Charles Palmer was baptized in Stoke Damerel on 16 Aug 1818. He was the eldest child of Nathaniel Palmer, a blacksmith, and served in the Royal Navy all his life, receiving a pension right up until his death at the age of 88. He married Mary Ann Ash Tingcombe on 2 Aug 1837 and they had five surviving children.
Charles Palmer in about 1895
The most interesting story in his life is that he took part in the First Opium War in 1841-1842 as a young rating on the flagship HMS Wellesley. He appears to have set sail a few weeks after his marriage aged 19 in October 1837. His children are not born until five years later after his return. He is listed amongst the crew and on his marriage certificate his ship is named. All this is strong circumstantial evidence that he went to the Far East, although it is contradicted by the 1841 census where he is listed as being at home with his family (but apart from his wife). For the service he should have received the ‘China Medal’ – the record shows a ‘Chas Palmer’ AB amongst the recipients, although he was unable to sign his name.
He must have gained literacy therefore as an adult. His later postings would never take him away from home again for so long. After HMS Wellesley he served in HMS Impregnable and latterly in his career on shore station as Chief Signaller next to Admiralty House overlooking Plymouth harbour. The picture comes from Steve Palmer, still resident in Plymouth and a direct descendant of his eldest son Charles Nathaniel Palmer. Charles Nathaniel Palmer was born in 1843 under a year after the Wellesley had returned to England and he followed his father into the Navy and to the Far East.
Charles Palmer is recorded as resident in London with one of his children’s families but he died back in Devonport in 1907.
Family of Charles PALMER and Mary Ann Ash TINGCOMBE
| Husband: | Charles PALMER (bap.1818, d.1907) |
| Wife: | Mary Ann Ash TINGCOMBE (1817-1904) |
| Children: | Charles Nathaniel PALMER (1843-1881) |
| Florence Elizabeth PALMER (1850-1885) |
| Rachel Mary Ann PALMER (1852-1884) |
| Cordelia Fanny PALMER (1856-1894) |
| Henry Edwin PALMER (1858-1940) |
| Marriage | 2 Aug 1837 | East Stonehouse |
Husband: Charles PALMER
| Name: | Charles PALMER |
| Sex: | Male |
| Father: | Nathaniel PALMER (bap.1795, bur.1868) |
| Mother: | Elizabeth MALLETT (b.1799, bur.1835) |
| Birth | | |
| Baptism | 16 Aug 1818 | Stoke Damerel, Devon |
| Occupation | 1837 | Seaman serving on HMS Wellesley |
| Military Service | btw 1838 and 1842 | -; HMS Wellesley sails 30 Sep 1837 as flagship to Opium War China |
| Residence | 1841 | Plymouth, listed with Parents (Mariner) separate from his wife |
| Occupation | btw 1849 and 1850 | AB; HMS Impregnable |
| Occupation | btw 1861 and 1881 | Naval Signalman |
| Residence | btw 1871 and 1881 | Telegraph Station, Devonport (next to Admiralty House) |
| Occupation | 1879 | Chief Signalman in the Navy (HEPalmers marriage certificate) |
| Residence | 1901 | Deptford with son in law, Frederick Piper |
| Death | 20 May 1907 | 104 Cotehele Avenue, Devonport |
Wife: Mary Ann Ash TINGCOMBE
| Name: | Mary Ann Ash TINGCOMBE |
| Sex: | Female |
| Father: | John TINGCOMBE (1791- ) |
| Mother: | Mary Ann ASH ( – ) |
| Birth | 31 Oct 1817 | Plymouth, Devon |
| Baptism | 7 Jun 1824 (age 6) | Morrice St -Wesleyan, Devonport |
| Residence | 1841 (age 23-24) | Clowance Street but her husband is with his family for the night in question (or more likely in China) |
| Residence | 1901 (age 83-84) | Deptford with son in law |
| Death | 9 Apr 1904 (age 86) | 188 Brixton Hill, Surrey |
Child 1: Charles Nathaniel PALMER
| Name: | Charles Nathaniel PALMER |
| Sex: | Male |
| Spouse: | Mary Maria DAWE (1846-1907) |
| Birth | 22 Jul 1843 | Devonport, Devon |
| Occupation | 1871 (age 27-28) | Engineer (RN); Engineer RN |
| Death | 5 Mar 1881 (age 37) | Hong Kong |
Child 2: Florence Elizabeth PALMER
| Name: | Florence Elizabeth PALMER |
| Sex: | Female |
| Spouse: | Thomas Edward PEEK (1849-1895) |
| Birth | 1850 | Devonport, Devon |
| Death | 6 Jun 1885 (age 34-35) | Plymouth |
Child 3: Rachel Mary Ann PALMER
| Name: | Rachel Mary Ann PALMER |
| Sex: | Female |
| Spouse: | Frederick Samuel PIPER (1853-1914) |
| Birth | 1852 | Devonport, Devon |
| Death | 1884 (age 31-32) | Stoke Damerel |
Child 4: Cordelia Fanny PALMER
| Name: | Cordelia Fanny PALMER |
| Sex: | Female |
| Spouse: | Frederick MUNFORD (1856-1918) |
| Birth | 1856 | Devonport, Devon |
| Death | 1894 (age 37-38) | |
Child 5: Henry Edwin PALMER
| Name: | Henry Edwin PALMER |
| Sex: | Male |
| Spouse: | Elizabeth Jane (Ginny) TRELEAVEN (1854-1943) |
| Birth | 28 Sep 1858 | 44 Clowance Street, Devonport |
| Occupation | 1881 (age 22-23) | -; Grocers Assistant |
| Occupation | btw 1891 and 1901 (age 32-43) | -; Agent for Glove manufacturer |
| Death | 24 Dec 1940 (age 82) | Fern Cottage, Carbis Bay1,2 |
| Cause: Cerebral Thrombosis and Senile Dementia |
Sources
| 2 | Photos dated 1940 He and Ginny are still alive. |