Oaten, David

Singer

Collection date: Aug 1907

Area: Somerset - Taunton District

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David Oaten at Taunton Union Workhouse (1828-1909): age 78, 2 songs 29 Aug 1907: One of his songs ‘All jolly fellows that follow the plough’ (FT1448) was very appropriate for David Oaten, as he was a carter and agricultural labourer all his life.

He was born on 5/12/1828 and baptised on 4/1/1829 in an Independent chapel in Pitminster, son of James Oaten, labourer and his wife Sarah. In 1851 he had moved to Bishop’s Hull, just west of Taunton, as an agricultural labourer, lodging with a family called Richards. On 15/5/1853 he married Maria Richards at Bishop’s Hull church. He could not sign his name. The couple alternated between Pitminster village (1861, 1891) and Trull village (1871, 1881) over the next 40 years, raising 10 children. David was an agricultural labourer all his life.

Maria died in 1899 and David went to live with his daughter Fanny and son-in-law Wm Hutchings in Trull (RG13/2273 f76 p1). Not long afterwards he went into the Taunton workhouse, which is where he met Sharp. He died in the infirmary there and was buried at Trull on 11/10/1909.