Saturday 29 September 2018

Great x3 Grandmother Jane Boobier (nee Mutter)

My Great x3 Grandmother Jane (1837 - 1891) was a housewife, step-mother of six, and mother of four.



Jane Mutter was born on 4th September 1837 in Sampford Peverell, Devon, to William Mutter (about 32), a lime burner and labourer, and Thomasin Mutter (nee Kerslake) (about 26). Jane was born before her parent's marriage.

Jane was baptised on 16th October 1837 in Sampford Peverell as Jane Mutter Kerslake.

Sometime around 1840, young Jane and her parents moved from Sampford Peverell about five miles west to Tiverton. There her parents married on 9th April 1841, when Jane was three years old.

Jane was the eldest of two children (one daughter and one son):

  • Jane  1837 -
  • Robert  1843 -

In Tiverton, Jane and her family lived at the unusually named Hit or Miss Court.

1841 Census:


1851 Census:


In Jan/Feb/Mar 1857, when Jane was nineteen, her father William passed away, aged about fifty-two, in Tiverton. Sometime after William's death, Jane's widowed mother Thomasin and younger brother Robert moved to the Higher Town in Tiverton, where they can be found in the 1861 Census. Young Robert supported his mother, working as a farm labourer.

Where was Jane, who would have been about twenty-three? Alas, I cannot find her on the 1861 Census, meaning we know little about her life as a young woman. She likely worked and lived away from home, yet still in her home county of Devon, as a domestic servant of some form, as that was the path of most young women of her rural working class at the time, before they married, and became housewife and mother to many children.

In May or June 1868, Jane (30) married widower William Boobier (about 41), a stone mason and father of six (five surviving) children in Tiverton, having had the previous months their banns read in both their native Tiverton and William's adoptive Exeter.

So Jane entered her thirties, suddenly as wife and step mother to six (five surviving) children: William (who had passed away, aged 14 months, many years before), Thomas (about 16), Emma (about 13), Edwin (about 10), William (about 7) and George (about 4).

Jane and William had four more sons:

  • Robert  1869 -
  • Walter  1871 -
  • Alfred  1873 -
  • Frederick  1874 -

Did Jane name her first son Robert after her only brother? Robert was also the name of her paternal grandfather, so it was a family name.

Jane's widowed mother Thomasin stayed with Jane and her new and growing family, at their home at Portland Place, Exeter, as shown on the 1871 Census:


Sometime in the 1870's, Jane and her family moved from Portland Place to Jubilee Street, also in Exeter, where they can be found on the 1881 Census:


In March or April 1886, when Jane was forty-eight, her husband William passed away, aged about fifty-nine, in Exeter. He was buried on 4th April 1886 in Exeter.

Only five years later, in Jan/Feb/Mar 1891, Jane herself passed away, aged fifty-three, in Exeter. Her children, teenagers, were orphaned. Thankfully it seems they managed to support each other and found work in labouring trades.

Great x3 Grandfather William Boobier

My Great x3 Grandfather William (1826 - 1886) was a slatuary and journeyman stone mason and father of ten.



William Boobier was born around 1826 in Tiverton, Devon, to Thomas Boobier (about 45), a labourer and navigator, and Mary Boobier (nee Wood) (about 45).

William was baptised on 27 August 1826 in Tiverton.

William was the youngest of six siblings (four sons and two daughters):

  • John  1806 - 1840 (34 years old)
  • Mary  1809 - 
  • Edward  1817 -
  • William  1820 - 1824  (4 years old)
  • Grace  1823 - 1836  (13 years old)
  • William  1826 - 1886 (59 years old)

Alas two of William's siblings passed away in childhood. William was the second of his name: the older William passed away, aged only four, in 1824, two years before the younger was born. In 1836, when the younger William was about ten, his older sister Grace passed away, aged about thirteen. Both lived and died in their hometown of Tiverton.

In 1840, when William was about fourteen, his father Thomas suddenly passed away, aged fifty-nine, in Tiverton. Thomas was buried on 8th November 1840 in Tiverton. William's oldest brother John passed away soon after, aged about thirty-four. John was buried on 22nd November 1840 in Tiverton. William's widowed mother Mary was supported by the income of her surviving adult children, as shown on the 1841 Census:


On 29th March 1850, William (23), a stone mason, married Tiverton-native Emma Kimmings (23), a laundress, in Tiverton. Emma's father Philip was also a mason. Perhaps William was Philip's apprentice.

William and Emma had six children (five sons and one daughter):

  • William Edwin  1850 - 1851 (14 months)
  • Thomas Philip  1852 -
  • Emma Grace  1855 -
  • Edwin John  1858 -
  • William Edwin  1861 -
  • George Albert  1864 - 

Their only daughter, Emma Grace, seems to be named for her mother, Emma, and William's sister, Grace, who passed away as a child. Also was Edwin a family name, for the couple gave it to three of their five sons?

1851 Census:


Alas William and Emma' eldest child William Edwin passed away young, only fourteen months old, in 1851. He was buried on 16th October 1851 in Tiverton.

William's family were a close one. As shown on the 1861 Census, his next door neighbours were his sister and mother, both widowed and both called Mary, with niece Sarah (daughter of their brother Edward). Also staying with William and his family is another niece Mary Ann (another daughter of Edward).

1861 Census:


In Oct/Nov/Dec 1866, when William was about forty, his mother Mary passed away, aged about eighty-five, in Tiverton.

Sometime in 1860's, William and his family moved from their native Tiverton about fifteen miles south to Exeter. There alas in early 1867, not longer after the death of his mother, William's wife Emma passed away, aged about forty. She was buried on 24th January 1867 in Exeter. Did mother and daughter in law succumb to the same illness?

At the time of Emma's burial, the family resided at Okehampton Street, Exeter. There William was left a widower with five young children (the eldest about fifteen, the youngest only two).

William soon remarried. In May or June 1868, William (about 41) married Jane Mutter (about 30) in Tiverton, having had the previous months their banns read in both their native Tiverton and William's adoptive Exeter.

William and Jane had four sons:

  • Robert  1869 -
  • Walter  1871 -
  • Alfred  1873 -
  • Frederick  1874 -

In 1881, William and his family could be found living on Jubilee Street, Exeter.

1881 Census:


In March or April 1886, William passed away, aged about fifty-nine, in Exeter. He was buried on 4th April 1886 in Exeter. He left behind a widow and nine surviving children.

Great x3 Grandmother Sarah Ann Clapperton (formerly Bennett; nee Andrews)

My Great x3 Grandmother Sarah Ann (1847 - after 1899) was a landlady, housewife, and mother of eight.



Sarah Ann Andrews are born around 1847 in Stoke Canon, Devon, to William Andrews (about 29), a railway and agricultural labourer, and Kent-native Jane Andrews (nee Perkins) (about 26).

Sarah Ann was baptised on 18th April 1847 in Stoke Canon.

Sarah Ann was the third of ten children (four sons and six daughters):

  • Mary Jane 1841 - 1843 (about 2 years old)
  • John  1844 -
  • Sarah Ann  1847 -
  • George  1851 -
  • James  1854 -
  • Mary E  1857 -
  • William  1859 -
  • Eliza Jane  1861 -
  • Jane  1864 -
  • Elizabeth 1865 -

1851 Census:


Sometime in the early 1850s, when Sarah Ann was a young girl, she and her family moved about thirteen miles north-east from her native Stoke Canon to Sampford Peverell, where most of her younger siblings were born and baptised.

Sarah Ann lived and worked away from home from a young age. The 1861 Census shows Sarah Ann, aged about only thirteen, working as a domestic servant for the Drewe family, headed by blacksmith Richard Drewe, in Cullompton, which is about half way between her native Stoke Canon and her family's new home of Sampford Peverell.

1861 Census:


On Christmas Day 1864, Sarah Ann married James Bennett (22), a railway labourer, in Heavitree, near Exeter. Whilst Sarah Ann was able to sign her name on their marriage certificate, James left only his mark, implying he could not write.

Sarah Ann's Signature on her 1864 Marriage Certificate

Sarah Ann gave her age as twenty, when she married. Whilst early records (her baptism, the 1851 and 1861 Censuses) imply Sarah Ann was born around 1847, so in fact nearer to seventeen when she married, later records (her marriage, the 1871 and 1891 Censuses) imply Sarah Ann was born around 1844, making her twenty at the time of her marriage.

Sarah and James had two children:

  • William  1868 - 1942 (73 years old)
  • Emma  1871 - 1944 (73 yeas old)

The young couple moved about five miles south-east from Heavitree to Ebford, where their eldest child William was born in 1868. Did Sarah Ann name her son after her father?

James worked as a labourer and packer for the railway. It seems likely his work took the young Devonian family just over the boarder to Somerset, where daughter Emma was born in 1871. Sarah Ann's parents and young siblings also moved to Somerset, possibly also following work - Sarah Ann's father William also worked as a railway labourer. Did Sarah Ann's father and husband work together?

1871 Census:


At the time of the 1871 Census, Sarah Ann and James were yet to decide a name for their newborn daughter, but soon decided on Emma, perhaps after James' older sister. Sarah Ann's kid sister Eliza stayed with the family at the time.

On Monday 19th August 1872, James' life was cut tragically short. He passed away, aged thirty, from injuries received in an accident at work. In his role as a packer for the Bristol and Exeter Railway Company, he aimed to unload a truck. Alas he attempted to get into the truck while it was still in motion; he missed his step and his leg got entangled in the wheel!

From the Western Gazzette on 23rd August 1872:


James' sudden death left Sarah Ann a widow, with two infant children, and with no obvious means of support. Her parents and younger siblings were only about three miles away in Hillfarrance, Somerset, but with her father being only an agricultural labourer and with other younger children to support, perhaps he couldn't afford to help Sarah Ann much. Left a pauper, Sarah Ann sought relief in Exeter. Sadly, Sarah Ann and her children were not welcomed by the city, and its justices sought to have them legally removed to South Molton.

Around August 1873, Sarah Ann conceived a son, born around May 1874. Around the time she sort relief, she would have been around eight months pregnant. Who was the father?

From the Western Daily Mercury on 2nd April 1874:


Census records imply Sarah Ann soon remarried, and her young children gained a step-father in the form of Scottish veteran of the Crimean War James Clapperton. Yet it should be noted that I cannot find a record of marriage between Sarah Ann and James Clapperton, though they would live for years as husband and wife. We assume James junior was the son of James Clapperton, though no birth or baptism record for James junior can be found, which is not rare if a child is illegitimate.

The family of Sarah Ann, her two infants, and her new husband did settle in Exeter.

Sarah Ann and James would have six children (three sons and three daughters):

  • James  1874 -
  • George Henry  1876 -
  • Walter John  1880 - 1913 (32 years old)
  • Minnie  1884 -
  • Ada  1886 - 1888 (1 year and 9 months)
  • Florence 'Florrie' Mabel 1889 -

From around December 1877, Sarah Ann and James had lodgers at their home in Little Clifton Street in Exeter. Their lodgers were a couple, Samuel Ford, a cabdriver, and his unwell wife Dinah Ford. Dinah was in hospital for some months, then cared for at Little Clifton Street by Samuel's mother and Sarah Ann, who must have meanwhile been caring too for her four young children. In December 1878, Dinah passed away, with Sarah Ann as witness.

By 1881, also living with the Clapperton/Bennett family were the Miller family: Sarah Ann's younger sister Eliza, now married to American Henry Miller, a fellow pensioner and porter of James, and their baby daughter Mary Jane, Sarah Ann's niece.

I like to think Sarah Ann and Eliza were close, with Eliza living with her older sister on the 1871 and 1881 Censuses.

1881 Census:


Alas Sarah Ann's son James, around the age of eleven, turned to stealing. And not being a fast runner, he was twice caught. On 31st August 1885, James, 11, acted as watch-out, as his younger friend Charles Henry Green, 9, stole threepenny worth of sweets from a shop at 54 Richmond Road, the property of a Miss Osborn. Their crime was witnessed by a William Kerslake, who subsequently caught James. Charles said James, the older lad, had told him to steal the sweets. Only a week later, on 7th September 1885, James attempted another steal with Charles, and another lad, Frederick Charles Hookaway, 10. They stole 50 prawns, worth 1s 6d, from a fish shop at 15 Paris Street, the property of  a Mrs Smith. She ran after the boys down the street and once more James was caught. He was sentenced to three weeks in prision, to be followed by five years in a Reformatory School.

Sometime between 1885 and 1888, Sarah Ann and the rest of her family moved from Little Clifton Street to New Cheeke Street, also in Exeter. Sarah Ann's young niece Mary Jane Miller stayed with the family.

Tragedy struck Sarah Ann again in 1888: as an accident involving a lorry killed her first husband, so an accident involving a tram killed her daughter. On the evening of 11th April 1888, Ada was only a toddler, out of her mother's sight for barely a minute while she fetched water from the house next door, and watched over by an older brother; but in a passing moment a younger brother left the front door open and little Ada wandered out, just when the older brother wasn't looking, and just when a tram came pass. The tram-driver braked suddenly, but too late. The elder brother, oh how racked with guilt and shock and sadness he must have been, when he then ran to his mother to tell her. The sons in the article aren't named. Was the young brother Walter, aged about eight, going out onto the street to play with his friends? The older brother James, aged about fourteen, maybe, or George, aged about twelve, running to tell poor Sarah Ann?

From the Western Times on 17th April 1888:



1891 Census:


Sarah Ann's became a military family. Her second husband James served in the Crimean War, all four of her sons served in the Boer War, and many of her grandchildren and great grandchildren served in the the First World War and Second World War...

Her second husband James was dismissed from the army, being found no longer fit to serve, on 26th June 1874, after nineteen years service, and having risen to the rank of Sergeant. Due to exposure to the sun in India, James was suffering from amaurosis (a painless temporary loss of vision in both of his eyes).

His record of dismissal gives a brief description of James' character and physical appearance...

Such was written of his character: "Conduct has been very good... [he is] in possession of four good conduct badges... [however] his name appears five times in the Regimental Defaulters' Book [and] he has been twice tried by Court Martial". Although a good soldier, James would later prove a bad husband. The sad point I will cover later on.

Such was written of his physical appearance: he was 5'10'', had a fresh complexion, blue eyes and light hair. His colouring was quite viking it seems.

He had left his wool-spinning family in their native Galashiels, just over the Scottish boarder, and signed up as a private on 31st January 1855, aged nineteen; he now left the army, aged thirty-eight, a Sergeant, having spent half his life, and essentially all his adult life thus far in the army. It seems there was a change of plan: his initial intended place of residence after leaving the army is crossed out and a street in Exeter written in its place. In April 1874, Sarah Ann was being denied relief in Exeter; James junior's later army service records imply he was born around May 1874; and in June 1874, James senior was dismissed from the army and settled in Exeter likely to join Sarah Ann and his son.

I imagine James inspired or encouraged his step-son and sons to later serve. Sarah Ann's eldest child, her son from her first marriage, William, served for thirteen years. Aged twenty, he joined the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry as a private on 27th July 1889. Like his step-father before him, he served in India. He served in India for four years from 26th November 1892 to 14th February 1897, and then again for another year from 3rd August 1899 to 21st December 1900. Finally he served in Ceylon from 22nd December 1900 to 21st July 1902. William did not resemble in step-father in appearance: he had sallow skin, grey eyes, brown hair, and was only 5'3 1/2''. Did he look like Sarah Ann? Did he look like his father, Sarah Ann's first husband James Bennett? Did he remind her of him?

Sarah Ann's next son, James, the one who stole the sweets and prawns as a boy, also served. He served in both the Boer War and the First World War. Unfortunately I cannot find his service record for the Boer War, but his service record from the First World War gives us some information of his previous service. It informs us he served in the Devonshire Regiment for ten years, leaving around 1903, meaning he must have joined around 1893, aged about nineteen. James, who rose to the rank of Sergeant like his father before him, reenlisted on 19th November 1915, aged forty-one, as a Sapper and Line Telegraphist. He then served in the Royal Engineers on the British Eastern Front from 29th May 1916 to 14th December 1916. He was discharged on 28th May 1917, suffering from gas poisoning. His conduct in the war was described as "very satisfactory" and his character "very good". In appearance, James seems less the viking Clapperton and more perhaps like his mother Sarah Ann: he had a fresh complexion, hazel eyes, dark brown hair, and was 5'4''.

Sarah's third son, George, followed his older brother James into the Devonshire Regiment, in which he served as a private for seven years. He enlisted on 11th March 1896, aged nineteen. George served in the East Indies from 28th February 1898 to 20th September 1899, and in South Africa from 21st September 1899 to 21st May 1903. It seems George resembled his father: he had fresh skin, blue eyes, fair hair, and was 5'5 1/2''.

Sarah's fourth and youngest son, Walter, served as a private in the Royal Marines Light Infantry: Plymouth Division for thirteen years, from 1898 to 1911. Walter enlisted on 28th December 1898, aged eighteen. The fair Clapperton colouring came through: Walter had blue eyes, light brown hair and was 5'8''. His general character was found to be "good". Walter served on many ships, before being invalided out on 16th November 1911. Eighteen months later, he passed away, aged only thirty-two, in April 1913.

Back to the 1890's... In early 1894, Sarah Ann's father William passed away, aged seventy-five, at his home in Hillfarrance, Somerset. There he was buried on 21st January 1894. Sarah was middle aged, a mother of seven, her sons were one by one enlisting, and her husband James, ever the military man, was alas turning his violence onto her.

From the Western Times on 27th April 1899:


And from the Exeter Flying Post on 6th May 1899:


The last paragraph is a sad one: Sarah Ann, the victim of domestic abuse, being chastised by representatives of the law for her conduct.

Alas this is the last record I can find of Sarah Ann, in 1899, in her early fifties, living apart from a violent husband, her four sons all away fighting.

In the 1901 Census, James is described as single, not a widower, implying Sarah Ann may have still been alive in 1901. The family seem to stick by James: the 1901 Census shows him lodging with his step-daughter and Sarah Ann's daughter Emma and her family; when he dies in 1907, his death makes the papers, his military service is celebrated, and his family mourn him. Meanwhile Sarah Ann disappears from record. She is not listed as an relative mourner at the reported funerals of her husband in 1907 or their son Walter in 1913. Had she passed away by then? Maybe I cannot find record of her because, to escape a violent husband, she moved away, perhaps changed her name. I hope her ending was not sad. In my wilder fancies, I wonder: did she run away with the unnamed lodger from the 1899 article? I wish: for her, who had so much happen in her life, and so much tragic, that she had a happy ending.

Thursday 20 September 2018

Great x3 Grandfather James Bennett

My Great x3 Grandfather James (1842 - 1872) was a manservant, railway labourer and packer, and father of two.


James Bennett was born around 1842 in Upton Pyne, Devon to John Bennett (about 50), a ropemaker, and Jane 'Jenny' Bennett (nee Godsland) (about 38).

James was baptised on 17th April 1842 in Upton Pyne.

James was the seventh of eight children (three daughters and five sons):

  • Mary  1827 - 
  • John  1829 - 
  • Jane  1831 - 
  • William  1834 - 
  • Robert  1836 -
  • Emma  1839 -
  • James  1842 -
  • Samuel  1845 -

1851 Census:


In 1855, when James was about thirteen, his mother Jane passed away, aged about 51, at Upton Pyne. A few years later, in 1859, when James was about seventeen, his father John passed away, aged about 67, also at Upton Pyne.

Young James left home and found work as a manservant for the Hodge family, headed by dairyman William Hodge, in Exeter.

1861 Census:


On Christmas Day 1864, James (22), then working as a labourer, married Sarah Ann Andrews (20) in Heavitree, near Exeter. Whilst Sarah Ann was able to sign her name on their marriage certificate, James left only his mark, implying he could not write. The young couple married in the presence of James' older siblings Robert and Emma.

James and Sarah Ann had two children:

  • William  1868 - 1942 (73)
  • Emma 1871 - 1944 (73)

The young couple moved about five miles south-east from Heavitree to Ebford, where their eldest child, William, was born in 1868.

James soon found work as a labourer and packer for the railway, which took the young Devonian family just over the boarder to Somerset, where daughter Emma was born in 1871. Did James name his daughter Emma after his older sister?

1871 Census:


On Monday 19th August 1872, James' life was cut tragically short. He passed away, aged thirty, from injuries received in an accident at work. In his role as a packer for the Bristol and Exeter Railway Company, he aimed to unload a truck. Alas he attempted to get into the truck while it was still in motion; he missed his step and his leg got entangled in the wheel!

From the Western Gazzette on 23rd August 1872:


James' sudden death left Sarah Ann a widow, far from home, with two infant children, and with no obvious means of support. The small family were soon paupers and Emma sought relief in Exeter. Sadly, they were not welcomed by the city, and its justices sought to have them legally removed to South Molton. Census records imply Sarah Ann soon remarried, and her young children gained a step-father in the form of Scottish veteran of the Crimean War James Clapperton. So young when their natural father died, did William and Emma have any memory of him?

Great x3 Grandmother Sarah Wright (nee Emberry)

My Great x3 Grandmother Sarah (1828 - 1907) was a lacemaker, outdoor servant, laundress, housewife, and mother of eight.



Sarah Emberry was born around 1828 in Silverton, Devon, to John Emberry (about 32), a cordwainer (a shoemaker), and Mary Emberry (nee Arscott) (about 35), a weaver and laundress.

Sarah was baptised on 11th January 1829 in Silverton.

It seems Sarah was the second of four children (two sons and two daughters):

  • John  1827 - 1828 (15 months old)
  • Sarah  1828 - 
  • Mary Ann  1831 -
  • Thomas  1834 -

A few months before Sarah was born, her older brother John passed away, aged only fifteen months old.

Sarah may have had other older siblings who were not baptised or who did not survive, as her parents married a decade before the birth of their first known child John.

In the early 1830's, young Sarah and her family moved about four miles south from Silverton to Brampford Speke, where Sarah's younger brother Thomas was baptised in 1834.

Sometime in the late 1830's, when Sarah was young, it seems her father John passed away.

I cannot find Sarah on the 1841 Census. She is no longer at home with her mother and younger brother back in Silverton. It was common for young teenagers of her rural working class to leave home to work and live on nearby farms as servants or apprenticeships. I imagine Sarah may have done so.

In Jul/Aug/Sep 1848, Sarah (about 20), a lacemaker, married William Wright (about 27), a boot and shoe maker, in Exeter. The couple settled in William's native Exeter.

Sarah and William had 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  1870 -

1851 Census:


In the mid 1850's, Sarah and her family moved from Coombe Street to Sun Street.

By the 1861 Census, Sarah's husband William had had a change of occupation to a mason's labourer.

1861 Census:


In the late 1860's, Sarah and her family moved from Sun Street to Prospect Place.

Meanwhile, Sarah's husband William found new work again, now as a labourer in an iron factory.

1871 Census:


On 24th June 1880, when Sarah was fifty-two, her husband William passed away, aged fifty-nine, at their home at Prospect Place.

1881 Census:


Widowed, Sarah found work as an outdoor servant and a laundress.

Sometime in the 1880s, Sarah and her children moved from 11 to 3 Prospect Place.

1891 Census:


Sometime in the 1890s, Sarah, her children all grown up, moved from Prospect Place to 4 Teigh Place. Her son Frank and his young family lived only two doors down at 6 Teigh Place.

1901 Census:


Photograph of Sarah in old age (centre) with most of her adult children, c 1900

Standing left to right: Alfred, Walter, Frank and Frederick
Sitting left to right: Thomas, Sarah and either Ellen or Thomas' wife Mary

Sarah passed away, aged 78, on 16th January 1907, at her home at Teigh Place.

Great x3 Grandfather William Wright

My Great x3 Grandfather William (1821 - 1880) was a boot and shoe maker, mason's labourer, labourer in an iron foundry, and father of eight.



William Wright was born around 1821 in St Sidwell, Exeter, Devon to Richard Wright, a day labourer, and Mary Wright (nee Richards) (about 40), a washerwoman. At the time of his birth, the family lived in Spiller's Lane, Exeter.

William was baptised on 10th June 1821 in St Sidwell, Exeter.

It appears William was an only child, born when his parents were roughly in their late thirties/early forties. I wonder if both or either parents had previous marriages and/or children.

William's father Richard seems to have passed away, when William was young.

1841 Census:


In Jul/Aug/Sep 1848, William (about 27) married Sarah Emberry (about 20), a lacemaker, in Exeter.

William and Sarah had 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  1870 -

1851 Census:


In the mid 1850's, William and his family moved from Coombe Street to Sun Street. When his children Frederick and Ellen were baptised in 1857, their residence was given as Sun Street and William's occupation is given simply as labourer. By the time of the 1861 Census, the family were still living at Sun Street and William was working as a mason's labourer.

1861 Census:


In the late 1860's, William and his family moved from Sun Street to Prospect Place. When William's youngest son Frank was baptised in 1868, the family's residence was given as Prospect Place.

By the time of the 1871 Census, the family were still living at Prospect Place, but William was now working as a labourer in an iron factory.

1871 Census:


William passed away, aged fifty-nine, on 24th June 1880, at his home at Prospect Place.

Wednesday 19 September 2018

Great x3 Grandmother Grace Nott (nee Cobley)

My Great x3 Grandmother Grace (1828 - 1890) was a wool weaver, housewife and mother of nine.



Grace Cobley was born around 1828 in Bishopsleigh, Morchard Bishop, Devon, to William Cobley (about 30), an agricultural labourer, and Agnes Cobley (nee Davey) (about 39), a serge weaver.

Grace was baptised on 17th February 1828 in Morchard Bishop. It seems likely Grace, the only daughter of William and Agnes, was named after her paternal grandmother.

Grace was the sixth of seven children (six sons and one daughter):

  • Richard  1817 -
  • George  1818 -
  • William  1820 -
  • John  1822 - 
  • James  1826 -
  • Grace  1828 -
  • Samuel  1829 -

1841 Census:


On 27th July 1848, Grace (about 20) married William Nott, an agricultural labourer, in Huntsham, near Tiverton.

Grace and William had 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 -

Around 1851, Grace, William and their eldest children William, likely named for his father, moved about fourteen miles south-west from Huntsham to Cruwys Morchard.

1851 Census:


In the early 1850's, Grace and her family lived in Morchard Bishop, before moving to Bampford, where daughters Mary, Eliza and Bessie were baptised in 1856, 1857 and 1859. The family moved back to Morchard Bishop around 1860. By 1861, they were living at Oldborough, less than a mile south of Morchard Bishop.

1861 Census:


Sometime in the 1860's, the family moved again from Oldboroughto Southcott Cottage, also in Morchard Bishop.

1871 Census:


In 1875, a shirt belonging to Grace's husband William was stolen. Grace proved the case. A William Crossman was apprehended and the stolen property found upon him; thus was William's shirt thankfully recovered.

From the Western Times on 15th October 1875:


In the 1881 Census, whilst Grace remained at Southcott Cottage with their daughter Jessie and infant granddaughter Edith Edworthy, her husband William resided at West Aish, also in Morhard Bishop, where he worked as a farm labourer.

1881 Census:


In Apr/May/Jun 1890, Grace passed away, aged about sixty-two, in the district of Crediton.