Great Great Grandfather Francis 'Frank' George Wright

My Great Great Grandfather Frank (1868 - 1939) was a tinplate worker, plumber, and father of ten.

Francis George Wright was born in Oct/Nov/Dec 1868 in St Mary Major, Exeter, Devon to William Wright (about 47), a man of many occupations but at the time of Frank's birth a labourer in an iron foundry, and Sarah Wright (nee Emberry) (about 39), later an outdoor servant and laundress.

At the time of Frank's birth, the family lived in Prospect Place, which was a small court off Rack Street in Exeter's West Quarter. Frank lived in the West Quarter for most of his life. Alas the West Quarter was overcrowded and poverty stricken, an historic but poor area of Exeter. Bathhouses, temperance societies and soup kitchens were set up to help alleviate the appalling conditions; nonetheless, in 1925, the council began plans for demolition, clearance, and rebuilding of the West Quarter. Most families were relocated to new houses in Burnthouse Lane by the mid 1930s. Frank would see the Exeter of his youth vanish in his old age.

Frank was baptised on 4th November 1868, also in St Mary Major, Exeter.

Frank was the seventh of eight children (six sons and two daughters):

• Thomas William  1849 -
• Henry John  1851 -
• Frederick Emberry  1854 -
• Ellen  1857 -
• Walter Charles  1861 -
• Alfred Frank  1864 -
• Francis 'Frank' George  1868 -
• Bessie T  1870 -

1871 Census:

When Frank was eleven, his father William passed away, aged fifty-nine, on 24th June 1880, at their home at Prospect Place.

1881 Census:

Sometime in the 1880s, the family moved from number 11 to 3 Prospect Place.

1891 Census:

In Jul/Aug/Sep 1891, Frank (22), a tinman, married Emma Bennett (20) a domestic servant, in Exeter.

Emma and Frank had twelve children (eight sons, two daughters, and two unknown):

• Francis 'Will' William  1891 - 1967 (76)
• George Charles  1893 - 1918 (25)
  
• Unnamed Stillborn Child  1894 - 1894 (0)
• Unnamed Stillborn Child  1895 - 1895 (0)
• Charles Arthur  1897 - 1897 (5 weeks old)
• Thomas 'Tom' Edwin  1898 - 1977 (78/79)
• Walter Henry  1900 - 1986 (85/86)
• Ernest 'Len' Leonard  1905 - 1981 (76)
• Samuel 'Sam' John  1908 - 1977 (68)
• Florence 'Florrie' Ellen  1910 - 1999 (88)
• Doris May  1912 - 1991 (79)
• Harold Reginald  1914 - 1985 (70)

Alas, Emma gave birth to two stillborn children, after one another, in 1894 and then 1895. Emma and Frank paid 5s for each child to be buried at Exeter Cemetery. Her next born, a son, was born alive. Sadly, baby Charles, would pass away at only five weeks old, in 1897.

It seems Frank's occupation changed about in the 1890s. On his eldest son Will's 1892 baptism record, Frank's occupation is listed as plumber; whilst on his second son George's 1893 baptism record, Frank is recorded as a labourer. However, by 1897, as seen on his fifth child Charles' 1897 baptism record, Frank was back working as a tinman. Yet again he was recorded as a plumber on his sixth child Tom's 1898 baptism record, and as a tinplate worker on his seventh child Walter's 1900 baptism record. A tinman or tinplate worker is a person who makes and repairs things made of light-coloured metal, particularly tinware.

In late 1892/early 1893, Frank and his young family moved from Prospect Place to 5 Mermaid Lodge, also in Exeter's West Quarter. However, by early 1897, they were back living at 10 Prospect Place. Around 1899/1900, the family moved again to nearby 6 Teigh Place, another small court off Rack Street. The 1901 Census shows Frank's elderly widowed mother Sarah lived only two doors down at 4 Teigh Place.

1901 Census:

Photograph of Frank, most of his siblings, and their mother Sarah, c 1900

Standing left to right: Alfred, Walter, Frank and Frederick

Siting left to right: Thomas, Sarah and either Ellen or Thomas' wife Mary

1911 Census:

Around 1912, some fifteen to twenty years before the clearing of the poor West Quarter, Frank and his family moved from the area to nearby 11 Clinton Street, Exeter. Despite their humble origins, the Wright family had worked hard, had worked their way out of the slums.

Frank's second son George served in the First World War. After four years in the Territorial Royal Army Medical Corps, George, aged twenty-one, joined the 7th Reserve (Cyclist) Battalion of the Devonshire Regiment as a private, on 17th December 1914. George passed away, aged twenty-five, in March 1918, in Exeter, when his father Frank was forty-nine.

My father recalls being told that an uncle of his mother, Delma, struggled after his experience in the First World War, and lived in a shed in the bottom of the garden, and wouldn't go in the house. Frank's son George seems to be the only uncle of Delma who served in the First World War, so it seems likely that my father's story is alas about him.

Photograph of Frank and Emma in middle age, c 1920

Frank would not live to see the Second World War. He passed away in January or February 1939, aged seventy, at his home of 11 Clinton Street, Exeter.

From the Express and Echo on 13th February 1939:

Frank was survived by his wife, Emma, eight of their ten children, and many grandchildren.

Who Frank Left Behind: The Wright Family, c 1940

Stood from left to right: Walter, Doris, Florrie and Harold

Sat from left to right: Sam, Tom, Emma, Will and Len

Great Great Grandmother Bessie Staddon Edworthy (nee Nott)

My Great Great Grandmother Bessie (1859 - 1919) was a housewife and mother of six.

Bessie Staddon Nott was born around 1859 in Bampton, Devon, to William Nott (?), an agricultural labourer, and Grace Nott (nee Cobley) (about 31), a wool weaver.

Bessie was baptised on 18th March 1860 in Witheridge, Devon.

Bessie was the sixth of nine children (four sons and five daughters):

• William 1850 -
• John  1853 -
• Frederick  1854 -
• Mary Emma  1856 -
• Eliza Lydia  1857 -
• Bessie Staddon  1859 -
• Walter  1861 -
• Jessie Rose  1864 -
• Agnes  1868 -

Bessie grew up in Morchard Bishop, Devon.

1861 Census:

In the 1860s, a young Bessie and her family had moved from Oldborough to Southcott Cottage, also in Morchard Bishop. 1871 Census:

On 21st May 1877, Bessie (19) married William Edworthy (25), a carrier, in her native Morchard Bishop. The  young couple set up home in William's adoptive Exeter.

Photograph of Bessie as a young woman, c 1880

Bessie and William had six children (four daughters and two sons):

• Edith Florence Jessie  1878 - 1895 (16)
• William Gilbert John  1880 - 1949 (69)
• Beatrice May 1882 - 1969 (86 or 87)
• Cora Agnes  1886 - 1907 (21)
• Frederick 'Fred' Cecil  1888 - 1975 (87)
• Winifred Violet  1895 - 1982 (87)

Alas two of their children passed away young: Edith, aged sixteen, 1895, when Bessie was about thirty-six; and Cora, aged twenty-one, in 1908, when Bessie was about forty-nine.

In 1881, Bessie, William and their eldest son could be found living at 11 Follett's Buildings, St Mary Major, Exeter:

Follett's Buildings had been built only seven years earlier in 1874, when an improvement scheme headed by Exeter's mayor Charles Follett had seen their construction. With Exeter's recent cholera outbreaks in mind, Follett oversaw the building of these new tenements of between two and four rooms, with each tenement having a larder, scullery, water supply, coal cellar and water closet!

Later photograph of Follett's Buildings

Where was Bessie's eldest child and daughter Edith, who would have been two or three years old at the time of the 1881 census? Was wasn't she at home with her parents? On said census, she is listed as a visitor at Bessie's former home of Southcott Cottage, Morchard Bishop, staying with Bessie's recently widowed mother Grace and Bessie's younger sister Jessie, a milliner. One of Edith's middle names was Jessie. I wonder if Bessie named her first daughter for her younger sister.

By the time of Bessie's second daughter Cora's birth in 1886, Bessie, aged about twenty-seven, and her family had moved from Follett's Buildings to Hoopern Street, also in Exeter. There Cora was privately baptised on the day of her birth - a practice often done if the child was not expected to live long. Possibly due to complications at her birth, Cora retained only the abilities of a very young infant. She was unable to talk, and had to be washed, dressed, fed etc by others. Bessie and William tried to care for Cora at home, but struggled. Cora was initially sent to Earlswood Asylum in Surrey, but in 1904 Bessie and William got her back closer to her home in Exeter and she spent the remained of her short life in Digby Hospital (Exeter City Asylum). Cora passed away from phthisis (pulmonary tuberculosis or a similar progressive wasting disease), aged twenty-one, on 29th December 1907.

The family were still living at Hoopern Street in 1888, when Fred was baptised, but sometime in the early 1890s, they moved to 64 Howell Road, near the railway station. On their youngest daughter's Winifred's 1895 baptism record, William's occupation is listed as a railway guard. Previously William had been a carman, and many carmen were employed by the railway for local deliveries and collections of goods and parcels. Bessie and William's sons would both later also work for the railway.

In Apr/May/Jun 1890, when Bessie was about thirty-one, her mother Grace passed away, aged about sixty-four, in the district of Crediton.

By 1901, Bessie and her family had moved down the road from 64 to 54 Howell Road:

Photograph of Bessie in middle age, c 1900

Bessie's husband William was seemingly no longer a railway guard by 1901, and was back working  with horses, as it seems he did for most of his working life. It is nice to picture William with his horse and cart.

When Bessie was about fifty-one, William passed away, aged about fifty-nine, in January 1911, in Exeter. William and their daughters Edith and Cora was buried at Exeter Higher Cemetery in Heavitree, Exeter, but being poor their graves are alas unmarked. After William's death, their son Fred, aged twenty-two, became the breadwinner and supported his widowed mother Bessie and youngest sister Winifred.

By 1911, the family had moved from Howell Road to Park Road, which is just around the corner from Exeter Higher Cemetery.

1911 Census:

Bessie's eldest son William served in the First World War as a private in the Devonshire Regiment from 1916. He was transferred the Labour Corps in 1917. Thankfully he survived the war.

In seems sometime in the 1910s, Bessie and her youngest daughter Winifred moved from Exeter to 4 Morley Cottages, Paignton, to live with her older daughter Beatrice.

On 3rd April 1919, Bessie passed away, aged about sixty, in the district of Totnes.

Great Great Grandfather William Edworthy

My Great Great Grandfather William (1852 - 1911) was a farm servant, carrier, groom, railway guard, and father of six.

William Edworthy was born around 1852 in Coldridge, Devon, to William Edworthy (about 31), a farm labourer, and Mary Edworthy (nee Harris) (about 28).

William was the fourth of eleven children (four girls and seven boys):

• Ann 1841 - 1855 (about 14)
• John  1845 -
• Elizabeth  1849 - 
• William  1852 -
• George  1854 -
• Samuel 1856 - 
• Ellen  1858 - 
• Louis/Lewis  1861 - 
• Frederick  1863 - 
• Frank  1866 - 
• Mary  1869 -

Sadly when William was about three years old, his eldest sister Ann passed away, aged about fourteen.

The elder siblings, including William, left home at a very young age to enter service at nearby farms. On the 1861 Census, William, only nine years old, is on the next page from his family, working and living at Rull Farm, East Worlington, as a farm servant. Also working on the farm was 16-year-old Samuel Edworthy, not to be confused with William's younger brother Samuel, but perhaps an older cousin. William's father was a farm labourer - did he also work for farmer Samuel Price at Rull Farm?

Alas information relating to William's teenage years eludes me, and I cannot find him on the 1871 Census, when he would have been about nineteen.

We next find William in 1877, aged twenty-five, having moved as a young man from the mid Devon countryside into the city of Exeter, where he worked as a carrier. A carrier was a driver of a (horse-drawn) vehicle for transporting goods. Did he learn to drive a horse and cart as a young lad on the farm?

On 21st May 1877, William (25) married Bessie Staddon Nott (19) in her native Morchard Bishop. At the time of their marriage, William was living in St Sidwell's, Exeter. The young couple would set up home in William's adoptive Exeter.

William and Bessie had six children (four daughters and two sons):

• Edith Florence Jessie  1878 - 1895 (16)
• William Gilbert John  1880 - 1949 (69)
• Beatrice May  1892 - 1969 (86 or 87)
• Cora Agnes  1886 - 1907 (21)
• Frederick 'Fred' Cecil  1888 - 1975 (87)
• Winifred Violet  1895 - 1982 (87)

Alas two of their children passed away young: Edith, aged sixteen, in 1895, when William was about forty-three; and Cora, aged twenty-one, in 1908, when William was about fifty-five.

In 1881, William, Bessie and their eldest son could be found living at 11 Follett's Buildings, St Mary Major, Exeter:

Follett's Buildings had been built only seven years earlier in 1874, when an improvement scheme headed by Exeter's mayor Charles Follett had seen their construction. With Exeter's recent cholera outbreaks in mind, Follett oversaw the building of these new tenements of between two and fours rooms, with each tenement having a larder, scullery, water supply, coal cellar and water closet!

Later photograph of Follett's Buildings

The 1881 Census lists William as working as a carman (a variation of a carrier). The baptism records of William's children William Gilbert (1880) and Cora (1886) list William's occupation as a wagoner; whilst the baptism record of William's son Fred (1888) lists William's occupation as a vanman. All are variations of the same job.

By the time of William's daughter Cora's birth in 1886, William, aged about thirty-four, and his family had moved to Hoopern Street, also in Exeter. There Cora was privately baptised on the day of her birth - a practice often done if the child was not expected to live long. Less than a month later, William's mother Mary passed away, aged about sixty-two, in East Worlington.

Possibly due to complications at her birth, Cora retained only the abilities of a very young infant. She was unable to talk, and had to be washed, dressed, fed etc by others. William and Bessie tried to care for Cora at home, but struggled. Cora was initially sent to Earlswood Asylum in Surrey, but in 1904 William and Bessie got her back closer to her home in Exeter and she spent the remainder of her short life in Digby Hospital (Exeter City Asylum). Cora passed away from phthisis (pulmonary tuberculosis or a similar progressive wasting disease), aged twenty-one, on 29th December 1907.

The family were still living at Hoopern Street in 1888, when Fred was baptised, but sometime in the early 1890s, they moved to 64 Howell Road, near the railway station. On his youngest daughter Winifred's 1895 baptism record, William's occupation is listed as a railway guard. Previously William had been a carman, and many carmen were employed by the railway for local delivers and collections of goods and parcels. William's sons would both later also work for the railway.

By 1901, William and his family had moved down the road from 64 to 54 Howell Road:

Seemingly no longer a railway guard, in 1901 William was back working with horses, as it seems he did for most of his working life. It is nice to picture William with his horse and cart.

William passed away, aged about fifty-nine, in January 1911, in Exeter. William and his daughters Edith and Cora were all buried at Exeter Higher Cemetery in Heavitree, Exeter, but being poor their graves are alas unmarked. After William's death, his son Fred, aged twenty-two, became the breadwinner and supported his widowed mother Bessie and youngest sister Winifred.

Great Great Grandmother Lucy Vernon (nee James)

My Great Great Grandmother Lucy (1868 - 1897) was domestic servant, housewife, and mother of four.

Lucy James was born on 23rd March 1868 in Morchard Bishop, Devon, to Henry James (30/31), an agricultural labourer, and Louisa James (nee Edwards) (22), a housewife.

Lucy was the eldest of eight children (four daughters and four sons):

• Lucy  1868 - 1897 (29)
• Bessie  1869 -
• Edwin  1875 -
• Louisa  1878 -
• Emily Maude  1880 - 
• Charles  1883 -
• Francis Robert  1886 - 
• Gilbert  1889 - 

Lucy and her siblings grew up in Morchard Bishop.

In 1871, they lived at Birchenbeer Cottage, Morchard Bishop. 1871 Census:

By 1881, they had moved to Whatcombe, also in Morchard Bishop. I cannot find a place called Whatcombe in or near Morchard Bishop; however, there is a Watcombe Farm today in Morchard Bishop. Was this where Lucy and her family lived? 1881 Census:

Aged only thirteen, Lucy worked as a domestic servant.

On the 6th May 1890, Lucy (22) married Isaac 'Harry' Harwood Vernon (21), an agricultural labourer, in Kennerleigh. The young couple set up home at Turnpike Gate Cottage in Kennerleigh, near Crediton. This may not have been a match made in heaven. My father's family history research from the mid 1990s notes that Lucy's younger sister Emily "always had ill feelings towards Isaac Harwood Vernon - he was a brutal man".

1891 Census:

Lucy and Harry had three children (one daughter and three sons):

• Edith Ellen  1891 - 1971 (79)
• Walter Charles  1892 - 1965 (73)
• William John  1894 - ? (?)
• Frank  1896 - 19?? (?)

Alas Lucy was ill with pulmonary tuberculosis and passed away from the disease, aged twenty-nine, on 25th March 1897, in Kennerleigh. Before Lucy passed away, Harry either began an affair with Ellen Tonkin, which resulted in the birth of Fred Tonkin (later known as Fred Vernon) in Apr/May/Jun 1897 in the district of Crediton; or, after marring Ellen on 31st December 1897, eight months after Lucy's death, Harry adopted Fred. Time wise it seems more likely Harry was Fred's biological father. When Lucy passed away, her young children were only five - zero years old.

Whilst censuses show Edith and Walter stay with their father, William and Frank are absent. School records do show Frank attending school in Credition in the 1900s. Yet after that they seem to vanish from record. Indeed, after his birth and baptism, there is no more sign of William. They would have been babies when their mother died. Did they go to live with friends or relatives? Were they put in the workhouse? Did they pass away young and un-recorded? Were their names changed? Did they move away? All these questions and more come to mind, with little satisfactory answers.

These photographs aren't of Lucy, but show a similar 19th century young woman who alas passed away because of tuberculosis. They show how the person wastes away from the disease. "Her clothing is falling from her skeletal frame and her eyes clearly show that death is not far".

Photographs of Charlotte Bronson. The left photograph shows Charlotte as a healthy eighteen year old in 1850; the right shows Charlotte in 1856, aged only twenty-four, in the final months of her life. Might Lucy have looked similar?

Great Great Grandfather Isaac 'Harry' Harwood Vernon

My Great Great Grandfather Harry (1869 - 1934) was a farm servant, agricultural labourer, carter on a farm, lay preacher, and father of fourteen children.

Isaac 'Harry' Harwood Vernon was born on 7th February 1869 at Fowl House, Iddesleigh, near Okehampton, Devon, to William Vernon (about 40), a husbandman and agricultural labourer, and Martha Vernon (nee Dyment) (about 36).

Harry was the eighth of twelve children (five daughters and seven sons):

• Susan  1855 -
• Thomas  1857 -
• William Robert  1859 -
• Sarah Ann  1860 - 
• Silas  1862 -
• Mary 'Jane' Jane  1864 - 
• Arthur John  1865 - 
• Isaac 'Harry' Harwood  1869 -
• Martha  1871 -
• Louisa  1872 - 1874 (16 months)
• Samuel 'Sam' Reuben  1875 - 
• Ernest  1878 - 1903 (25 years)

Sadly, when Harry was five, his younger sister Louisa passed away, aged only 16 months.

In the early 1870s, Harry and his family still lived where Harry was born, at Fowl House, Iddesleigh, near Okehampton.

1871 Census:

Though in his case Harry is short for his middle name of Harwood, some records incorrectly assume Harry is short for Henry. Though the name is wrong, due to dates and the correct names of others, we can be certain the records do refer to our Harry.

By the early 1880s, Harry, only twelve, and his older sister Jane, seventeen, were living and working away from home. They worked as servants - Harry a farm servant and Jane a domestic servant - on a farm in Westacott, North Tawton. Their employer was farmer of 202 acres, George May.

1881 Census:

As he grew older, Harry went from farm servant to farm labourer.

On the 6th May 1890, Harry (21) married Lucy James (22), a former domestic servant, in Kennerleigh. The young couple set up home at Turnpike Gate Cottage in Kennerleigh, near Crediton. This may not have been a match made in heaven. My father's family history research from the mid 1990s notes that Lucy's sister Emily "always had ill feelings towards Isaac Harwood Vernon - he was a brutal man".

1891 Census:

Harry and Lucy had four children (one daughter and three sons):

• Edith Ellen  1891 - 1971 (79)
• Walter Charles  1892 - 1965 (73)
• William John  1894 - ? (?)
• Frank  1896 - 19?? (?)

Alas Lucy was ill with pulmonary tuberculosis and passed away from the disease, aged twenty-nine, on 25th March 1897, in Kennerleigh, when Isaac was twenty-eight.

Before Lucy passed away, Harry either began an affair with Ellen Tonkin, which resulted in the birth of Fred Tonkin (later known as Fred Vernon) in Apr/May/Jun 1897 in the district of Crediton; or, after marrying Ellen, Harry adopted Fred. Time wise the former event seems the more likely.

Harry (28) married Ellen on 31st December 1897, in Chawleigh. Before they married, Harry was Ellen's lodger. Harry and Ellen left only their mark on their marriage certificate, implying neither could write.

Harry and Ellen had ten children:

• Fred (born Tonkin, later Vernon)  1897 - 1915 (18)
• Mabel Ellen  1898 - 1994 (95)
• George  1900 - 1900 (0 - 3 months)
• George Henry  1901 - 1973 (71)
• Ernest Isaac  1904 - 1997 (93)
• Isaac Harry  1906 - 1964 (58)
• William Harwood  1908 - 1972 (64)
• Florence Emily  1911 - 1993 (82)
• Sidney 'Sid'  1913 - 2004 (91)
• Percy  1915 - 2002 (86)

Alas their son George passed away as a very young baby in 1900. Harry and Ellen named their next son after him.

The family moved around mid Devon a lot, likely as Harry followed farming work. In late 1897, they lived in Chawleigh; by late 1898, when Mabel was born, they had moved back to Crediton; in late 1899, the family could be found in East Combe, whilst the elder children attended school in Stockleigh Pomeroy; in March 1900, the children changed to Cadbury School, when the family moved to West Bowley, Cadbury; and by mid 1900, the family had moved again to Thorverton.

In August 1900, Harry was fined for not sending his eldest daughter Edith regularly to school. He would be fined again in December 1915, for not sending his younger children regularly to school.

1901 Census:

In the early 1900s, Harry and his family lived in Nettacott, Upton Pyne, but, by late 1904, they had moved back to Crediton.

In Apr/May/Jun 1903, when Harry was thirty-four, her mother Martha passed away, in the district of Crediton, aged about seventy. Alas a short time later, on 10th July 1903, Harry's youngest brother, Ernest, aged twenty-five, was tragically killed by a train at Stafford level crossing, a few miles from Exeter. Harry named his next born son Ernest after his late brother.

In 1904, the family lived on Priorton Hill, Sandford, and Harry's eldest children from his second marriage - Fred, Mabel and George - attended Sandford School from June 1904 to July 1907.

In the summer of 1905, when Harry was thirty-six, his eldest son, Walter, aged twelve, was arrested for attempting to steal a silver watch and chain. Consequently he was sent to an industrial school for three years. The case was reported in local newspapers. Harry is reported as saying "the boy was troublesome. He could do no good with him. He was sorry to say the boy had stolen before". I wonder what the relationship was like between father and son. A small note in my father's family history research from the mid 1990s says "Walter tells how he was knocked out by his father". Was Harry a strict father? Was he a violent father? Harry's youngest sons believed their father to be a very religious and straight-up man. With children being physically disciplined alas commonplace until very recently, I wonder if Harry and others believed they followed Proverbs, 13:24: "He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes".

It seems Harry and his family moved briefly back to Crediton, before moving to Sowton Cottage, in Dunsford, in early 1908. From September 1910, they lived at Beer Cottage, Hittisleigh; but by February 1911, when Florence was born, were living in Beara Cottage, on or near Pitton Farm, Cheriton Bishop.

1911 Census:

From late 1911 to late 1912, the family lived in Drewsteignton. In early 1913, they moved to Turnpike Gate, South Tawton, where Sidney was born in April 1913. And by early 1915, were living at Toll Bar House, Whiddon Down, South Tawton, where Harry's youngest child, Percy, was born in February 1915. After this point, with records from 1911 less available, it is more difficult to track the movement of Harry and his family.

Harry was forty-five, when the First World War began, so too old to fight; however, his eldest sons, Walter and Fred both fought. After attending industrial school and a brief period as a farm labour, Walter had joined the army as a private in 1910, two days before his eighteenth birthday. When war began, he was serving in India with the 13th Hussars. From 1914 to 1916, he fought on the British East Front in France; and from 1916 to 1919, fought on the Mesopotamian Front in Iraq. Miraculously he survived the whole war, and left the army in 1922, an 'exemplary' sergeant. Alas, his younger brother Fred was not so lucky. Aged only eighteen, Private Fred Vernon passed away in France, on 30th September 1915. After Fred's death, "a fellow soldier visited Fred's parents... and told them Fred was hit by a shell, he was killed instantly, no remains were found" (from my father's mid 1990s research).

A few years later, when Harry was forty-eight, his father William passed away on 1st October 1917, at his home of Hollow Tree, Chawleigh. The cause of death was recorded as senile decay. Though on his death certificate, William's age at death was recorded as eighty, we know he was baptised in 1829, meaning he would have been in fact about eighty-eight.

Harry's youngest sons recalled that around 1919, the family lived between Bow and Down St Mary. Harry's son Sid later remembered that, whilst the family lived there, Harry would often send young Florence and Sid into Bow to get cider and tobacco for himself. By 1922, the family had moved to Westwood, between Exeter and Cullompton.

In the mid 1990s, my father began researching the family history and made contact with his Great Uncles Sid and Percy, Harry's youngest sons, then in their early eighties. They recalled their father as "a straight man who always told the truth". They said he "used to preach when younger, he knew all the bible references etc, but could not read or write". Great Uncle Sid believed these "were drummed into him by William, Isaac's father". In the end, Harry "gave up preaching as he was not educated and could not answer the mockers/hecklers".

They also recalled that as an older man, Harry suffered from bad arthritis.

This brutal, straight and truthful man - as such he was recalled by his relations - passed away on Christmas Eve 1934, aged sixty-five, in the district of Tiverton.

Great Great Grandmother Emma Mutters (nee Brealey)

My Great Great Grandmother Emma (1855 - 1924) was a serving maid, dressmaker, housewife, and mother of seven.

Emma Brealey was born in 1855 in Holy Trinity, Exeter, Devon, to George Brealey (24), a carpenter, and Joanna Brealey (nee Sampson), a former servant.

Emma was baptised on 8th April 1855 in Holy Trinity, Exeter.

Emma was the eldest of three children (two daughters and one son):

• Emma  1855 - 1924  (68 or 69 years old)
• Charles  1857 - 1923  (65 years old)
• Eliza  1859 - 1860  (13 months old)

When Emma was four, nearly five, her younger sister Eliza passed away, aged only 13 months old.

For all of Emma's childhood, she and her family lived at 5 Trinity Place, near South Street, Exeter.

1861 Census:

1871 Census:

As a teenager, Emma worked as a dressmaker.

When Emma was seventeen, her mother Joanna passed away, aged fifty-three, in 1872, in Exeter. Four years later, when Emma was twenty-one, her father George remarried. In 1876, George Brealey (35) married Charlotte Mary Filleul (30) in Exeter.

In her twenties, Emma moved about twenty-one miles south from Holy Trinity, Exeter to Ellacombe, Torquay. There she worked as a serving maid for John Awdry Jamieson, the vicar of Ellacombe. In an article in the Hastings and St Leonard's Observer from 11th August 1900, Rev. J.A. Jamieson is described as working for the welfare of the local people and "most popular". It continues: "He is a strict Evangelical, and often takes an important part in the Protestant campaign against sacerdotalism, presiding at meetings and speaking powerfully for the party. He shows special interest in temperance matters, and is an enthusiastic and practical supporter of home and foreign missionary work." I wonder what this religious man was like as an employer.

1881 Census:

Sometime in the late 1880s, Emma moved back to Exeter. There she gave birth to her and her future husband George Mutter's first daughter, Charlotte Irene Mutters Brealey, in 1888, about three months before they married. Did Emma name her daughter Charlotte after her step-mother?

On 2nd December 1888, Emma (33) married George Mutters (23), a mason, in Holy Trinity, Exeter. At the time of their marriage, the couple were living in Centre Street, Exeter. Also at the time, Emma was not working, likely because she had a very young baby to look after.

Both Emma and George were able to sign their name on their marriage certificate. Here are their signatures:

Signatures of George Mutters (23) and Emma Brealey (33), 1888

Emma and George had seven children (four daughters and three sons):

• Charlotte Irene  1888 - 1890 (1 year)
• Henry George  1889 - 1889 (0 - 3 months)
• Lily Emmeline 1890 - 1970 (79 years)
• Charles 'Charlie' George 1892 - 1970 (77/78 years)
• Violet Grace 1894 - 1953 (58 years)
• Anna/Anne 1896 - 1896 (0 - 3 months)
• William 'Willie' George 1898 - 1910 (11 years)

Alas four of their children passed away in childhood.

Around 1889, Emma and her family moved about twelve miles north east from Exeter to Cullompton.

1891 Census:

Times were tough. The couple's first two children passed away young. Their third child Lily was very small. George was a patient at Exeter Hospital, an institution for the sick poor. Whilst Emma lived in Cullompton, away from family support.

1891 Census:

Thankfully their situation improved. George returned to his family, and they moved around 1892 about sixteen miles south west to George's native Woodbury. The couple had more children who survived infancy.

1901 Census:

Photograph or Globe Hill, Woodbury, 1904

Emma and her family lived on Globe Hill in the early 1900s.

On 12th March 1910, when Emma was fifty-five, her youngest son Willie passed away, aged only eleven years old.

1911 Census:

Photograph of Globe Hill, Woodbury, 1914

Emma was nearly sixty, when the First World War began. Sadly her husband George passed away before the war's end. He passed away, aged fifty-two, on 20th April 1918 in the district of Neath, Glamorganshire, Wales. Though her died in Wales, he was buried in Woodbury. Emma herself passed away, aged sixty-nine, on 9th May 1924, in Woodbury. Emma and George are buried together.

Great Great Grandfather George Mutters

My Great Great Grandfather George (1865 - 1918) was an agricultural labourer, mason, bricklayer and brick maker, and father of seven.

George Mutters was born in 1865 in Exton, Devon, to George Mutters (40), a farm labourer and sexton, and Anna Maria Mutters (nee Havill) (39), a lacemaker.

George was baptised on Christmas Day 1865 in Woodbury, Devon.

George was the youngest of six children (three daughters and three sons):

• Mary Jane  1852 - after 1871  (at least 19 years old)
• Elizabeth Ann  1854 - 1856  (18 months old)
• Sarah Ann  1857 - 1928  (70 years old)
• John Thomas  1859 - after 1871  (at least 11 years old)
• William George  1862 - 1864  (15 - 18 months old)
• George  1868 - 1918  (52 years old)

All six were born in Exton, but baptised in neighbouring Woodbury. The family moved to Woodbury in the late 1860s, when George was young.

Two of George's older siblings, Elizabeth Ann and William George, passed away in infancy, before George's birth.

1871 Census:

In May 1874, when George was eight, his father was accused of stealing the shawl of a Mrs Sarah Street, who had left the shawl at the church where he was sexton. Though the shawl was later found at his home, he was found not guilty. George's mother claimed she had taken the shawl away to look after it until the owner could be found.

1881 Census:

As a teenager, George worked as an agricultural labourer.

In the 1880s, George moved from Woodbury about six miles north west to Holy Trinity, Exeter.

George and his future wife Emma Brealey had their first daughter, Charlotte Irene Mutters Brealey, in 1888, about three months before they married.

On 2nd December 1888, George (23), a mason, married Emma Brealey (33), in Holy Trinity Church, Exeter. At the time of their marriage, the couple were living in Centre Street, Exeter.

Both George and Emma were able to sign their name on their marriage certificate. Here are their signatures:

Signatures of George Mutters (23) and Emma Brealey (33), 1888

George's signature changed over time. Here it is twenty-three years later on the 1911 Census:

George Mutters' Signature, 1911

George and Emma had seven children (three sons and four daughters):

• Charlotte Irene  1888 - 1890 (1 year)
• Henry George  1889 - 1889 (0 - 3 months)
• Lily Emmeline  1890 - 1970 (79 years)
• Charles 'Charlie' George  1892 - 1970 (77/78 years)
• Violet Grace  1894 - 1953 (58 years)
• Anna/Anne  1896 - 1896 (0 - 3 months)
• William 'Willie' George  1898 - 1910 (11 years)

Alas four of their seven children passed away in childhood.

Around 1889, George and his family moved about twelve miles north east from Exeter to Cullompton.

1891 Census:

Times were tough. The couple's first two children passed away young. Their third child Lily was very small. George was a patient at Exeter Hospital, an institution for the sick poor. Whilst Emma lived in Cullompton, away from any family support.

1891 Census:

Thankfully their situation improved. George returned to his family, and they moved around 1892 about sixteen miles south west to George's native Woodbury. The couple had more children who survived infancy.

When George was thirty, his father George passed away, aged seventy, in 1896, in Woodbury. He was buried on 13th February 1896, in Woodbury.

When George was thirty-one, his mother Anna Maria passed away, aged seventy or seventy-one, in 1897, in Woodbury. She was buried on 13th November 1897, in Woodbury.

In 1899, George was caught trespassing in pursuit of game and fined. From the Western Times on 29th August 1899:

1901 Census:

Photograph of Globe Hill, Woodbury, 1904

George and his family lived on Globe Hill in the early 1900s.

On 12th March 1910, when George was forty-five, his youngest son Willie passed away, aged only eleven years old.

1911 Census:

Photograph of Globe Hill, Woodbury, 1914

George was in his late forties, when the First World War began. Sadly George passed away before the war's end. He passed away, aged fifty-two, on 20th April 1918 in the district of Neath, Glamorganshire, Wales. Though he died in Wales, he was buried in Woodbury.

George's wife Emma passed away six years later, aged sixty-nine, in Woodbury. George and Emma are buried together.