Biography of Samuel FOLKER
[Ref. M.15]
| Profile |  |
Naval service | |
Keepsakes | |
Index for FOLKER |
Biography of Samuel FOLKER
[Ref. M.15]
| Profile | |
Naval service | |
Keepsakes | |
Index for FOLKER |
Samuel Folker was born about 1755, the son of John and Mary Folker. He was baptised on 23 March 1758 at Felsted parish church for which his name is entered in the register. It is not certain if he had any brothers or sisters, however he may have had one of each. Samuel's father was an Officer of the Excise and was posted to various locations around the country, so the family would have been used to moving home.
Nothing currently is known about Samuel until he was 22 and was 'pressed' into the navy in August 1777 in Chatham, Kent. On 17 August of that year he was put aboard a tender boat and taken to H.M.S.Cornwall until transferred to H.M.S.Aurora where he remained for over 2½ years. The ship spent the majority of that time in the West Indies.
In May 1780, Samuel transferred to H.M.S.Assurance which spent a year in home waters before sailing for America where he transferred to H.M.S.Confederate off New York. He sailed back to Woolwich in this ship then transferred to H.M.S.Greenwich for six weeks early in 1782. He next transferred to H.M.S.Arethusa, sailing to Nova Scotia then returning to Portsmouth from where he was discharged on 16 February 1783. It is known that Samuel was not a smoker as his name does not appear in the ships pay book list as owing money for tobacco. Samuel may have ceassed his service with the navy at this time as he was suffering from a rupture, however, this is by no means certain. Evidence suggests that he became a Merchant Seaman, most likely a Captain.
In 1784, his marriage certificate shows him as living at St.Catherine's in the City of London. On 14 February of that year, he married Sarah Shepherd at All saints church in Maidstone, Kent. They married by licence issued the previous day and the witnesses to the marriage were William Nicholson and Richard Shepherd. Sarah, known as Sally, was the daughter of Richard and Elizabeth Shepherd and she had a brother Richard and sister Jane. It is believed that the Folker and Shepherd families had ties of friendship going back many generations.
A Land Tax book, also from 1784, shows Samuel paying £2.2s.0d on a property in Three Tunn Court, Wapping, which is close to St.Catherine's. Books from 1806-1809 show him, and obviously his wife Sarah, living in Dean Street, Southwark, property of the Dean & Chapter of Canterbury. This map shows the area in which Samuel and Sarah were living. In March 1808, Samuel is mentioned on a deed as being resident next to a property in King's Lynn, probably in Boal Street.
Samuel and Sarah had daughter Mary Ann who was buried in St.Margaret's Church in King's Lynn on 23 July 1788. Son Samuel Shepherd was born on 30 September 1789 and baptised at St.Margaret's Church on 3 January 1790. Daughter Ann was baptised at St.Margaret's Church in 1 September 1792 but buried there on 14 May the following year.
A reference has been found in Spanish coastguard records that Samuel was captain of the brig Molly when it was detained at Vigo on 17 September 1796. However, on 13 October, Samuel and his crew managed to flee. This was the period when Spain had declared war on England. Further research is inconclusive so far, but indications are that Molly was a Snow-Brig used in the slave trade.
Family tradition says that there was a carved figure that Samuel brought home by Samuel from one of his voyages. It was thought to have been a Tappee from the South Sea islands. It was handed down through the family to Samuel's great great grandson, Sydney Folker, who donated it to the Kelvingrove Museum in Glasgow. They identified it as a Maori ancestral figure of a type that started to decline after New Zealand was discovered by Captain Cook in 1769. It seems likely that Samuel picked it up whilst on a voyage to the antipodes and it is now rare as only six are now known to exist. "Tappee" comes from the Maori word "tapu" and having a meaning of "taboo" as the item was sacred
Samuel died in November 1818 and was buried on 18th of that month in Bethnal Green, Middlesex. He and his wife Sally were living in Dog Row at that time. She remained in Bethnal Green and lived to the age of 84. Her death certificate states her as being the widow of Samuel Folker, Master Mariner. In accordance with the custom of the time, Samuel's queue was cut off and has remained in the possession of the family ever since.
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