Great x4 Grandfather Thomas Yeo

My Great x4 Grandfather Thomas (1795 - 1884) was a husbandman, farm labourer, gardener, and father of seven.

Thomas Yeo was born around 1795 in Atherington, Devon, to John Yeo (?) and Elizabeth Yeo (nee Punchard) (26).

Thomas was baptised on 1st December 1795 in Atherington.

Thomas was the second of three sons:

• John  1793 - 
• Thomas  1795 - 
• James  1799 -

On 31st August 1822, Thomas (26), a farm labourer, married Mary Manning (22), a dressmaker, in West Down, which is about fifteen miles north of Thomas' native Atherington. Mary was about five months pregnant when she married.

Thomas and Mary would have seven children (four sons and three daughters):

• James 1822 - 
• William  1825 -
• Marianne 1827 - 1838 (10 years old)
• Emma  1830 -
• Thomas  1832 -
• George  1834 - 1873 (39 years old)
• Ann  1836 - 

All seven were born in West Down.

Sadly their eldest daughter Marianne passed away aged only ten, in 1838, in West Down.

1841 Census:

1851 Census:

From the 1850's, Thomas' wife Mary lived and worked as a dressmaker in Ilfracombe, four miles north of West Down.

1861 Census:

Interestingly and lovingly, it seems Thomas took in his youngest daughter Anne's illegitimate son George.

In the 1860's, Thomas, his youngest daughter Ann and her son George moved to Ilfracombe. There they lived only a few streets away from Thomas' wife Mary.

1871 Census:

Photograph of Fore Street, Ilfracombe, c 1906

Painting of Fore Street, Ilfracombe
by Henry Bowser Wimbush (1906)

Thomas and his family lived there around 1870.

In late 1872 and 1873, tragic illness struck Thomas' son George and his family. First George's daughter Emily Ann passed away, aged only five, around November 1872; followed by George himself in January 1873, and George's wife Ann, around April 1874. Unless relatives or friends took them in, George and Ann's five surviving children (aged 0 to 9) would likely have ended up in the workhouse. Indeed, in the 1881 Census, their youngest daughters Ellen and Harriet can be found at the Okehampton Union Workhouse; whilst the older children are out living and working as servants on local farms. Did Thomas know about the tragic fate of his son and grandchildren? Could he not help them?

Whilst his young orphan grandchildren were in the workhouse, Thomas reunited with his wife Mary, and the couple, in their eighties, settle in Ilfracombe. Though elderly, they still worked - he as a gardener, and she as a laundress.

Interestingly, they were able to keep a servant. (Normally my ancestors are the servants)

1881 Census:

Thomas passed away aged eighty-eight, in 1884. He was buried on 12th May 1884 in West Down.

Great x4 Grandmother Mary Willis (nee Richards)

My Great x4 Grandmother Mary (1813 - 1888) was a lacemaker, housewife and mother of fourteen.

Mary Richards was born around 1812 or 1813 in Colyton, Devon, to William Richards (about 27), a journeyman papermaker, and Mary Richards (nee Shoard) (about 33).

Mary was baptised on 10th January 1813 in Colyton. She was named after her mother.

Mary was the eldest of two girls:

• Mary  1813 -
• Martha  1816 -

In 1824 or 1825, when Mary was about eleven or twelve, her mother passed away, in her early forties. She was buried in Colyton.

When Mary was about thirteen, her father remarried. On 15th May 1826, widower William Richards (about 40) married young Somersetian lacemaker Leah Weston (about 18) in Colyton.

From this marriage, Mary and Martha gained a younger half-brother:

• William  1829 -

Sadly, their father William soon passed away, aged about forty-three. He was buried on 27th December 1829 in Colyton.

A little over a year later, Mary's stepmother Leah remarried. On 29th January 1831, Leah married stone mason's labourer William Hill in Colyton. Leah and William Hill would go on to have many children, and Mary's younger half-brother William would live with the Hill family.

On 22nd September 1831, Mary (18), a lacemaker, married James Willis (21), a blacksmith, in Colyton. Mary was about seven and half months pregnant when she married.

In November 1831, Mary gave birth to her first child, a son called William Richards Needs Willis. It looks likely Mary named her firstborn son after her late father, William Richards.

Mary and James would have a grand total of fourteen children (four sons and ten daughters):

• William Richards Needs  1831 -
• John Needs  1833 -
• Clara Elizabeth  1834 -
• Mary Ann  1839 -
• Sarah Ann  1840 -
• James  1843 -
• Keziah  1845 -
• Judith Maria  1846 -
• Susan Armenia  1848 -
• Leah  1850 - 1859 (2 weeks)
• Emily  1851 - 1852 (1 year)
• Eliza Ann  1854 -
• Catherine  1856 -
• Philip Henry  1856 - 1857  (8 months)

Their youngest two children, Catherine and Philip Henry, were twins.

Sadly three of their children passed away in infancy: little Leah, who was likely named after Mary's stepmother, at only two weeks, in 1850; followed by one-year-old Emily in 1852; and their youngest Philip Henry, at eight months, in 1857.

Records show Mary and her family lived in and around the town of Colyton and, only two or so miles north, the village of Shute.

1841 Census:

1851 Census:

Whilst their sons followed in their father's footsteps and became blacksmiths, the censuses show many of their daughters followed in Mary's footsteps and became lace-makers. Lace-making was a common occupation for labouring women in east Devon till recent history. It requires great skill and was often taught to girls from a young age. I can picture Mary and her daughters, with other local women and girls, gathered round a single lamp, on little stools, lace-making.

1861 Census:

In it interesting and lovely to see that James and Mary seem to take in and raise their young daughters' illegitimate children, including Mary Ann's son William John James Willis (as shown living with them on the 1861 and 1871 censuses) and Sarah Ann's children William and Mary William (also shown living with them on the 1871 and 1881 censuses).

When Mary was forty, her son James, aged nineteen, was put on trial, along with his younger friend and fellow blacksmith, sixteen-year-old Joseph Boles, for demanding by force the money of local elderly postman James Gosling, at Shute, on 2nd February 1863. The Western Times of 27th February 1863 reported on the 'highway robbery': as he [Gosling] was on his way there [Colyton Railway Station for newspapers], on the day named, the prisoners approached him from a hedge, and said, in commanding tones, "Yield up your money or your life." On telling them that he had no money, they pushed him into the hedge, and in doing so tore his cape." The lads were found guilty and James junior, being the older prisoner, was sentenced to three months imprisonment.

1871 Census:

The family's lodger, George Anley Sandford, would soon marry Mary's daughter Sarah Ann, a single mother of two, in her early thirties. Her two children born before marriage would stay living with her parents.

1881 Census:

It seems Parkhayne Cottage in Colyton became a family home for Mary and her family, as they can be found living there over several censuses.

In 1886, when Mary was about seventy-three, her husband James passed away, aged about seventy-six, in the parish of Axminster. (Colyton and Shute are within this parish)

Mary passed away two years later, aged about seventy-five, in 1888, also in the parish of Axminster.

Great x4 Grandfather James Willis

My Great x4 Grandfather James (1809 - 1886) was a blacksmith and father of fourteen.

James Willis was born on 21st November 1809 in Colyton, Devon, to James Willis (about 27), a blacksmith, and Elizabeth Willis (nee ?) (about 26).

James was baptised on 23rd December 1810 in Colyton. He was the couple's first born and named for his father.

James was the eldest of five children (four sons and one daughter):

• James  1809 -
• Mary Anne  1816 - 
• John Needs  1819 -
• Henry Needs  1823 - 
• Philip Needs  1828 - 1848 (20 years old)

All five were baptised in Colyton, and survived into adulthood.

On 22nd September 1831, Richard (21), a blacksmith like his father, married Mary Richards (18), in Colyton. Mary was about seven and half months pregnant when they married.

James and Mary would have a total of fourteen children (four sons and ten daughters):

• William Richard Needs  1831 -
• John Needs  1833 - 
• Clara Elizabeth  1834 -
• Mary Ann  1839 -
• Sarah Ann  1840 -
• James  1843 -
• Keziah  1845 -
• Judith Maria  1846 - 
• Susan Armenia  1848 - 
• Leah  1850 - 1850 (2 weeks old)
• Emily  1851 - 1852 (1 year old)
• Eliza Ann  1854 -
• Catherine  1856 - 
• Philip Henry  1856 - 1857 (8 months old)

Their youngest two children, Catherine and Philip Henry, were twins.

Sadly three of their children passed away in infancy: little Leah, at only two weeks, in 1850; followed by one-year-old Emily in 1852; and their youngest Philip Henry, in 1857. It looks likely Philip Henry had been named after James' youngest brother Philip, who had passed away aged only twenty in 1848. Young Philip Henry was James' first son born since his younger brother's death, eight years before.

Records show James and his family lived in and around the town of Colyton and, only two or so miles north, the village of Shute.

1841 Census:

In January 1842, when James was thirty-two, his mother Elizabeth, aged about fifty-nine, passed away. She was buried on 13th January 1842 in Colyton.

1851 Census:

In their youth, James and his brothers learnt their family trade by being apprentice to their blacksmith father. The 1851 Census shows James now had an apprentice blacksmith of his own - his second son John. And in the 1861 Census, he gains another apprentice in his younger son James; and later in the 1881 Census, an blacksmith assistant in his grandson William. His smithy was a family business.

In January 1861, when James was fifty-one, his father the same name passed away, aged about seventy-nine. James senior was buried on 31st January 1861 in Colyton.

1861 Census:

It is interesting and lovely to see that James and Mary seem to take in and raise their young daughters' illegitimate children, including Mary Ann's son William John James Willis (as shown living with them on the 1861 and 1871 censuses) and Sarah Ann's children William and Mary Willis (also shown living with them on the 1871 and 1881 censuses).

When James when fifty-four, his son of the same name, aged nineteen, was put on trial, along with his younger friend and fellow blacksmith, sixteen-year-old Joseph Boles, for demanding by force the money of local elderly postman James Gosling, at Shute, on 2nd February 1863. The Western Times of 27th February 1863 reported on the 'highway robbery': "as he [Gosling] was on his way there [Colyton Railway Station for newspapers], on the day named, the prisoners approached him from a hedge, and said, in commanding tones, "Yield up your money or your life." On telling them that he had no money, they pushed him into the hedge, and in doing so tore his cape." The lads were found guilty and James junior, being the older prisoner, was sentenced to three months imprisonment.

1871 Census:

The family's lodger, George Anley Sandford, would soon marry James' daughter Sarah Ann, a single mother of two, in her early thirties. Her two children born before marriage would stay living with her parents.

1881 Census:

It seems Parkhayne Cottage in Colyton became a family home for James and his family, as they can be found living there over several censuses.

James passed away, aged about seventy-six, in 1886, in the parish of Axminster.

Great x4 Grandmother Sophia Anley Sandford (nee Brice)

My Great x4 Grandmother Sophia (1821 - 1896) was a servant, lacemaker, housewife, and mother of eight.

Sophia Anley Brice was born around 1821 in Culmstock, Devon, to John Anley Brice (about 18), a husbandman and labourer, and Sarah Brice (nee Guppey) (about 25).

Sophia was baptised on 16th September 1821 in Culmstock as Sophia Guppey (her mother's maiden name), though her young parents had married three months earlier on 4th June 1821, also in Culmstock. Some later records imply Sophia was born a few years earlier. It is possible, considering she was baptised with her mother's maiden name, though John and Sarah were married, and how young John was, that he wasn't her biological father; however, on all later records, he is listed as her father and she was brought up with him as her father.

The family's surname varies on documents: most often it is given as Anley/Anly (or Hanley/Hanly) and sometimes as Brice, with eventually some individuals, such as Sophia, using Anley as their middle name and Brice as their surname. Sophia's father John was the illegitimate son of an Elizabeth Brice. Was Anley his father's surname?

Sophia was the eldest of five children (four daughters and one son):

• Sophia  1821 -
• Ann  1823 -
• Sarah  1826 -
• James  1828 -
• Elizabeth  1830 -

All five siblings appears to have had survived into adulthood.

In 1831, when Sophia was about nine, her mother Sarah passed away, aged about thirty-six. She was buried on 3rd July 1831 in Culmstock. She left behind John, a widower in his early thirties, with five young children, all under the age of ten, with the youngest Elizabeth maybe not even one year old.

The motherless family soon relocated. They moved about twenty-five miles south-west, from Culmstock to Woodbury.

Five years later, when Sophia was about fourteen, her father John remarried. On 11th January 1836, widower John Anley Brice (33) married widow Frances Moore (nee Gittisham) (62) in Woodbury. Their age difference is surprising but appears, according to sources, to be correct.

Sophia had three stepmothers:

In addition to her four full younger siblings, through these following marriages of her father's, in her adulthood, Sophia gained fourteen younger step siblings:

• Martha Carter  1839 -

• Robert Watergate Hitchcock  1834 -
• James Hitchcock  1835 -
• Robert Watergate Hitchcock  1836 -
• Anna Hitchcock  1838 -
• Joseph John Hitchcock  1840 -
• Charlotte Hitchcock  1842 -
• Samuel Lockyear Hitchcock  1843 -
• Sarah Watergate Hitchcock  1845 -
• Henry Hitchcock  1846 -
• Charity Lockyear Hitchcock  1850 -
• Herman Hutchins Hitchcock  1852 -
• Harriet Hitchcock  1853 -
• Matilda Lockyear Hitchcock  1855 - 

On 3rd January 1841, Sophia (19), a servant, married William Broom Sandford (26), a tanner, in Woodbury.

1841 Census:

Sophia and William had eight children (five sons and three daughters):

• George Anley  1843 -
• Jane Mary  1847 -
• Job/Jobe  1850 -
• Mark  1852 -
• Mary Jane  1855 -
• Kate  1857 -
• Thomas 'Tom'  1859 -
• Harry  1862 -

All eight appear to have survived into adulthood.

Photographs of Church Stile, Woodbury, 1910. Sophia and her family lived here around 1840.

1851 Census:

1861 Census:

In the 1860s, Sophia, in her forties, and her family moved about 18 miles east, from Woodbury to Colyton.

1871 Census:

1881 Census:

In the 1851 Census, a young Sophia is listed as a lacemaker, a common occupation for labouring women in east Devon till recent history. Lace-making requires great skill and was often taught to girls from a young age. Later censuses list Sophia's daughters and granddaughters also as lace-makers. Did Sophia herself hand down her lace-making skills and knowledge to them?

In 1889, when Sophia was about sixty-eight, her husband William passed away, aged about seventy-five. He was buried on 12th August 1889 in Colyton. After William's death, a widowed Sophia moved about thirty-six miles west from Colyton to Morchard Bishop, where she moved in with their son George Anley and his family.

1891 Census:

Sometime in the early 1890's, an elderly Sophia moved from her native Devon to Somerset, there to live her her daughter Mary Jane Smith (nee Sandford) and her family at 6 Weir's buildings, New Cut, Bristol. There she passed away in October or November 1896, aged about seventy-five.

Her death was reported in the Bristol Mercury on 10th November 1896:

Wrongly named in the article with the surname 'Sims' rather than Smith, the Thomas William mentioned was Sophia's son-in-law (Mary Jane's husband), and the Florence her granddaughter (Mary Jane's daughter).

Though Sophia's death was sudden, for some time before she had been suffering from shortness of breath and became ill. It seems her death was one of old age, hopefully surrounded by some family.

Great x4 Grandfather William Broom Sandford

My Great x4 Grandfather William (1814 - 1889) was a farm labourer, tanner, and father of nine.

William Broom Sandford was born around 1814 in Exton, Devon, to John Sandford (about 35), a husbandman and labourer, and Mary Sandford (nee Broom) (about 29).

William was baptised on 24th April 1814 in Woodbury, Devon.

William was the fifth of nine children (three daughters and six sons):

• Sarah  1806 -
• Thomas Broom  1808 -
• Elias  1810 - 1828 (18 years old)
• John  1812 -
• William Broom  1814 -
• Jane Mary  1816 -
• James  1819 -
• Elizabeth  1821 - 1828 (7 years old)
• Richard  1826 -

When William was twelve, his mother Mary died giving birth to her eighth child Richard. On 3rd November 1826, Richard was baptised and Mary was buried, both in Woodbury.

Less then two years later, fourteen year old William lost his older brother Elias (18 years old) in May 1828, and younger sister Elizabeth (7 years old) in July 1828.

When William was seventeen, his father John remarried. On 12th November 1831, John (about 52) married Ann Jennings (about 57).

On 3rd January 1841, William (26), a tanner, married Sophia Anley Brice, a servant, in Woodbury.

1841 Census:

William and Sophia had nine children (six sons and three daughters):

• John Brice  1841 - 1842 (6 months old)
• George Anley  1843 -
• Jane Mary  1847 -
• Job/Jobe  1850 -
• Mark  1852 -
• Mary Jane  1855 -
• Kate  1857 -
• Thomas 'Tom'  1859 -
• Harry 1862 -

Sadly their first child John passed away at only six months. He was buried on 3rd April 1842 in Woodbury.

When William was thirty, his father John passed away, aged sixty-six, in 1844, in Woodbury.

Photographs of Church Stile, Woodbury, 1910. William and his family lived here around 1840.

1851 Census:

1861 Census:

In the 1860s, William, in his fifties, and his family moved about 18 miles east, from Woodbury to Colyton.

1871 Census:

1881 Census:

From the 1870s to the 1880s, William worked as a tanner in Colyton. It seems likely he may have worked in Colyton Tannery (J. & F. J. Baker & Co), which exists still to this day as the only tradition tannery in Great Britain.

Victorian photographs of the workers at Colyton Tannery. Is William sat somewhere amongst these men?

In 1889, William passed away, aged about seventy-five. He was buried on 12th August 1889 in Colyton.

After William's death, his widow Sophia moved in with their son George Anley Sandford and his family in Morchard Bishop.

Great x3 Grandmother Elizabeth 'Bessie/Betsy' Fisher (nee Brownscombe)

My Great x3 Grandmother Elizabeth 'Bessie/Betsy' (1843 - 1932) was a house servant, work woman on a farm, housewife, and mother of three.

Records consistently give Bessie or Betsy as her first name, leading me to infer she may have gone by both, and so I refer to her as Bessie/Betsy in this post.

Elizabeth 'Bessie/Betsy' Brownscombe was born in January 1843 in Bratton Fleming, Devon, to Thomas Brownscombe (about 23), a sawyer, and Maria Brownscombe (nee Popham) (about 23), a charwoman and later a domestic cook.

Bessie/Betsy was baptised on 8th January 1843 in Bratton Fleming.

Bessie/Betsy was the eldest of three daughters:

• Elizabeth 'Bessie/Betsy'  1843 -
• Mary Ann  1846 -
• Katherine 'Kitty'  1850 -

Betsy and her younger sisters grew up in their native Bratton Fleming.

1851 Census:

In Oct/Nov/Dec 1859, when Bessie/Betsy was sixteen, her father Thomas passed away, aged about forty, in the district of Barnstaple. Bessie/Betsy's widowed mother Maria found work as a domestic cook for the household of Rev. Humphrey Senhouse Pinder, the generous Rector of Bratton Fleming, whilst her young daughters worked as domestic servants on local farms.

As a young woman, Bessie/Betsy worked as a house and general servant for farmer Philip Dovell at East Middleton in Parracombe, about six miles south Bessie/Betsy's native Bratton Fleming. Also living and working there was Bessie/Betsy's future husband carter Richard Fisher.

1861 Census:

On Christmas Exe 1863, Bessie/Betsy (20) married Richard (18) in Parracombe. At the time of their marriage, both still resided at East Middleton. Both were able to sign their name on their marriage certificate.

Bessie/Betsy Brownscombe's Signature, 1863

Bessie/Betsy had three children (two daughters and one son):

• Mary  1865 -
• John  1866 -
• Alice Brownscombe  1868 - 1929 (60 years old)

Bessie/Betsy's mother-in-law Frances Fisher, after being widowed in 1866, moved in with Bessie/Betsy and her son Richard Fisher and their young family.

Around 1866, Bessie/Betsy and her family moved a few miles south from Parracombe to Challacombe. There the family lived at Westland Cottage. Westland Cottage would be a real home. The family would live there for over sixty years!

1871 Census:

1881 Census:

1891 Census:

In Oct/Nov/Dec 1899, when Bessie/Betsy was fifty-six, her mother Maria passed away, aged about eighty, in the district of Barnstaple.

1901 Census:

1911 Census:

Sadly illness kept Bessie/Betsy's husband Richard to his bed in for the last six years of his life, from about 1923 to 1929. He was cared for by Bessie/Betsy.

On 26th May 1929, Bessie/Betsy's widowed daughter Alice passed away, aged sixty, at Westland Cottage.

From the North Devon Journal on 30th May 1929:

Less than three months later, Bessie/Betsy's husband Richard passed away, aged eighty-four, on 5th August 1929, at Westland Cottage.

From the North Devon Journal on 8th August 1929:

His funeral, held on Saturday 10th August 1929 at Challacombe, was reported on. An short eulogy in the newspaper gives a lovely description of Richard's character and career. This was the man Bessie/Betsy married and lived with for over sixty years: a bright, happy, smiley, kind, friendly and hardworking man.

From the North Devon Journal on 15th August 1929:

Bessie/Betsy passed away three years later, aged eighty-nine, in Jan/Feb/Mar 1932 in the district of Barnstaple.