Saturday, 21 March 2020

Great x4 Grandmother Mary Boobier (nee Wood)

My Great x4 Grandmother Mary (1781 - 1866) was a housewife and mother of six.


Mary was born around 1780/81 in Tiverton, Devon.

Unfortunately two Mary Woods were born and baptised around that time (the first in 1779, the second in 1781) in Tiverton, Devon, to two different sets of parents, and I cannot discern which is ours. The second seems more likely as Mary's age given on censuses, imply she was born around 1780 or 1781; however, the first Mary, born 1779, cannot be ruled out as ours. Two more Mary Woods were baptised in Tiverton, in 1782 and 1783 - again these Mary's cannot be ruled out, as children were sometimes baptised a year or two after their birth.

On the 24th April 1805, Mary (about 24) married Thomas Boobier (23), a labourer and navigator, in her native Tiverton. On their record of marriage, both left only their mark, implying neither could write.

Mary and Thomas had six children (four sons and two children):


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


Alas two of their children passed away in childhood. Their fourth child, William, passed away, aged only four in 1824. William was buried on 1st September 1824 in Tiverton. The couple would name their youngest son for their lost child. And their fifth child, Grace, passed away, aged about thirteen, in 1836. Grace was buried on 12th June 1836 in Tiverton.

On 4th November 1840, Mary's husband Thomas passed away suddenly, aged fifty-nine. That day, he, with one of their sons and some other men, had been making a pond on the estate of a Mr Gunn. After suddenly complaining of not feeling well, his son recommended he return to the farmhouse, but he would never reach it - on his way, he fell to the ground and died. He had not been ill, but appeared in his usual health, until his last moments.

His death was reported in the North Devon Journal of 12th November 1840:


Thomas was buried on 8th November 1840, in Tiverton. Mary and Thomas' oldest son, John, passed away soon after, aged about thirty-four. John was buried on 22nd November 1840 in Tiverton. Mary, now a widow, was supported by the income of her surviving adult children.

1841 Census:


Mary remained living with her daughter Mary Ann and her husband John Jess. Unfortunately in the 1851 census, Mary is recorded as a pauper.

1851 Census:


As Mary's husband had fell down dead at work, in his fifties, so did her son-in-law John. On 28th February 1861, John suddenly passed away at his job at the Gas Works in Station Road, Tiverton. He had long been suffering from a disease of the heart, which was deemed to have been the cause of death.

His death was reported in the Exeter and Plymouth Gazette of 8th March 1861:


Mary and her daughter Mary Ann, both widows, remained living together in Elmore, Tiverton. Mary Ann supported herself and her elderly mother Mary by working as a grocer and shopkeeper. The 1861 census shows staying with them was teenage Sarah Boobier, Mary's granddaughter, the daughter of her second son, Edward.

1861 Census:


In Oct/Nov/Dec 1866, Mary passed away, aged eighty-six, in Tiverton.

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