Thomas Wale was a Cambridgeshire

Cambridgeshire

Cambridgeshire is a county in England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the northeast, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west...

 gentleman born at Risby, Suffolk on the 7 September 1701 and died in 1796. He is notable for having left a significant quantity of documents collated throughout his life which constituted the book My Grandfather's Pocket Book. His documents provide a unique insight into 18th century English life. The Oxford Dictionary Of National Biography refers to him as "an eighteenth-century squire".

Background

He was the son of Margaret Sparke of Risby and Gregory Wale

Gregory Wale

Gregory Wale was a Cambridgeshire gentleman, a Justice of the Peace for Cambridgeshire and Conservator of the River Cam.-Parents:Gregory Wale was the son of Thomas Wale of Lackfort and Penelope Wood...

. His personal papers were sealed in a cupboard in his house and only discovered a century later when the property was destroyed. These papers form the basis of the book "My Grandfather's Pocket Book", published by his Grandson.

Early life

He grew up and was educated at Raslingworth, Walden

Saffron Walden

Saffron Walden is a medium-sized market town in the Uttlesford district of Essex, England. It is located north of Bishop's Stortford, south of Cambridge and approx north of London...

, and London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

. He became an apprentice to Mr William Allen at Lynn

King's Lynn

King's Lynn is a sea port and market town in the ceremonial county of Norfolk in the East of England. It is situated north of London and west of Norwich. The population of the town is 42,800....

 for six years, starting in about 1718.

Career

Thomas Wale was a merchant in Riga

Riga

Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,...

 and Narva

Narva

Narva is the third largest city in Estonia. It is located at the eastern extreme point of Estonia, by the Russian border, on the Narva River which drains Lake Peipus.-Early history:...

 over a period of thirty years. He described his occupation as "trafic and merchantdise" (page 339). Part of his business involved the trade of ships' masts. This family business had been commenced in the 17th century. It passed under a number of different names during the 18th century, according to his current partners. Most notably it was known as Wale, Fraser & Company (c1747), Wale, Auchterlony and company and
Wale, Peirson & Ouchterlony. He also pursued farming in Cambridgeshire.

The family Business

In 1653 Robert Wale's wife was joyntured for life out of Harston Hall and her son Robert started the merchants business at Riga with £500 obtained by mortgage on this property. The Hall had been purchased by an earlier Thomas Wale in 1613.

Thomas Wale first visited Riga in 1724 aboard the Larke and traded there until 1730. He described his early business there as "chiefly in the factorage and commission way: For his said patron Mr Allen and his own friends".

Family life

He married Louisa Rudolphina Rahten at Mittau, Courland

Courland

Courland is one of the historical and cultural regions of Latvia. The regions of Semigallia and Selonia are sometimes considered as part of Courland.- Geography and climate :...

, Poland

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

 on 17 March 1749. They married again in Riga in 1760 "to convince the world of their connubil rights". She was the daughter of Hoff Prediger the Reverend Nicolaus Friedrich Rahten of Lunenburg

Lunenburg

Lunenburg was the form customary in 18th-century English for Lüneburg, the city and region in Germany. It therefore occurs in several placenames in North America.-Canada:*Lunenburg, Nova Scotia*Lunenburg, Nova Scotia...

, Brunswick

Brunswick-Lüneburg

The Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg , or more properly Duchy of Brunswick and Lüneburg, was an historical ducal state from the late Middle Ages until the late Early Modern era within the North-Western domains of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, in what is now northern Germany...

.

Thomas Wale had eight children, but only four survived. His sons included General Sir Charles Wale

Charles Wale

Charles Wale was an English General and the last British governor of Martinique between about 1812 and 1815 He became Colonel of the 33rd Regiment of Foot on 25 February 1831 and was given the governorship in recognition of his capture Guadeloupe from the French...

 (born 15 August 1752) who became Colonel of the 33rd (The Duke of Wellington's) Regiment of Foot on 25 February 1831. Charles Wale was the last British governor of Martinique

Martinique

Martinique is an island in the eastern Caribbean Sea, with a land area of . Like Guadeloupe, it is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. To the northwest lies Dominica, to the south St Lucia, and to the southeast Barbados...

 between about 1812 and 1815. He was responsible for capturing Guadeloupe from the French and was given the governorship in recognition of this.

Wale's sister Margaret Wale (born 24 February 1699 died 1762) lived at Harston

Harston

Harston is a village to the south of Cambridge, England.-Harston House:Harston House is a historic private house in Harston. It was formerly known as Harston Hall....

, probably in Harston Hall. She married Allen Hurrell (senior, died 1740) at Little Shelford

Little Shelford

Little Shelford is a village located to the south of Cambridge, in the county of Cambridgeshire, in eastern England. The River Granta lies between it and the larger village of Great Shelford, and both are served by Shelford railway station, which is on the line from Cambridge to London Liverpool...

 on the 12 January 1719 and their daughter Margaret Hurrell (junior) married John (Littel) Bridge (died 1776, buried at Harston) an "eminent counsellor at law" at Lackford

Lackford

Lackford is a village and civil parish in the St Edmundsbury district of Suffolk in eastern England. Located around four miles north-west of Bury St Edmunds on the A1101, in 2005 it had a population of 270....

, near Risby, Suffolk

Suffolk

Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...

 near Bury St Edmunds in 1752 John Littel Bridge's brother Thomas was also in business in Riga, associated with Thomas Wale. Margaret Bridge's son was Thomas Bridge (Little) of Shudy Camps

Shudy Camps

Shudy Camps is a village in Cambridgeshire, England. As of the 2001 census the population is 310. The area of the village is .-External links:*...

 (died c1830). Thomas Bridge's daughter Henrietta Bridge married William Long and their daughter was Henrietta Langhorne

John Langhorne (King's School Rochester)

.Reverend John Langhorne was headmaster of The King's School, Rochester and an educational innovator there...

. All of the above were notable landowners in Harston John Littel Bridge was the son of Robert Bridge of Shudy Camps and Sarah (or Susanna) daughter of Thomas (or John) Littel of Halstead Co, Essex

Thomas Wale left an early description of how foreigners became naturalised in England.

Other Details

He left papers containing to all details of his life and times, including recipes, ledgers, descriptions of his journeys and family, and copies of contemporary documents.

As well as accounts of his travels within England, Thomas Wale also left details about his voyages to Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

, Switzerland

Switzerland

Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

 and Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

.

Further reading