Friday, 6 November 2020

Great x3 Uncle William Robert Vernon

My Great x3 Uncle Robert (1859 - 1939) was a farm servant and labourer, father of six, and an elder brother of my Great Great Grandfather Isaac 'Harry' Harwood Vernon (1869 - 1934).


Robert was born around 1859, in Ashreigney, Devon, to William Vernon (about 30), an agricultural labourer, and Martha Vernon (nee Dyment) (about 26), a housewife.

Robert's birth doesn't seem to have been registered by his parents; nor can I find record of any baptism. According to censuses, he seems to have gone by his middle name of Robert.

Robert was the third of twelve children (five daughters and seven sons):

  • Susan  1854 - 1930  (75 years old)
  • Thomas  1857 - 1916  (about 59 years old)
  • William 'Robert' Robert  1859 - 1939  (about 80 years old)
  • Sarah Ann  1860 -
  • Silas  1862 -
  • Mary 'Jane' Jane  1864 -
  • Arthur John  1865 -
  • Isaac 'Harry' Harwood  1869 - 1934  (65 years old)
  • Martha  1871 -
  • Louisa  1872 - 1874  (16 months old)
  • Samuel 'Sam' Reuben  1875 -
  • Ernest  1878 - 1903  (25 years old)

1861 Census:


Before the age of twelve, Robert had left his family home to live with and work as an indoor farm servant for the Harris family, headed by farmer William Harris, at Higher Coldharbour, still in his hometown of Ashreigney.

1871 Census:


By the time of the 1881 Census, Robert was back living with his parents and younger siblings. The family had moved from Ashriegney to Zeal Monachorum. Robert must have made a good impression upon the Harris family, for different members of it would later employ his children.

1881 Census:


On 24th September 1883, Robert (about 24), a agricultural labourer, married Elizabeth Ann Westacott (about 22), in Nymet Rowland, Devon. Robert and Elizabeth Ann left only their marks, implying they could not write - not even their own names. Robert's younger brother Silas acted as a witness. Elizabeth Ann was between six and eight months pregnant with their eldest child, when they married.

Robert and Elizabeth Ann had six children (four daughters and two sons):

  • Emma  1883 -
  • Bessie  1886 -
  • Elizabeth Ann 'Annie'  1888 -
  • Robert 'William' William  1891 -
  • Eva  1893 - 1919  (25 years old)
  • John  1895 - 1916  (about 20 years old)

In the mid 1880's, Robert and his young family move from Zeal Monachorum (where Emma in born in 1883) to Coldridge (where the rest of the children are born, 1886 onwards). By the 1891 Census, Robert's widowed mother-in-law was living with the family in their cottage.

1891 Census:


1901 Census:


In Apr/May/Jun 1903, when Robert was about forty-three, his mother Martha passes away, aged about sixty-nine, in the district of Crediton. Alas a short time later, on 10th July 1903, Robert's youngest brother Ernest, aged twenty-five, was tragically killed by a train at Stafford level crossing, a few miles from Exeter.

In the 1900s, Robert and Elizabeth, now in their forties, appear to take in their granddaughters, Minnie (born 1903) and Florence (born 1909), likely the illegitimate daughters of one or other of their own elder daughters.

1911 Census:


Florence's school record of 1913, when she was yet to turn four, lists her parent or guardian as Robert Vernon - likely her grandfather. She joins the school in the January, but leaves in the October. The reason for leaving is recorded as 'going to Crediton', as her 'mother [is] going into the workhouse'. Robert's eldest daughter Emma, a domestic servant, is already listed as a resident of Crediton workhouse on the 1911 Census, so she may well have been the mother of Florence and Minnie.

Both of Robert's two sons, William and John, served in the First World War.

In 1913, Robert and Elizabeth's youngest son, John (Service Number K17328), joined the Royal Navy as a stoker, for serve for a period of thirteen years. Though his service record gives his date of birth as 23rd August 1894, thus making him nineteen when enlisting, the 1901 and 1911 Censuses imply he was born around 1896; and a likely record of birth puts his birth around Oct/Nov/Dec 1895, meaning he was probably seventeen when he signed up. The country was not yet at war, but it seems John was eager to serve, as he likely lied about his age. 

John served on only two ships: the HMS Vivid II from 27th January to 16th June 1913; then on the HMS Indefatigable from 17th June 1913 to 31st May 1916. Sadly on 31st May 1916, John was killed in action, aged about twenty. His character was given as 'good' or 'very good' and his ability improved from 'satisfactory' to 'superior'. His name appears on both the Coldridge and Eggesford War Memorials.

John's elder brother William (Service Number 228429) enlisted as private in the army reserve in December 1915, aged twenty-four. Though briefly in the 330th Road Construction Company of the Royal Engineers, he was soon transferred to Class W Army Reserve. He was 'Home' from 1st February to 10th March 1917; then went to France on 11th March 1917.

John's service record gives a physical description of him as a young man: he was 5'5'', had dark brown hair, grey eyes and a fresh complexion. I wonder if he resembled his father. William's service record doesn't give much of a physical description, beyond stating he was only 5'2'' - he was shorter than me (5'3'')!

On 1st October 1917, when Robert was about fifty-eight, his father William passed away, aged eighty-eight, at home in Chawleigh, his eldest child - Robert's eldest sister - Susan at his side. The cause of death was senile decay.

Then in Apr/May/Jun 1919, Robert and Elizabeth's youngest daughter Eva, a servant, also passed away aged only twenty-five, in the district of Crediton.

All four of Robert and Elizabeth's daughters worked as domestic servants on farms, whilst their two sons worked as horsemen on farms, before going into the forces. 

Around September 1939, Robert himself passed away, aged about eighty. Though his death was recorded in Oct/Nov/Dec 1939; Elizabeth is listed as a widow in the 1939 Census, which was taken at the end of September 1939, meaning Robert must have passed away around the start of the Second World War. Elizabeth would outlive her husband by eight years, passing away, aged about eighty-six, in Oct/Nov/Dec 1947.

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