FERMBRIDGE (FERMITAGE) (FERMITEGE), Abram (Ephraim) (fl.1798-1804) — London
Globemaker.
Born in Wiltshire about 1779. Under several variants of his name, sentenced to six months in a House of Correction and a whipping at Newgate Sessions 11 Apr 1804 for stealing “a bottle, value 2d. a pint of varnish, value 4s. six maps, value 3s. six sheets of globe paper, value 1s. and six sheets of other paper, value 6d. the property of John Cary — John Cary 1 (see BME 2011). Cary testified, “I live at No. 181, in the Strand; I am an engraver of maps, the prisoner was my servant employed in the globe making business; I had reason to suspect he had committed depredations upon me at various times; I missed a quantity of varnish, and, on the 24th of February last, I took the precaution to mark some bottles of varnish; they were on the premises where I carry on my globe making business in Angel-court, I have a manufactory there; I found in a cupboard, of which the prisoner had the key, some bottles of varnish, which I marked; the next day I sent the prisoner for a quantity of varnish to Mr. Swinsin’s, in Fore-street; one of the bottles which I found on the premises the night before, was a quart bottle; the prisoner brought me back one of the bottles which we had marked on the premises the night before; he told me he had brought it from Fore-street, that he had purchased it there; I then gave charge of him to a peace-officer, Limerick; we then went back with the prisoner to the manufactory, to observe if the bottles which I had marked were still remaining; I found the whole of them were removed; I asked the prisoner what he had done with them; he denied that there had been any such bottles in the cupboard; he was then told, that, on the preceding night, we had searched the cupboard, and found three bottles, which we marked, one of which he had now brought as having purchased it of Mr. Swinsin; he was then pressed to discover what he had done with the other two bottles; he said, when very much pressed, that he had thrown them into the Thames; upon questioning a lad, who worked in the same room, we found them, from his information, concealed in the dust-hole; that lad has run away, and I cannot find him; we found them concealed in some soot; the prisoner then made a full confession of the theft, he acknowledged that he had taken and concealed these bottles; we afterwards went with the prisoner to his lodgings; we there found paper of various descriptions, brown paper and globe paper; the papers that I can swear to are these, (producing them) they are papers for mounting small pocket globes”. Fermbridge, who had been living with and working for Cary for six years, has not been further traced.
OB.