Monday 29 June 2020

Great x3 Uncle Thomas 'Tom' Yeo

My Great x3 Uncle Tom (1863 - 1904) was a farm servant, general labourer, a nursery garden, father of about five, and the older brother of Great Great Grandmother Annie Sandford (nee Yeo) (1868 - 1948).


Tom was born in Jul/Aug/Sep 1863 in the district of Okehampton, Devon, to George Yeo (29), an agricultural and quarry labourer, and Ann Yeo (nee Gliddon) (about 24), a housewife.

Tom was the eldest of six children (one son and five daughters) and the only son:

  • Thomas 'Tom'  1863 - 1904  (40 or 41 years old)
  • Mary 'Mary Anne' Gliddon  1864 - 1941  (76 years old)
  • Emily Ann  1867 - 1872  (5 years old)
  • Annie  1868 - 1948  (80 years old)
  • Ellen  1869 - 1937  (68 years old)
  • Harriet  1872 - 1893 (21 years old)

Tom also had an older half brother, Joseph Gliddon (1860 - 1928) (67 years old), his mother Ann's illegitimate son born before her marriage. Joseph lived with his maternal grandparents.

Tom and his younger siblings grew up around Meldon, just outside Okehampton.

1871 Census:


In October or November 1872, when Tom was eight, his younger sister Emily Ann passed away aged only five years old. Emily Ann was buried on 8th November 1872, in Okehampton. About three months later, Tom's father George passed away, aged thirty-nine, in 1873, in Okehampton. He was buried on 30th January 1873, in Okehampton. And about three months after that, Tom's mother Ann also passed away, aged thirty-three or thirty-four. She was buried on 30th April 1873 also in Okehampton. I wonder if they all succumbed to the same disease. 

Unless relatives took them in, Tom and his five remaining siblings (aged zero to nine) would likely have ended up in the workhouse. Indeed, in the next census (1881 Census), Tom's youngest sisters Ellen (11) and Harriet (9) can be found living in the Union Workhouse in Okehampton. I wonder if Tom and the other older siblings also entered the workhouse after their parents' early deaths, but by thirteen years old were deemed old enough to go out and work. 

Seventeen year old Tom can be found on the 1881 Census, living and working as an indoor farm servant at Westlake Farm in Inwardleigh, for farmer of 120 acres Richard Rich and his family.

1881 Census:


On 26th April 1886, Tom (22), a farm servant and labourer, married Elizabeth Ann Vallance (20), in Okehampton.

Elizabeth Ann had given birth to a son called Edgar, in January or Febuary 1886, in her native Northlew. On the 1891 Census, Edgar is described as Tom's son and has his surname of Yeo; however, when Edgar passed away, aged only eight, in October or November 1894, in Okehampton, his name was given on his record of death and burial as Edgar Yeo Vallance.

Tom and Elizabeth Ann had five or six sons (including Edgar):

  • Edgar  1886 - 1894  (8 years old)
  • Leon Thomas  1889 -
  • Evelyn Stanley  1891 -
  • Charley 1892 -
  • William Wallace  1893 - 1917  (23 years old)
  • Cecil  1896 -

Their middle son Charley only appears on the 1901 Census and, unlike his brothers, I cannot find record of his birth and he doesn't appear on any later censuses. It might well be passed away as a child; or the 1901 Census was incorrectly recorded, and 'Charley', given his age, was actually his own brother Evelyn.

1891 Census:


1901 Census:


In October 1901, when Tom was thirty-seven, his wife Elizabeth Ann passed away, aged only thirty-five, in Okehampton. Elizabeth Ann was buried on 25th October 1901, in Okehampton. Her burial was certified by Tom.

Newspaper articles from 1904 described Tom is his forties as working a nursery or jobbing gardener.

Less the three years after his wife's death, on the afternoon of Wednesday 1st August 1904, Tom himself was killed, aged only fortyor forty-one, whilst riding his bike near the farm of Clannaborough Barton, Bow. He was on his way from visiting his younger sister Annie Sandford (nee Yeo) in Bow, and making his to the Eggesford Flower Show with friend and fellow cyclist Thomas Rice. Annie thought Tom had been drinking, but could not say he was drunk; she had asked him not to go. The two men were descending a steep decline near Clannaborough Barton, when they met a couple of horses being taken to the smith by a lad called Cecil Ward. Cecil was riding one horse and leading the other; when he saw the cyclists coming, he pulled in. Rice was in front and passed the horses safely. One of the horses then became restive, and our Tom, unable to stop his bike it time, ran it straight into the horse, his petal reportedly getting caught one of the horse' hind legs. Tom was throw violently onto the hard ground, striking his head, rendering him unconsciousness. Rice immediately went to assist his friend and young Cecil went for the doctor, but it was all too late: though taken to Bow, where he received every attention by Dr Haycroft, Tom never regained consciousness and passed away about twelve hours later.

From the Western Evening Herald of 2nd August 1904:


The above article says Tom leaves a widow and four young children; however, records show Elizabeth Ann pre-deceased Tom, and I cannot find record of Tom remarrying. It might well be that only four of his sons were alive on his death: if the Charley recorded on the 1901 Census, was not in fact an additional son, but his other son Evelyn mis-recorded.

From the Western Times of 3rd August 1904:


From the Western Times of 5th August 1904:



Tom's death left his surviving sons, aged eight to fifteen, orphans. It seems a sad case of history repeating itself, as Tom and his siblings had themselves been left orphans, thirty years before, when their parents passed away at a similar age. Whilst back in the 1870's, Tom's younger siblings had ended up in the workhouse, and the older siblings were separated, sent out to work on different farms; thankfully in the early 1900's, Tom's sons were taken in by their maternal grandparents, Thomas and Selina Vallance. Thomas was a farmer at Heath Farm, at Northlew. The 1911 Census shows Thomas and Selina have many of their grandchildren living with them in the farm, including Leon, William and Cecil Yeo, who are shown to work on the farm.

Over a decade after Tom's death, his son William would serve and sadly be killed in the First World War. He had enlisted before the start of the war, on 26th August 1913, as a private (service number Ply/16358) in the 2nd Royal Marine Battalion of the Royal Marine Light Infantry Naval Division. On 1st January 1914, he transferred to the Plymouth Division. From 27th to 31st August 1914, he was with the Plymouth Division at Ostend, a coastal city in Belgium. From 7th October 1914 to 6th February 1917, he served on the H.M.S Donegal. He was back with the Plymouth Division from 7th February to 8th May 1917. On 9th May 1917, he joined the Victory Brigade (or RM Brigade). He was killed on 26th October 1917 in Belgium, aged twenty-three. His name appears on the Tyne Cot Memorial in Zonnebeke, Arrondissement leper, West Flanders, Belgium. After his death, his medals were issued to his older brother Leon.

His Service Record gives a physical description of William as a young man: he was 5'3 1/4'', had a fresh complexion, fair hair and blue eyes. His character is repeatedly described as 'very good' and his ability 'satisfactory'. I wonder if William was like his father.

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