat, Wiltshire, in 1781, the son of Lovelace Bigg and Margaret Elizabeth Blachford. [2]
In 1789, the family surname was changed to Bigg-Wither when Harris's father inherited Manydown Park in Wootton St Lawrence, Hampshire. [3]
Harris obtained his education at Worcester College, Oxford. [2]
On 2nd November 1804, he married Anne Howe Frith, daughter of Beddington Framley Frith, Esq. (Lieutenant-Colonel of the Hants Militia), of Carisbrooke, Isle of Wight, and Jane Howe. [2] The Hampshire Telegraph noticed the marriage:
    At East Dean Church, Sussex, Harris Bigg Wither, Esq. a Captain in the North Hants Militia, only son of L. B. Wither, Esq. of Manydown, in this County, to Miss Frith, only daughter of Lieut. Colonel Frith, of the same regiment. [4]
Mr. Bigg-Wither died on the 25th March 1833 at Tangier Park House in Wootton St Lawrence, Hampshire, aged fifty-one years. [2]
Extract from the Rev. Reginald F. Bigg-Wither’s work, “Materials for a History of the Wither Family” (1907):
By the marriage settlement £400, secured on the Wymering property, was settled on his wife for life, and £4000 to sons and £10,000 to daughters. These sums, by power of appointment, were divided in equal shares to the four younger sons and five daughters, with addition of £1500 each to two younger sons.
During his father’s lifetime a family arrangement was much debated, whereby the estates at Woolston (Berkshire) should be charged instead of Wymering with the jointure of Mrs. Harris Bigg-Wither, and with the portions of the children. Eventually, however, in 1828, the Woolston property, with its fine old sixteenth century house full of tapestry and old oak, which Henry VIII had given to Jane Seymour, was sold to Captain G. Butler for £25,500, and the portions of the sisters were paid off.
... On his father’s death in 1813, Harris Bigg-Wither came to Manydown. Here he lived, as his forefathers, the life of a country squire, diligent in magisterial work, kind to the poor, and beloved by his family. Owing to his stammering, he was a man of few words, and rather avoided society. He was, however, very hospitable in his own house, but quick-tempered. A story is told of him, that on the occasion of a visit of the members of the Winchester Cathedral Chapter to the demesne lands of the Chapter of Manydown, after some dispute as to his right to cut down timber in the Park, Mr. Bigg-Wither invited the Reverend Canons, who were all his personal friends, to dinner, and gave directions to his butler that after dinner, the customary bowl of punch was to be made up of a bottle of each of the excellent wines that had been served during dinner. The mixture, as can be imagined, was not appetising, and after all had tasted with wry faces, he said to his guests: "Gentlemen, my punch is like you. In your individual capacity you are all very good fellows, but in your corporate capacity you are very disagreeable."
In 1831, Harris Bigg-Wither let Manydown to Sir Richard Rycroft (Bart.) and went to live at Tangier Park House, which adjoins Manydown, about three-quarters of a mile to the north on higher ground. The house, park, and farm (175 acres), which he had long desired to buy from the Sclater family, was at first rented and afterwards bought by his son Lovelace. Here at Tangier he died suddenly from apoplexy, March 25th, 1833, in the fifty-second year of his age.
His widow first went with her daughters to live at Farnham. Eventually she settled at Winchester, where she died November 13th, 1866, aged eighty-three years.[2]

Sources

  1. Austen-Leigh, Joan (Victoria, British Columbia). "New Light Thrown on JA's Refusal of Harris Bigg-Wither." Journal of the Jane Austen Society of North America – Persuasions. Vol. 8 (1986). Digital copy online at www.jasna.org/assets/Persuasions/No.-8/austen-leigh.pdf (accessed 2018-07-06).
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Bigg-Wither, Rev. Reginald F. Materials for a History of the Wither Family. "Pedigree VI. Bigg-Wither of Manydown." (pg 44.) "Chapter IV. Bigg-Wither of Manydown and Tangier." (pp 57–59.) "Pedigree VII. Children and Issue of Rev. Lovelace Bigg-Wither and Emma Jemima Orde." (pg 60.) "Pedigree VIII. Descendants of Harris Jervoise and Charles, Second and Fourth Sons of Harris Bigg-Wither of Maydown." (pg 66.) "Winchester: Warren & Son, 1907.
  3. Wikipedia: "Manydown."
  4. Hampshire Telegraph, 19 November 1804 (pg. 3). Marriage notice for Harris Bigg Wither, Esq., and Miss Frith in East Dean Church, Sussex. Digital image online at FindMyPast.co.uk per The British Library Board (transcript by Alison Kilpatrick, 2022-09-08).

See also:

  • 'Jane Austen's Family through Five Generations' by Maggie Lane, published by Robert Hale Limited, London. ISBN 0 7090 4832 7. Includes extensive family trees. Details of contemporaries and other connections are also mentioned in the text.Jane Austen's Family through Five Generations




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Comments: 3

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I have an interesting connection to Harris Bigg-Wither. My 3rd Great Grandfather, William Wareham (1805-1866) was one of a group of nine men prosecuted by Bigg-Wither as a result of the 22 November 1830 Wooton St Lawrence Swing Riot. Originally sentenced to hang, my ancestor's sentence was commuted to transportation to Van Diemen's Land for seven years, after Bigg-Wither asked that the offenders be shown mercy.

After his release, William came to Victoria where he met and married an Irish bounty migrant. The couple had eight children.

posted by BJ Elliott
edited by BJ Elliott
Surname at birth has been changed to Bigg, with indication of change to Bigg-Wither in 1789, with source reference.
posted by Alison Kilpatrick
Technically born Harris Bigg, the name change to Bigg-Wither taking place in 1789 when his father inherited Manydown.
posted on Bigg-Wither-2 (merged) by Stephen Corkey

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