Great x3 Uncle Samuel 'Sam' Reuben Vernon

My Great x3 Uncle Sam (1875 - 1918) was a coachman, carman grocer, commercial traveller, father of four, and a younger brother of my Great Great Grandfather Isaac 'Harry' Harwood Vernon (1869 - 1934).

Sam was born in Jul/Aug/Sep 1875, in the district of Okehampton, Devon, to William Vernon (46), an agricultural labourer, and Martha Vernon (nee Dyment) (about 42), a housewife.

Sam was the eleventh 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 - 1901  (about 40 years old)
• Silas  1862 - 1933  (71 years old)
• Mary 'Jane' Jane  1864 - 1930  (66 years old)
• Arthur 'John' John  1865 - after 1881  (at least 16 years old)
• Isaac 'Harry' Harwood  1869 - 1934  (65 years old)
• Martha  1870 - 1947  (76 years old)
• Louisa  1872 - 1874  (16 months old)
• Samuel 'Sam' Reuben  1875 - 1918  (43 years old)
• Ernest  1878 - 1903  (25 years old)

Unlike most of his older siblings, who could not write - not even their own name -; Sam - as proved later by his marriage certificate - could sign his name. Young Sam likely benefitted the 'Sandon Act' of 1876, which 'imposed a legal duty on parents to ensure that their children were educated', and the Elementary Education Act of 1880, which 'required school boards to enforce compulsory attendance from 5 to 10 years'. Sam himself would have just turned - or just have been able to turn - five years old, when this second important act came in.

1881 Census:

As a teenager, Sam went to live with and work as a farm servant for the Luxton family at Barton House in Brushford.

1891 Census:

At some point as a young man, Sam made the move from the Devon countryside into the city of Exeter. On 7th October 1897, Sam (22), by then a coachman, married Kate Charlotte Cox (26), a mantle maker, in St Mary Arches, Exeter. 

I ponder which form of 'mantle', Kate made. At the time, her father was a stone mason, so she may have been assisting him in carving stone mantlepieces? Or, as she was recorded as a dressmaker come the 1911 Census, she may have been cutting and sewing ladies' mantles (a cloak or cape-like piece of apparel). If I had to put money on it, I would guess the latter - a more traditional occupation for a woman.

At the time of their marriage, both bride and groom resided at 6 Mary Arches Street, which was the Cox family home. Sam's younger brother Ernest also lived on Mary Arches Street - only three doors down at No. 3. Ernest was the sibling closest in age to Sam. The brothers may well have been close.

Sam's signature, 1897

Sam and Kate had four children:

• Henry James William  1898 -
• Emma Ruby Vera  1904 - 1907  (2 years old)
• Vera Ruby Emma  1908 -
• Cecelia Eunice Olive  1909 -

1901 Census:

In the summer of 1903, tragedy struck Sam and his family. On 10th July, Sam's baby brother Ernest, aged only twenty-five. was killed - struck by a train at Stafford level crossing, a few miles from Exeter. Bless him - Sam himself had to cycle to the site to identify Ernest's body. 

Four years later, in 1907, Sam mourned again, when his second child and only daughter Emma passed away, aged only two. Sam and Kate would name their next born child, another daughter, after Emma, though they reordered the names.

1911 Census:

In Jul/Aug/Sep 1918, Sam passed away, aged 43, in Exeter. Sam was buried on 26th September 1918, in Exeter Cemetery. He left behind a widow, in Kate, and three children, Henry (about 20), Vera (about 10) and Cecilia (about 9).

Electoral Registers show Kate and her children remained living at 6 Mary Arches Street until at least the late 1920's (if not beyond). 

However, by the time of the 1939 Census, Kate, by then in her late sixties, lived with her married youngest daughter Cecilia and her family at 76 Buddle Lane, in St Thomas, Exeter.

1939 Census:

Kate outlived Sam by over forty years. She passed away, aged ninety-one, in Oct/Nov/Dec 1962, in Exeter.

Great x3 Aunt Martha Morrish (nee Vernon)

My Great x3 Aunt Martha (1870 - 1947) was a domestic servant, housewife, mother of seven, and younger sister of my Great Great Grandfather Isaac 'Harry' Harwood Vernon (1869 - 1934).

Martha was born on Boxing Day (26th Dec) 1870 in the district of Okehampton, Devon, to William Vernon (about 42), an agricultural labourer, and Martha Vernon (nee Dyment) (about 38), a housewife.

Martha was named for her mother.

Martha was the ninth 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 - 1901  (about 40 years old)
• Silas  1862 - 1933  (71 years old)
• Mary 'Jane' Jane  1864 - 1930  (66 years old)
• Arthur 'John' John  1865 - After 1881 (at least 16 years old)
• Isaac 'Harry' Harwood  1869 - 1934  (65 years old)
• Martha  1870 - 1947  (76 years old)
• Louisa  1972 - 1974  (16 months old)
• Samuel 'Sam' Reuben  1875 -
• Ernest  1878 - 1903  (25 years old)

1871 Census:

1881 Census:

As a young woman, Martha lived with and worked as a domestic servant for the Brooks family, headed by farmer William Brooks, at Lower Rewe, Brushford.

1891 Census:

In Jan/Feb/Mar 1897, Martha (27 or 28), a domestic servant, married James Henry Morrish (about 25), a farm labourer in the district of Crediton, Devon. 

At the time, Martha may have been a few months pregnant with their eldest son, William, as he was born in September 1897, approximately 6 - 9 months after his parents' marriage. Either that or Martha fell pregnant pretty much straight away after getting marriage.

James and Martha had seven children (five sons and two daughters):

• William James Henry  1897 - 
• Frank John  1901 -
• ? John  1903 - 1903  (0 - 6 months old)
• Alice Eva Jane  1904 - 
• Herbert Dunscombe  1907 - 
• Elsie Gladys  1912 - 
• Sidney George  1915 - 

The 1911 Census confirms that by that year, Martha and James had had five children born alive, but sadly one had passed away in infancy. Birth and death records suggest this child was most likely a son called John, who was both born and passed away in Jul/Aug/Sep 1903, in Crediton.

1901 Census:

1911 Census:

Martha's eldest son William served in the First World War. On 22nd Sep 1915, just turned eighteen-year-old William enlisted as a Second Cook's Mate in the Royal Navy. William was promoted to Cook in 1919. William served on many ships, including: Vivid I, Active, Stock Force, Suffock Coast and Revenge. His character was consistently given as 'very good' and his ability as 'satisfactory'. Though he originally signed up to serve a period of twelve years, he appears to have been discharged in December 1919. 

William's Service Record also supplies us with a brief physical description of him as a young man. He was 5' 3 1/2'', had red hair, hazel eyes and a fresh complexion. First reading this information, its novelty brought a smile to my face: this is the first person with ginger hair I have knowingly come across in my family. The red hair gene may well have come from his father's - the Morrish - side of the family, rather than my Vernon side, but who can say? Still, I can say my Cousin William had red hair.

By the mid 1930's, Martha and her husband James, both in their sixties, were living at Ratcliffe Cottage, at Raddon, Thorverton. James unfortunately suffered a long illness in his latter years, from which he eventually passed, but he 'bore it with great fortitude' and 'was a general favourite'. On Monday 18th May 1936, James passed away, aged sixty-four, at Raddon, Thorverton. His funeral, which took place on Saturday 23rd May 1936, at Thorverton, was reported in the Exeter and Plymouth Gazette of 29th May 1936:

A year later and James was still very much in Martha and their children's hearts. From the Western Times of 29th May 1937:

Martha and James' youngest two children, Elsie and Sidney, each married in the late 1930's. Newspaper announcements from the time give their widowed mother's address as 5 Jericho Street, Thorverton.

1939 Census:

In Jan/Feb/Mar 1947, having outlived a husband by a decade, Martha passed away, aged seventy-six, in the district of Tiverton.