Samuel Parnell, the great briber

My 3rd Great Uncle, 1804 - 1898

​Samuel Parnell's (b1781) oldest son was also named Samuel.  He was the brother of my direct ancestor, Thomas (b.1810). I became interested in Samuel and his journey from bootmaker to accountant and postmaster and uncovered a story of political connections, bribery and corruption! 

Samuel started life working as a shoe and boot maker with his father. He married Mary Camp when he was aged 24. Mary was a school teacher who ran a 'Ladies Seminary'. In Samuel's obituary it was stated that he also assisted her and "educated the lads".  In 1841, aged 37, he was shown living with Mary in Fore Street, Totnes.

The Totnes Case

In 1841 Samuel was involved in a court case, in which he and a group of other men “made forcible entry and tried to evict a woman, a Miss Gardner, from her dwelling for period of 12 hours”. It was reported as the “Totnes Case: charge of assault on a female”.

​In a nutshell, the men forcibly evicted the woman from her dwelling. She tried to get help from the authorities but could get none. The men were all tradesmen from the town. Samuels’ brother-in-law, Hunt, wanted to buy the woman’s interest in the house from her. ​The newspaper reported that at one point there were 13 men in the room and that Miss Gardner asked them individually to leave but they refused. ​Hunt had ‘tobacco and pipes and ordered beer and porter, which were brought, and the intruders said they should pass the night there … they refused to leave and remained there drinking, singing, playing at cards and indulging in language not fit for a female to hear.”  The case makes shocking reading!

It was then revealed that all the defendants were members of the Liberal Party and their motive was that ‘Mr Hunt wished to obtain the franchise (voting rights), by holding the house, and he had conceived that unless he held the whole Premises his vote would not be good. He therefore wished to get Miss Gardner out”. In other words, this was all about increasing the Liberal vote! I have not been able to find out what the outcome of the trial was.

By 1851, the couple were living at 90 Fore Street, Totnes. Samuel was 46 and Mary 44. They had a servant and two children, aged 9 and 8 living with them. The children living with them were not their children but bore the surname Tozer (which is the surname of Samuel’s grandmother, so it is likely they were relatives). Samuel was a boot maker employing three men by this time. ​Mary died in 1858. I could not find records of any children.  

​By 1861 Samuel was shown living alone, at 66 Fore Street, as a widower. His occupation then was listed as Accountant for a Gas Company and Registrar of Marriages.  This change of occupation is very surprising but is probably linked to Samuel’s political connections!

​Bribery and Corruption

In 1866 Samuel was mentioned in the Tiverton Gazette “Samuel Parnell was the great briber on the Liberal side. It was reported that Parnell received various sums from the Liberal committee, and had failed to pay it over”.

​In 1867 Samuel Parnell was mentioned in Hansard (the official record of government); the report focused on a recent government enquiry into bribery and corruption in Totnes. It was stated that both the Liberals and Conservatives had kept ‘open house’ at two Totnes hotels before and during an election. This was in addition to other corrupt practices in the locality. The Liberals kept open house at the Seymour Arms both on and before the polling day. However, it was feared that the ‘treating’ that had gone on could invalidate the election, so the hotel ledgers were changed to make it appear that each individual had purchased their own refreshments whereas they had been originally charged to one account. Pages of the books were destroyed and new pages substituted. Mr Samuel Parnell, "performed an ‘operation upon the hotel ledger’ for the Liberals.

The illustration above is 'Canvassing for Votes' by Hogarth. Voting was done in the open; the secret ballot had not been introduced. The picture shows voters being treated with beer outside a pub!

​Soon after this, Parnell was appointed to the Post Office in Totnes! Samuel was described as “a man who had been actively engaged in bribery and getting rid of the information required by the Commissioners in order to ascertain the truth, had been promoted in the Post Office”.

​In 1867 the Western Morning News reported “Sir Lawrence Pelk asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if the Postmaster General will remove Samuel Parnell, Postmaster, Totnes, convicted of bribery and corrupt practices at the elections in Totnes in the years 1857, 1859, 1863 and 1865.”  Again, I do not know if any further action was taken against Samuel.

By 1871 Samuel, aged 69, had married Catherine, aged 39. They lived at the Post Office, 69 Fore Street together with Samuel’s brother William and his wife. William was a Chief Clerk at the Inland Revenue. Samuel by then was Postmaster and Registrar of Marriages.

​By 1881 Samuel was living at 3 High Street with Catherine, a servant and a boarder (a bank clerk). Samuel was now 76 and a Bank Manager.

​By 1891 Samuel, now aged 87, was still living at 3 High Street with Catherine, a servant and a boarder (a bank manager). Samuel was now aged 87 and was still Registrar of Marriages.

Samuel clearly remained a respected man in the town, holding key public offices into old age. He died in 1898 aged 94. When he died, he was the oldest inhabitant in Totnes and was reported as having enjoyed perfect health throughout his life. His death was recorded in various newspapers including the Totnes Times and Devon News. It was reported that "age seemed to have no effect on his appearance and, except that his hair was white, his countenance seemed as fresh as when it was known to those of a generation before!"  His funeral was reported to have been very well attended with attendees including the Town Mayor, bank managers, postmaster, relatives and so on.