Jacob was born in Long Sutton, Somerset in April 1830, being baptised on 4th April.
His parents were Stephen Rue and Mary Austin.
He was baptised with his brother (assumed to be his twin), whose name appears to be Esau. No further record has
been found of him and it is assumed that he didn’t survive.
Jacob also had an older sister, Mary (1822) and an older brother, William (1825).
Jacob is living with his parents Stephen & Mary and his older sister, Mary, in Pitney, Somerset, in 1841 where his age was given as 8,
although he must have been older than this.
Interestingly in the 1851 census, Jacob, aged 21, is living in Pitney with his “wife” Elizabeth a 21 year old from Ash, Somerset. This is the
only reference to Elizabeth, no marriage can be found and there are no further records of her. The suspicion being that they weren’t
actually married.
On 30th May 1854, Jacob, then residing in Bath (apparently in a brewery), married Emma Ball, of Bath. Jacob’s occupation is given as
labourer and they are both listed as “of full age”.
Their first child, John Stephen Rue, was born in Pitney in January 1855.
They then had Sophia in April 1857 and Rosina in January 1859.
Jacob (aged 34), Emma, and their children, John, Sophia and Rosina can all been found living in Pitney in the 1861 census. Jacob was
then an agricultural labourer.
More children followed, Oliver in June 1861, Edward in October 1863, Walter John in September 1866, and Mary in May 1869.
Again the family are in Pitney in the 1871 census, Jacob aged 39 still an agricultural labourer, and the only one of their 7 children to
date who is not with them is Sophia. Even though just 14 she was still living in Pitney, but was a domestic servant living with another
family.
Two further children were born, Joseph in October 1871, and Tom in December 1873. Joseph died aged just 14 years old.
In the 1881 census, we find, Jacob (50) a labourer, with Emma, John, Walter, Mary, Joseph and Tom.
By 1891 most of the children had moved on and Jacob (62) is left with just Emma and Tom.
Jacob died on 25th September 1894 in the Langport Workhouse in High Ham near Pitney. He was 65 years old, a farm labourer.
He died of “chronic brain disease – 12 months, epileptic convulsions -3 days”. Although Emma was still alive the death was registered by
the master at the workhouse.