WHO DUNNIT?


The Crime: Levi TREASURE born c. 1780 of Stoke Lane was convicted at Wells Quarter Sessions on the 19th April 1819 for stealing a quantity of ?peas in the haum?.

The Sentence: He was sentenced to 6 months hard labour, fined one shilling and to be whipped publicly at Evercreech during the last month of his sentence.

(This information kindly supplied by Linette Treasure who received it from an archivist at the Somerset Records Office back in the 1960s)

NB: Peas in the haum was used as horse fodder.



There were only three entries in the England & Wales Criminal Registers 1791-1892 that I could find.

1. 1819 April Session ? Levi Treasure ? Larceny ? 6 months imprisonment and whipped.

2. 2 April 1840 ? County Assizes - Levi Treasure ? Age 65 ? Burglary Simple before convicted of a Felony ? Not Guilty.

3. 5 Aug 1858 ? Assizes ? Levi Treasure ? Felony of administering a noxious thing to procure miscarriage ? Not Guilty.


From the newspaper, ?The Bristol Register?, articles about crime number 3 indicate that this Levi is the one born 1815 in Corsley, Wiltshire and who married Mercy Millard.

Because crime number 2 requires a prior conviction I would conclude that whoever committed this crime also committed crime number 1.




The Candidates:

1. The father of crime number 3 ? Levi Treasure born 1786 Elm, Somerset. He was a Yeoman/Farmer and lived a good part of his life in Stoke Lane. He can be seen on the 1841 census living in Stoke Lane. However, his children Levi born 1815, Exton born 1819 (NB. year of the crime) and Elizabeth born 1821 were all born in Corsley, Wiltshire. So the family must have moved to Stoke Lane after 1821. There is also the fact that this Levi died in 1836 and therefore he could not have committed crime number 2.


Verdict: Unlikely to have committed the crime.

2. Levi Treasure ? born 1776 Holcombe, Somerset. He was a member of the 1st Royal Dragoons and married Mary Pain in Salisbury Cathedral, Wiltshire in 1806. A baby, Susan, was born that year in Child Okeford, Dorset the home of his wife. He was award the Battle of Waterloo medal for service. His third child Mary was born in 1809 in Ireland followed by another girl, Jane, in 1815 back in Child Okeford. His fourth child Thomas was born in Kilmersdon in 1820 and baptised at St Andrew?s Church Holcombe with Levi listed as a Labourer. Levi lived in Kilmersdon Common until his death in 1842.

Verdict: Unlikely to have committed the crime.


3. ?Our? Levi Treasure ? born 1771 Stoke Lane, Somerset and lived there all of his life. He was listed as a Farmer for the baptisms of son George in 1818 and daughter Mary Ann in 1821. He was alive in 1840. His children had quite a history of criminal activity.


Verdict: Most likely to have committed the crime.

Compiled by Veanne Treasure with information supplied by Peggy Goodger & Derek Williams - July 2010