This chapter summarises what is known of the third main group of Loosemore, based on several east Devon parishes close to the border with Somerset together with a few parishes across the border in that county. Devon parishes whose names will recur often in this account include Churchstanton, Yarcombe, Upottery and Cotleigh, while in Somerset we shall refer to Pitminster, Otterford and Whitestaunton. The parish of Churchstanton illustrates one of several anomalies which have occurred in the border parishes between Devon and Somerset, and Devon and Dorset. Until 1896 it was part of Devon county and the diocese of Exeter, but at that time it was transferred administratively from Devon to Somerset and ecclesiastically from the diocese of Exeter to that of Bath and Wells. However, the inhabitants of these borders parishes seem to have paid little regard to border changes. The children of more than one Loosemore family were variously baptized in Churchstanton (Devon) or Otterford (Somerset).
East Devon is usually regarded as that part of the county east of the River Exe as it flows south through Dulverton to Tiverton and Exeter, finally reaching the sea at Exmouth. It enjoys a climate softer than in the area south of Exmoor, having an average annual rainfall which is less than half that in those high, wind-swept areas. The land is lower lying while soil quality also is generally better, resulting in a less demanding regime for those working the small farms which still predominate all over the region. Although many of the villages were relatively isolated until the second half of the nineteenth century, people felt less isolated and tended to be more outward-looking. In particular they often developed contacts in Somerset and Dorset, a natural gateway into the rest of southern England.
The earliest known mention of this Loosemore branch in East Devon, excluding the sixteenth century group of Tiverton clothiers who were discussed in Chapter 4, occurs in Upottery parish when on 28 May 1652 there was baptized Charity ‘daughter of Aaron Loosmore’. Unhappily her life lasted only 3 months, for on the following 23 August she was buried in the same parish. The forename Aaron has been found nowhere else among Devonian Loosemores, so it seems reasonable to assume that she was a daughter of the Aaron Luesmore who was buried on 13 December 1696 in the adjacent parish of Churchstanton. ‘Anstace wife of Aaron Luesmore’ had been buried in that parish nearly two years earlier, on 3 February 1694/5. Aaron bu1695 is therefore the ancestor of this east Devon group.
However, the rarity of the forename Aaron enables us to propose a circumstantial link with a small Loosemore family group in Langport parish, Somerset a century earlier. Their dates range from c1575 to 1660, i.e. they were almost contemporary with the Tiverton Losemores, perhaps via Valentine (Chapter 4) who was married and lived in Taunton, the county town of Somerset. It has not been possible so far to establish a firm link with that Tiverton group, but our present story begins in Langport.
In the 16th and 17th centuries Langport was a small but thriving Somerset woollen town on the River Parrett, situated about twelve miles due east of Taunton. At least two Loosemore families lived in that area in the late 16th/mid-17th centuries. The family of main interest in this account was headed by Walter Loosemore (d. 1623), who lived with his brothers George and Francis, his wife Margerie née Kerby or Kirby, and their five children George, Gregory, Mary, Margaret and Joan, in Langport borough.. Surviving details of this family, which apparently died out with Gregory’s death in 1669, are taken from Langport borough records and a series of wills proved in the senior Prerogative Court of Canterbury. [1] In the adjacent parish of Huish Episcopi we glimpse another family, probably linked with Walter of Langport though very few of their details have come to light. [2] In what follows the various people are listed in the same order as their wills appear in Appendix 12.
Walter Loosemore d.1623
Although ‘my brother Francis’ is treated less well in Walter’s will than all other legatees he is assumed to be a blood brother. Walter was comfortably prosperous, judging by his bequests, yet somewhat surprisingly he is not mentioned in any of the Langport lay subsidy returns. [3] He may have been in the woollen trade as was Gregory, his youngest known son. From the order of his bequests George was his eldest son and his daughters were born in the order Mary, Margaret, Jone. None of them was aged 21 in 1623, so his marriage would have been between c1602-1615 but see next paragraph on his wife Margery for believing the marriage was probably close to 1600, placing his birth c1575. He was thus a contemporary of Valentine of Tiverton and William of Huish, see later.
Margerie Loosemore 1641
From the reference in her will to her brother Nicholas Kerby she is probably Margerie Kerby (or Kirby), sister of Margaret who married John Gamlin on 17 Oct 1617 in Aller parish. Her eldest daughter Mary married Giles Cope. A younger daughter Margaret married William Vincent [4] in Pitney parish on 5 Feb 1625. [5] She was thus probably born in 1604 or earlier, so her parents Walter and Margerie would have married c1600, implying Walter’s birth at c1575, see above. Margerie’s marriage would then be just about consistent with her younger sister Margaret’s marriage in 1617. Pitney, Aller and Langport parishes are contiguous.
George Loosemore snr., 1641
He was executor of his brother Walter’s will, so presumably was older than Francis. A George Loosemore of Langport appears in three lay subsidies: 1622/3, 1627/8, 1628/9 but not in 1571, 1598 or 1640. Walter’s son George was under age in 1623 so could not have been the George of the 1622 lay subsidy; he may have been still under age in 1628. Only 16-18 names are listed therein for Langport; they would have been the most prosperous in the borough, implying that they were of mature age. Furthermore, PCC wills are unusual - normally they suggest that property was owned outside the parish, if not outside the diocese. For these reasons we prefer to identify this George as Walter’s brother, not his son.
George was the defendant in a Chancery law suit prosecuted by George Bull of Wells, Somerset, guardian of John, Andrew & Marie Tucker, plaintiffs, whose bill of complaint is dated 30 November 1631. It alleged that John Tucker, father of the three children, in his will bequeathed his estate worth £400 to his wife Elizabeth during her widowhood, for the benefit of their children; Andrew Tucker was named as executor. As he was a minor Elizabeth proved the will, obtaining possession of the estate. Shortly after the father’s death Elizabeth re-married, to ‘George Loosemoore of Aller, Somerset, yeoman and he has taken over all the estate and the children will have nothing.’ In his answer George alleges that John Tucker jnr. and George Bull named Andrew and Marie as complainants without their knowledge ‘who are both living in house and bred up by this defendant and so have been for the space of four years now paste, Andrew being about the age of 10 years and Marie near about 12 years, and neither of them did ever see the said Bull their now pretended guardian as this defendant believeth¼’. He alleged that on 25 June 1627, during Elizabeth’s widowhood he, George, paid her £60 for two closes of land, after which they were married. For one year George supported all three children (presumably until John Tucker jnr. came of age) and since then he has supported the other two children in addition to paying debts of their father, John Tucker snr., to the value of £120. Elizabeth died about 1 January 1628/9. He rejects the allegations made in the bill of complaint. [6]
George Loosemore is almost certainly he who figures as defendant in another Chancery suit, where his behaviour is less praiseworthy. The complainants, the brothers John and William Crane, alleged in their bill, dated 16 May 1641, that George Loosemore, ‘white baker of Langport Eastover’, had conspired with others to have William Crane arrested when he visited Langport on 21 March 1639. George then persuaded the unfortunate William that if he would enter into a bond of £40 in his favour then he (George) would act as surety for William in the borough court, the bond covering any expenses which he (George) might incur. The bill of complaint recites a very involved story, but the final result was said to be that Loosemore had since started proceedings in the court of Common Pleas with the aim of obtaining payment of the whole £40, which was alleged to be unfair. Nothing has survived of George Loosemore’s answer to the complainants, assuming that he was still alive. [7]
These two law suits confirm that George Loosemore was alive on 16 May 1641 and that he was certainly of age during or near June 1627 when he married Elizabeth Tucker. He could not have been born later than about 1604. It still does not provide conclusive proof that he is George the brother of Walter and not George the son, but does make it much more likely.
George Loosemore jnr
George the son is a shadowy figure about whom we have no definite information, although he was his father’s eldest son and probably his heir, unless he died prematurely.
Gregory Loosemore 1669
He was Walter’s youngest son, who became a woollen draper, a man of substance. He had come of age by January 1629/30, see below. Robert Puddy, one of his two ‘loving friends’, was portreeve of Langport (at that time the term ‘portreeve’ denoted a status somewhere between Mayor and chief executive of the borough) in 1662 and 1670. John Isham, the other friend, was Town Clerk in 1666, portreeve in 1673. Gregory was a minor in 1623, but of age in 1641, so he does not appear in any lay subsidy roll so far examined. He possessed a free burgage from the borough, which was renewed for a £10 fine on ‘30 October 1646: A lease to Gregory Loosmore of a messuage or burgage courtlage and garden to the said Gregory and Barbara Whiteinge for their lives. The remainder thereof to the said Gregory for 99 yeares if Mary Copp [sic] daughter of Gyles Copp soe long live. Rent 10s.’ [8] The exact relationship between Gregory and Barbara Whiting is not yet understood but she is an important figure in linking the Langport family with other Loosemores.
Gregory was one of about 22 free tenants of the borough, the ‘commonalty’ who, with the chief burgesses, constituted the borough court which effectively ruled the borough (see also Chapter 4 for Tiverton borough court). Surviving court records start in 1657. [9] From then until his death he appears regularly therein. A Court held on 20 Oct 1659 lists him as a magistrate, so he had learned his lesson for refusing the office in 1650, see (iii) in the next paragraph. On 8 May 1660 and again on 14 Oct 1662 he was nominated member of a jury to decide various matters before the court. His last appearance was on 27 Apr 1669; at the next court on 12 Oct 1669 he is listed as ‘Gregorius Loosemore dead’ with the later comment ‘We present the death of Gregory Loosemore but who is the next tennant we know not’. He therefore died between April and October 1669. Absence from his will of any mention of wife and children suggests that he too was unmarried. The chief beneficiaries of his will were the children of his sister Mary who had married Giles Cope, in particular her two daughters, Mary who married Oliver Stott and Joan who married Robert Stuckey. George appointed ‘my cosen Robert Stuckey’ the sole executor of his will, see below.
Gregory is referred to in 1629/30, at the quarter sessions court held at Wells on 12-15 January when information was sworn against him by William Knowman ‘for using several trades contrary to the form of the Statute 5 Eliz’. [10] Several references to him occur in the portreeve’s accounts:
1643: ‘canvas & cloth bought for the poor from John Catell, John Sawtle & Gregory Loosemore’; [11]
1650: fined £15 for not taking office as a magistrate;10
1657: paid £5.16s. for clothing for the poor; 10
1661: an affidavit sworn by William Bacon on 13 April 1661 that he, Bacon, was assaulted by Gregory who had earlier uttered treasonable remarks to him. [12]
One other reference to lease renewals in the proceedings of the borough court is relevant to this account of Gregory. Under the date 10 April 1670 ‘It was agreed with Robert Stuckey that for a fine of £28 [to be paid in two instalments of £14 each on specified dates] in his free burgage he is to exchange the life of Mary the wife of Oliver Stott for his own life and to add Joane his wife her life and George their son…’. [13] This is the estate which involved Mary Stott, bequeathed in his will to his cosen Joan Stuckey. Gregory having recently died, Robert Stuckey moved quickly to secure his legacy. Two thought-provoking items in the will are the references to ‘my cosen Aron [Aaron?] Loosemore’. ‘Cousin’ may imply a younger man, as in the reference to Robert Stuckey, so the possibility arises that ‘Aron’ may be Aaron Loosemore who was buried in Churchstanton in 1696. If this is correct, the Churchstanton line would be firmly linked with Langport.
The origins of Gregory’s father, Walter, are therefore of special importance. In his will he refers to his brother Francis, a relatively rare Loosemore forename, so it is of some interest to note that one of the children of Valentine of Tiverton and Taunton was also Francis, though he died as an infant. While the link with Aaron of Churchstanton may be thought reasonably probable, any link with the Tiverton family remains no more than a hope until more definite evidence comes to light.
William Terrill 1649
A Langport cardmaker, i.e. connected with the woollen trade. His will is significant for the possibility that his widow Barbara, who was described as ‘alias Lusemore’ on the grant of probate, [14] had by then re-married to a Loosemore, perhaps William of Selworthy (see No.7 below). [15] She may have been the Barbara née Whiting who is mentioned as one of the lives in a lease granted to Gregory Loosemore on 30 Oct 1646, see above, in which case she must have married Terrill after that date.
Andrew Loosemore 1651
His parents were said to be buried in Hewish church chancel—this is Huish Episcopi, a parish adjacent to Langport, surrounding it on three sides. At that period Langport was a dependent chapelry of Huish and shared its vicar; John Fido was the vicar there from 1571-1624. Andrew’s bequest to ‘three friendless children of Langport’ strengthens the family links with that parish. Reference to ‘my brother John Fidoes sonne Walter’ may be explained by a marriage in Huish Episcopi parish between George Loosemoore and Adria Fido on 13 February 1635/6. If this George and Andrew were brothers, and Adria a daughter of John Fido, then by the conventions of his time Andrew would regard John Fido as a brother (by marriage). The name Walter may also reflect a link with Langport. It is not clear whether ‘my brother John Fido’ refers to the vicar himself or a son, but John Fido the vicar must have been a contemporary of Walter’s father so the reference is more likely to be a son. From the absence of any reference to wife and children we may assume that Andrew died a bachelor.
William Loosemore 1659
He is probably the Willyam who appears in the 1625/6 Lay Subsidy for Bossington tithing, taxed on land worth 20s. Bossington is a hamlet in the parish of Selworthy, Carhampton Hundred, close to the Somerset/Devon boundary on the north coast. [16] In another subsidy of 1642 he lived in Allerford tithing in the same parish [17] . He also appears in Selworthy in the Somerset Protestation returns of 1642 [18] (the return for Pitney Hundred, which includes the borough of Langport, is lost). His wife Barbara provides a possible link with Langport, see the will of William Terrill of that parish, who died between March 1640 and 1649. Probate of Terrill’s will was granted to his widow Barbara who was then described as ‘alias Lusemore’. Barbara was not a common name; she may have married William Loosemore after the death of her first husband. See also Barbara Whiting, No.5 above.
Another suggestive reference in his will is to ‘my cosen David Loosemore of Dulverton’, providing a link between Dulverton, Selworthy and Langport if the Barbara connection is correct. David is listed in the Protestation return for Dulverton parish.18 See also parish register entries for David in Dulverton. [19] “Cousin” was employed indiscriminately at that period for any blood link less close than brother/sister/son/daughter, so their exact relation is not clear. William must have been at least 21 in 1626, so he was perhaps a contemporary of Andrew and Walter’s son George. David’s wife Jane was buried in Dulverton 20 Apr 1696, followed by David himself on 17 Apr 1698.
The period’s predilection for litigation allows us a tantalisingly uninformative glimpse of one other Loosemore who may have been part of this group. In the summer of 1585 Edward Lowsemore, the bailiff of the Dean and Chapter of Wells Cathedral for their manor of North Curry, Somerset, initiated a suit in the court of Chancery against William Jones, D.L., and Phillip Bysse, D.D., acting for the Dean and Chapter. [20] Edward’s bill of complaint is dated 28 July 1585 and the initial court hearing was on 19 October of that year. He identified himself as ‘is and of long time hath been’ bailiff of the manor. The burden of his complaint related to an event which occurred ‘about four years past’, i.e. probably in 1581. On the instructions of Drs. Jones and Bysse he had taken possession of certain goods the property of Hugh Crocker, and John Clarke, in lieu of fines imposed on them by the manor court. Whereupon Crocker and Clarke repossessed their goods and made suit against him in the court of common law. Edward the bailiff admitted his action, which he alleged was by authority of Jones and Bysse, but the court found for the complainants and he (the bailiff) was forced to pay them a total of £16 including expenses. He had then attempted to claim back this money from the Dean and Chapter, without success. A commission was issued at the 19 October Chancery hearing to take the answers of the defendants Jones and Bysse by the quindene (15th day) of the Hilary law term (27 January 1585/6) when they denied having given any such instructions to their bailiff. No record of the final judgement has been found but it is unlikely to have been favourable to Edward Lowsemore.
There we must leave this account of the Langport Loosemores and the evidence for believing that they are linked to Aaron Luesmore the ancestor of the large Churchstanton branch, to which we now return.
Mention has already been made of Aaron Luesmore, buried in that parish on 13 December 1696, his wife Anstace who had been buried there on 3 February 1694/5 [21] and a daughter, Charity, baptized in the adjacent parish of Upottery 28 May 1652 and buried there only three months later, on 23 August. However, before the death of Anstace the nearby Yarcombe parish register records the marriage there on 20 May 1685 of Joseph Lusemoore of Churchstanton and Mary Byrne of Yarcombe. There is considerable variation in the spelling of the surname in these early register entries, but from the time of Aaron’s grandchildren it has become more or less standardized as Loosmore. For convenience this spelling will be generally adopted here. There is no evidence of any other Loosmore family active in either parish at that time so we take it that this Joseph was a son of Aaron and Anstace. Assuming that he married when aged about 25-28 years, as was customary, he would have been born c1657-60, i.e. he is Joseph c1658. If his birth was indeed before the Restoration in 1660 it would explain why no record has been found, since infant baptisms were rarely performed during the period of Puritan rule in England. Joseph c1658 is the only known surviving issue of the marriage of his parents, Aaron bur 1695 and Anstace.
It is not surprising that the first of their children, Joseph, was born in Yarcombe, his mother’s home parish. The young Joseph was baptized there on 21 May 1686; we shall refer to him as Joseph 1686. He was followed by three more sons: Henry 1688 baptized on 20 October 1688 and William 1691 on 17 March 1690/1, both in Churchstanton, then Robert 1695 on 20 September 1695 in the adjacent parish of Upottery. [22] William 1691 was buried in Churchstanton on 26 December 1730. Nothing else is known about him; he may have died a bachelor. Likewise, the youngest son, Robert 1695 seems to have left no impression in local records. All that we know of him is that he was buried on 13 January 1745 in Upottery, the parish of his birth. He also may have died a bachelor for no mention has been found of a marriage.
We shall focus attention on the two elder sons Joseph 1686 and Henry 1688, whose mode and standard of living remain to be discovered. No records have been discovered of any involvement with the law, so they did not indulge in litigation, nor is there any known evidence of involvement in property dealings. We may assume that at best they were tenant farmers, at worst farm labourers. Both of them married and produced families who multiplied, spreading far beyond east Devon, to South Wales and into the New World. First we look at the descendants of the eldest son.
He married Mary Pool on 29 May 1717 in his home parish of Churchstanton. The brief parish register entry gives no details of Mary’s parents, or her age. In the next 16 years a total of nine children were born to them, baptized almost at random in the parishes of Churchstanton, Otterford, or Clayhidon. Otterford is contiguous with Churchstanton to the east, Clayhidon to the west.
Their eldest son, Peter, was baptized in Churchstanton on 17 May 1718 but died aged 2 years; he was buried in the parish on 25 September 1720. Then came William, baptized on 17 September 1719 in Otterford (William 1719), followed by Peter, baptized in Churchstanton on 10 November 1720 and Elizabeth, baptized in Otterford on 22 July 1722. Nothing more is known about Peter and Elizabeth, but it is likely that they both died in infancy. Next came Joseph, baptized in Otterford on 8 March 1723 (Joseph 1723) who will be important in our story, and Mary on 17 April 1726 in Churchstanton. She was buried in the parish on 13 January 1760, apparently unmarried. The last three children were all baptized in Clayhidon parish, Martha on 12 May 1728, John on 31 May 1730 (John 1730) who will also be important in our story, and then, after the death of Joseph 1686, Eleanor was baptized as ‘base born to Mary Loosmore’ on 6 February 1736.
It seems unlikely that the family actually moved from Churchstanton to Clayhidon for Joseph 1768 and Mary were both buried in Churchstanton, he on 7 September 1734, she on 13 January 1760.
Of their children who survived childhood, William 1719 married Hannah though no record of the marriage has been found, for Urbina ‘the daughter of William and Hannah Leusmore’ was baptized in Churchstanton on 8 November 1740. Sadly Joseph her father was buried in the parish only a month later, on 7 December 1740. Hannah, now widowed and with a young daughter to support, must have felt the need for security so it is not surprising that on 10 September 1742 she re-married to Richard Major in Honiton and leaves our story. Martha also leaves this account, having married Edward Prowse in Churchstanton on 6 April 1755, while the youngest, Eleanor, left the district and married a widower, David Ford, in his home parish of Wellington, Somerset, on 15 July 1768. We leave them all to follow the fortunes of Joseph 1723 and John 1730.
Although Joseph 1723 was baptized in Otterford he continued to live in Churchstanton with his parents until on 7 May 1750 he married Joan Tucker of Upottery in her home parish, after which he brought her to Churchstanton where they brought up their 11 children and lived for the rest of their lives. Nothing is known of their first four children except their dates of baptism: Mary 16 June 1751, Betty 25 February 1753, Joseph 9 June 1754, John 9 January 1757. Joseph was buried 23 March 1766; it is probable that the other three died in infancy. The next child, William, baptized on 4 February 1759 (William 1759), was followed by Eleanor on 25 May 1760. Nothing is known of Martha, baptized on 12 September 1762 but she also probably died as an infant. Peter 1765, the next, was baptized on 3 March 1765, but then twin boys, Robin and James, were recorded as being baptized only eight months later, on 27 October 1765, sons of Joseph and Ann Loosmore; both were buried a month later on 10 November 1765. The substitution of Ann for Joan was almost certainly an error because the parents of the youngest child, Joseph 1768, baptized on 25 December 1768, was said to be Joseph and Joan Loosmore.
Only four children of Joseph 1723 survived childhood. Eleanor married John Harwood in her home parish on 2 February 1783, and leaves our story. Of the three surviving sons, Peter 1765 married Susannah Crawley in Ottery St. Mary parish on 18 January 1786 but then must have fallen on hard times, for two years later, on 4 April 1788, he was hanged at Heavitree gallows for stealing a bullock. A local newspaper report stated that ‘he behaved in every way becoming to his unhappy situation’, suggesting that there may have been local sympathy at the severity of his sentence. [23] His widow subsequently re-married, to William Bastin on 27 July 1789 in the same parish. In their short life together Peter and Eleanor had one son, Samuel 1786, born in Ottery St. Mary on September 1786 and baptized there on 20 June 1790, though they were then living in Clayhidon parish. [24] Samuel 1786 was twice married. His first wife, Honor (or Hannah) Born, whom he married On 25 April 1811, bore him a son, Samuel, about 1839. Honor died some time before 1851, at which time the elder Samuel was an innkeeper of the “Winchester Arms” at Eastbrook in the Somerset parish of Pitminster. Five years later, on 15 July 1856, he married Ann Gill in that parish. Samuel 1786 died on 26 June 1860, leaving a very simple will by which his wife Ann, named as executrix, was the sole legatee. [25] She continued as innkeeper until after 1881, eventually dying on 14 January 1898 aged 82.
Joseph 1768, youngest surviving son, married Esther Wilkins in Churchstanton on 25 October 1786 when a young man of 18 years. Their only child, a daughter named Nanny, was baptized in Churchstanton on 28 December 1789 but Joseph died on her fifth birthday, 28 December 1794. We leave them, to follow William 1759, eldest surviving son, whose descendants spread as far as Canada.
Family of William 1759 (Joseph 1723, Joseph 1686, Joseph c1658, Aaron bur 1695)
William 1759 initiated the drift of the main family line away from Churchstanton westwards towards Exeter when he married Jenney Long in Farringdon parish on 7 April 1782. ‘Jenney’ was a diminutive form of Jane or perhaps a misspelling in the marriage register, since at the baptism of their first child, William 1783, on 12 January 1783 in Farringdon she was clearly ‘Janey’, and when their second son John Tucker was baptized there on 4 June 1786 (John T 1786) she was simply ‘Jane’. The following year the family moved to Whimple parish, where their next two children were baptized, Joseph on 25 December 1787 and Sarah on 12 July 1789. [26] The place of birth/baptism of the youngest child, Robert, has not so far been found, but he must have been born before 1812, and probably well before that date, for he was appointed executor of his father’s will which is dated 14 March 1833, when he was described as a yeoman so must have been of age. We shall assume that he was born about 1795 and refer to him as Robert c1795. Some time after 1789 the family moved once more, this time northwards to Sampford Peverell parish, where William 1759 acquired several properties. His own house in the parish was known as Radfords Tenement where he was living at his death on 7 July 1833.
We shall meet three of William 1759’s sons later, but first we deal briefly with the remaining two children. Nothing is known of Joseph after his baptism in 1787; he may well have died in infancy, for infant mortality was high in 18th century England. Sarah, born in 1789, married John Harwood in Cheriton Fitzpaine parish on 6 August 1828 but that their life together must have been troubled is apparent from her father’s Will which has several strange features.
The Will of William 1759 makes no reference to his wife Jane who presumably had already died, though no record of the event has been found. After dismissing most of his children with one shilling each it lists all his several properties in Sampford Peverell which, together with all other goods and chattells, were to be placed in the trust of ‘my son Robert now residing with me and John Harwood of Wellington parish in Somerset County son of my sister Eleanor’ for the benefit of his grand-daughter Jane, the daughter of his son Robert (Robert c1795). Then follows an instruction to his trustees that they ‘allow my daughter Sarah Harwood one under room and one upstairs sleeping room during her life only in any premises at their discretion provided she lives separate and apart from her husband James Harwood but she shall forfeit all claim to the said rooms if ever she lies with her husband again’. We are left to wonder whether this last instruction merely reflected the views of his daughter over a breakdown of her marriage, or the result of a serious falling out between father and son-n-law, or a final expression of his extreme anger that the marriage had taken place at all. [27] This last instruction is the more intriguing because poor Sarah, together with William’s sister Eleanor and his favoured the son Robert had all married members of the (same?) Harwood family.
Family of William 1783 (William 1759, Joseph 1723, Joseph 1686, Joseph c1658, Aaron bur 1695)
William 1783, eldest son of William 1759, married Arabella Broughton on 28 February 1809 in Stockland parish where she had been baptized on 28 December 1786. After their marriage the couple moved to Broad Clyst where all their nine children, six sons and three daughters, were born. At some time he learned the trade of baker, for that was his vocation in Broad Clyst, carried on by his widow after his early death in October 1828. [28] No birth/baptism date has been found for the eldest child, Robert, but he died in infancy as his burial entry in the Broad Clyst register on 10 November 1810 says that he was ‘son of William, aged 1 year’. The second child, Margaret Broughton, was baptized on 26 February 1811; her register entry refers to her father as a shopkeeper living in Broad Clyst village. She married William Muggleton on 14 August 1834 in her home parish and leaves our story. Edward Broughton, the eldest surviving son, was baptized on 12 January 1813 (Edward B 1813), followed by Arabella on 17 November 1814 who later married John Modgridge, farmer of Broad Clyst, and leaves our story; John on 26 March 1817 (John 1817); Robert 3 October 1819, buried 26 March 1820 aged 6 months; James Thorne 14 January 1824, buried 9 September 1835 aged 12 years; Jane on 5 October 1825, buried 23 April 1826 aged 7 months; and Daniel 16 April 1827 (Daniel 1827).
William 1783 was buried in Broad Clyst on 12 October 1828 at the young age of 45 years. [29] As has already been mentioned, Arabella his widow appears to have continued running the shop for some time, though in 1851 and 1861 she described herself as a retired baker. Her death was registered in the fourth quarter of 1874 in St. Thomas registration district which includes Broad Clyst parish; her age was then said to be 91 years, corresponding to a birth in 1783, roughly consistent with her baptism. A small discrepancy is understandable as her age would have been supplied by one of her children. We now take a brief look at the lives of his children.
Family of Edward B 1813, eldest surviving son of William 1783 (William 1759, Joseph 1723)
Edward B 1813 was one of many young men born at the beginning of the 19th century who left rural Devon for London in search of a better future. Nothing is known of his business there but he probably settled in the area close to St. Paul’s cathedral, for on 19 October 1843 he married Ann Harding in the Church of St. Mary le Bow, Cheapside. He was then living in Bow Lane, she in Cheapside. In order to create a better impression on his bride and her family he stretched the truth about himself and his family, for on the marriage certificate he calls himself Edmund (it was not uncommon to interchange Edward and Edmund) while his father, a baker, is described as a surgeon, though this high-sounding description then included hairdressers and pharmacists. Ann’s father was said to be a potter.
The couple made their first home in Bishopsgate where three of their four children were born and baptized. The eldest, Emma Arabella, was born on 25 June 1844 and baptized in St. Botolph Church, followed by William Broughton, born on 30 January 1847 but not baptized until 28 January 1849 in the church of St. Ethelburga, Edmund James born 28 January 1848 (Edmund J 1848) and baptized with his brother, and another daughter, Ellen (Helen) Marie, born early in 1851 though her place of birth is unknown. The family must have moved eastwards at about that time for the 1851 census shows them living at 120 Shaftesbury St., Shoreditch. We learn that both Edmund and his wife were then aged 38 years while he declared his true occupation as a baker, as was his father. [30]
Emma Arabella had the misfortune, as it was considered in Victorian times, to conceive a child outside wedlock. Apparently she was disowned by her parents, for the child, Emma Cecilia, was born in Pancras workhouse on 18 January 1880; nothing is known of her life. Emma Arabella died a spinster on 1 December 1896 in East Dulwich. She left no will, but letters of administration were granted to her brother Edmund J 1848 and her younger sister Helen who had married George Henry Pearce in 1888. [31] Edmund J was said to be ‘now resident in Canada’, implying that she was still in touch with them. Her older brother, William Broughton, had died in 1868, aged only 20 years.
Edward B 1813 died in London at the beginning of 1879, leaving no will, so this branch of the family died out unless his son Edmund J 1848 married and left descendants in Canada. This question is still unanswered.
Family of John 1817, second surviving son of William 1783 (William 1759, Joseph 1723)
John 1817 would have learned the bakery trade from his father, as did his elder brother, but unlike Edward he remained in his home parish, becoming the village baker in succession to his father. This much is clear from the 1851 and 1861 census returns for Broad Clyst parish. [32] He was twice married. On 25 March 1841, soon after his 24th birthday, he married first 22 year old Mary Wild in Broad Clyst, where all their four children were born. The eldest, Gertrude, was baptized on 2 January 1842, followed by William John on 5 June 1844 (William J 1844), Margaret Broughton in the spring of 1855 who lived for only a very few weeks, and Edward Broughton, born on 13 October 1856 (Edward B 1856). Mary the first wife of John 1817 died in the autumn of 1865 and was buried in Broad Clyst, leaving her husband to bring up their youngest son. He therefore took for his second wife Susannah Halse, a farmer’s daughter whom he married on 4 October 1866 in Budleigh Salterton parish. [33] There were no children of this marriage. Only two months after her father’s second marriage, his eldest daughter of the first marriage, Gertrude, gave birth to an illegitimate son, Charles, in the workhouse of St. Thomas district on 6 December 1866 though he died within a few days. She remained unmarried, in Broad Clyst parish, until at least 1891. Susannah died early in 1894; while John 1817 survived her by ten years, dying in autumn 1904 aged 87.
William J 1844, eldest son of John 1817, married Sarah Gold on 17 August 1869 in Exton, Somerset, though their six children, all daughters, were born in Broad Clyst as is recorded in the 1881 and 1891 census returns for the parish. At some time later in life he and his wife moved to Hillfarrance parish, Somerset where he worked as the village baker. William J 1844 died on 27 March 1922 at Hillfarrance; in his simple will he left all his goods and chattells to his wife Sarah whom he made his executrix. She died on 20 April 1931, also at Hillfarrance, making Arabella, the fourth of her daughters, the executrix of her will. [34]
Edward B 1856, second son of John 1817, poses a puzzle. A death certificate for Edward Loosemore, dated 1st October 1893, records that he was then aged 40, a Private in the 12th Lancers. He died of pneumonia and fatty degeneration of the heart, at North Camp, Farnborough. Muster Rolls for the 12th Regiment of Lancers have survived for this general period. They show that from January 1877 the Regiment was on overseas duty in India until the beginning of October 1887 when it embarked in the troopship Malabar, arriving back in England on 24 November 1877. Edward Loosemore does not appear in any Muster during this tour of overseas duty, the last of which was held on 23rd November 1887, the day before they disembarked in England, so we may be confident he did not serve with the 12th Lancers in India. [35] Yet a muster at Colchester on 31 March 1888 records that for the entire period of 129 days since disembarkation 3043 Pte Loosmore received ordinary pay at 1s.2d per day plus good conduct pay at 2d/day. No other details are given.
It is unlikely that he joined as a raw recruit on the same day that the Lancers disembarked as he would not have qualified for a good conduct pay supplement unless he was a mature soldier. The absence of any note against his muster entry is surprising if he had been posted from another regiment, since normally this fact would have been noted at the first muster with his new regiment. Recruits to cavalry regiments were first posted to the UK Cavalry Depot at Canterbury, where most regiments maintained a detachment whose size varied widely in line with movement orders and recruiting campaigns. Although the 12th Lancers are well represented in Cavalry Depot records, no Loosemore appears either in that regiment or any other Lancers. [36] For this reason it seems likely that 3043 Edward joined the regiment shortly before they arrived back in England in November 1887, though definite evidence is lacking. Perhaps he was posted to the Regiment from a unit of the militia, but no records have survived for the period of interest.
Then for seven regimental musters between August 1888 and September 1892 [37] his name appears in the returns for ‘C’ troop, always with the note ‘absent at Sandhurst’; on one occasion the additional information is given that he was ‘absent at RMC Sandhurst as a groom’. During the period of interest the complement of Sandhurst Military College included a cavalry detachment totalling 53 non-commissioned ranks and over 40 horses [38] . It seems clear that Edward was seconded from 12th Lancers as a groom with that detachment; he may have been known there by the number 1598. This 5-year absence from his regiment could explain several variations in recording both his regimental number and his initials ( ‘J’, ‘W’, or ‘H’ instead of ‘E’). Perhaps his short stay with his regiment from December 1887 to March 1888 had shown him to be too old or otherwise unfit for active service though not able to qualify for an invalid pension.
His presence at Sandhurst is confirmed from the 1891 census [39] . Among personnel of the Cavalry Barracks at Sandhurst Military College was ‘Edward Loosemore; single; aged 34; soldier; born Devon, Broadclist’. The census was taken on 5th April 1891 so his birth may be inferred as between 6th April 1856 & 5th April 1857, at variance with information on his death certificate. He may have overstated his age to the recruiting officer, since the death certificate would show his age as given in army records, whereas he could have given his true age to the census returning officer. These census details confirm that Edward Loosemore of the 12th Lancers was indeed our Edward B 1856.
Family of Daniel 1827, third surviving son of William 1783 (William 1759, Joseph 1723)
Daniel 1827, the youngest son of a baker father, apparently decided that rural Devon could offer him only limited prospects, for after coming of age he left his home parish to try his luck in London. In 1851 we find him, aged 24, working in St. Leonards Shoreditch parish for another Devonian, Francis Gibbings, a master baker born in Silverton parish, quite close to Broad Clyst. [40] Four years later, on 17 October 1855 in St. Thomas Church, Liberty of the Rolls, [41] he married Mary Yeo, a Devon girl born in South Tawton parish, so perhaps one reason for going to London had been to find himself a wife. He brought her back to the area around Totnes in South Devon, where a daughter Mary Elizabeth Harvey was born early in 1857. The couple eventually made their home in Torquay, where he practised as a baker. [42] Years later, after his retirement, they moved back to Sampford Peverell, nearer to his birthplace. The report of his death on 8 March 1888 records that he was then living at a property called Sticklepath in that parish. In his will, [43] made some years earlier, he left his house at 35 Fore St, Ellacombe, Torquay to his wife, though in fact she pre-deceased him, dying in the summer of 1885. His daughter married James Yeo, probably a relative of his wife, in 1877, who proved his will on 9 April 1888.
This completes our account of the descendants of William 1783, eldest son of William 1759.
John Tucker 1786, second son of William 1759, will not detain us long. He may have left his home parish at some stage for on 4 October 1825 he married Eleanor Martin, a widow, in Bridgwater, Som. The couple then returned to Devon, living in Exwick, a small village on the River Exe about a mile north of Exeter city centre. In the 1851 census John T 1786 described himself as a dairyman, but at his death on 9 January 1861 he was said to be a school master, so he may have combined both jobs. In the 1861 census Eleanor, his widow, described herself as a schoolmaster’s widow; she died in 1866. [44] So far as is known they had no children, but the 1851 census records that living with them in Exwick village was George Loosemore, age 6 years, described as a grandson. He was probably George Roberts Loosmore, born on 13 February 1845 in Exwick, the illegitimate son of Jane Loosmore. [45] This Jane Loosmore has not been identified; the father may have been George Roberts. Nothing more is known of John T 1786 and his family.
Robert c1795, third son of William 1759, married Elizabeth Harwood on 17 December 1828 in the parish church of St. Mary Steps, Exeter, after which the couple made their home in Sampford Peverell parish where he had been living with his father. He was appointed a joint trustee of his father’s will with his uncle John Harwood, husband of his aunt Eleanor, and was clearly his father’s favourite offspring, for that will leaves all properties owned by William 1759 and all his other belongings in trust for Robert’s eldest daughter Jane. She was Robert’s only child when his father died in July 1833. Robert c1795 died in autumn 1840, leaving Elizabeth his widow to bring up their four young children. The parish church register has no record of the birth, baptism or burial of their children yet the 1841 census returns for the parish show Elizabeth aged 35 living with three daughters: Jane aged 10, Maria aged 7, Elizabeth aged 5 and Robina aged just eight months. Further, in 1851 Elizabeth, a widow aged 45 farming 10 acres, was still living in the parish, with daughters Maria aged 17, Elizabeth 15, Robina 10. The household was completed by three other children aged between 2 and 13 years who were said to be visitors but were probably boarders. [46] . Elizabeth the daughter was then said to be teaching at the parish school. Another daughter, Robina Harriet, was born on 19 September 1840, while Jane, the eldest daughter, had married John Baker in the autumn of 1849.
The lack of baptism information from the parish register is explained by the apparent conversion of Robert c1795 to the Wesleyan Methodist Church. Surviving Wesleyan register details for Sampford Peverell state that Maria daughter of Robert and Elizabeth Loosmore, yeoman, was born on 8 August 1833 and baptized on 25 August. [47] If William c1759 himself had accepted Wesleyan teaching in later life this might explain the lack of information about the birth of Robert c1795. One other daughter, Harriet, was born to Robert and Elizabeth in 1838 but her death certificate shows that she died aged only 5 months on 19 February 1839. One can imagine the awful strain imposed on Elizabeth the mother at that period, losing first a daughter, then her husband just a year later but at almost the same time as her youngest child was born. She must have contemplated her future with considerable trepidation but she lived to see Robina Harriet married to John James, in the Spring of 1873 before she died on 5 June of the same year; Robina was appointed her executrix. Maria, the remaining daughter, married Edward Hill Limbrick on 8 May 1860, after which they emigrated to Victoria, Australia, where at least six children were born to them.
This completes our account of the descendants of Joseph 1686 (Joseph c1658, Aaron bur 1695), eldest son of Joseph c1658, except for the family and descendants of his youngest son, John 1730. As we shall see later they form a very large group whose members scattered far and wide from the parishes of east Devon, to South Wales and the New World. For this reason we shall look first at the descendants of Henry 1688, the second son of Joseph c1658.
Almost nothing is known of the life of Henry 1688 except that on 31 December 1715 he married Miriam, a daughter of Israel Pool(e), in Upottery parish, Devon; she had been baptized on 13 January 1694/5 in the Somerset parish of Otterford. [48] The couple made their home in Upottery parish, where all their five children were baptized, Elizabeth the eldest, on 10 September 1716, then Henry on 20 January 1717/18 who died in infancy and was buried on 11 May 1718. Next, another Henry was baptized 18 February 1719/20 (Henry 1720), followed by Miriam on 23 April 1725, and Mary on 19 January 1728/9. Nothing is known of Elizabeth but she was probably the Elizabeth who was buried in the parish on 28 August 1766. Miriam married Ben Burrough in the parish on 25 July 1760 and leaves our story, while Mary died aged 17 and was buried on 25 May 1746. We shall therefore concentrate attention on Henry 1720, the sole known surviving son of Henry 1688.
We know almost nothing about the life of Henry 1720, though almost certainly it would have involved farming, either as a tenant farmer or a farm worker. On 13 July 1745 he married by licence Joanna Goodridge, a widow of Churchstanton, in his home parish of Upottery; he was then described as a husbandman. [49] The couple made their home in Upottery parish where they spent their entire lives, and where they were buried, Henry 1720 on 3 January 1773, Joanna on 5 September of the same year. Their family poses the first real problem with this entire branch of the family, for no information concerning any of their children has so far been found in the church registers of Upottery, Churchstanton or Otterford. The sole evidence allowing us to continue our story is an entry in the Upottery register dated 2 November 1766 recording the marriage by licence of a Henry Loosmore to Jane (or Jenny) Eveleigh. In view of the fact that Henry Loosmore appears in each the previous two generations and in the absence of any other Loos(e)more entries in the baptism register between 1728 and 1769 we shall assume that the Henry of this marriage was a son of Henry 1720. In line with the then current custom we further assume that he was the eldest son of his father, so was probably born about 1746. Hence he will be referred to as Henry c1746. He has no known siblings, which perhaps implies that the widow Joanna was of mature age at her 2nd marriage to Henry 1720.
The reason why Henry c1746 was married by licence on 2 November 1766 although the licence avers that both he and Jane Eveleigh were of age becomes clear less than two months later, when John the son of Henry Loosmore was baptized on 25 December (John 1766) in the neighbouring parish of Payhembury. There would have been no time for banns to be published in the usual way since in order to establish legitimacy it was then necessary that the birth date of a child be not less than one month after marriage of the parents. The couple made their home in Upottery, where their second child, a daughter Ann, born on 20 August 1869, was baptized on 2 December 1769. She was followed by Robert, born about April 1772 although not baptized until 3 September 1775 the son of Henry and Jenny Loosemore (not Loosmore, the usual spelling for all this group); the register entry states that he was then aged 3½ years (Robert 1772). No other children are known. Henry c1746 and his wife Jane probably lived all their lives in Upottery. Jane was buried there on 1 July 1810 but the date of Henry’s death or burial remain to be discovered. Ann, their only daughter, had an illegitimate son, James, baptized 29 November 1798 in Upottery who was buried there on 15 June 1800. Ann his mother died a spinster aged 62 and was buried on 1 April 1832 in the parish.
John 1766, eldest son of Henry c1746, was twice married. His first wife was Grace Cox of Sidbury, whom he married on 29 March 1796 in her home parish. [50] He brought her to live in Upottery where two children were born to them, both of whom died in infancy. Elizabeth, the first, was baptized on 6 June 1796 and buried on 29 January 1797; another Elizabeth was baptized on 6 January 1799 but she was buried on 17 August 1800. Her death was almost inevitable after her mother died on 2 February of that year. Two years later John 1766 married a widow, Elizabeth (Betty) Williams, in Upottery on 13 December 1802, when he was described as a labourer. This union was more fruitful, for between 1803 and 1815 two sons and three daughters were born to them, all baptized in the parish. Of the daughters, Mary Ann (bap. 27 April 1806) probably died young as nothing more is known of her; Sarah (26 February 1809) married James Richard, a sacking maker, on 21 April 1840 in Honiton, while Elizabeth (9 January 1815) married William Milford, a labourer, on 28 March 1842 at Wivelscombe, Somerset. They all leave our story.
We now look briefly at the two sons of John 1766: Henry born cOctober 1803 (Henry 1803), baptized on 2 April 1804 aged 5 months, and James baptized 10 January 1813 aged 1 year (James 1812). First, though we note that their father John 1766 was buried in Upottery on 10 August 1825 aged 60. Details of his wife’s burial have not been found.
Henry 1803, eldest son of John 1766, was a labourer as was his father. He married Frances Manning on 8 August 1831 in Otterford parish, just across the Somerset border from Upottery, and in the next fifteen years seven children, 2 sons and 5 daughters, were born to them. Of the daughters, only Grace, baptized on 25 February 1844, seems to have married; on 16 September 1873 she wed John Bending in Upottery parish. Anne, baptized 13 April 1834, Amy on 8 May 1836 and Elizabeth on 29 November 1846 all gave birth to illegitimate daughters, while Mary, baptized on 8 December 1839, died from typhus aged 14 on 5 November 1854. James, the eldest son, was buried in Upottery aged 4, on 17 December 1834 and Luke the remaining child, born on 23 September 1837, died in 1862 in Honiton.
Upottery census returns show Henry 1803 with Frances his wife living in Camp Cottage for the entire period from 1841-1871. [51] Frances died in mid-1877 but Henry continued living in Camp Cottage with his daughter Elizabeth, a charwoman, until after the 1881 census. Strangely, no record of his death has been found.
James 1812, second son of John 1766, also a farm labourer, was rather more fortunate in his family than was his elder brother though his own life was shorter. On 28 April 1842 he married Hannah Chaffey in Broadway parish, Somerset. Susan, the first of their six children, was baptized in Otterford parish on 23 June 1844 but two years later they had moved to the neighbouring parish of Buckland St. Mary where William, their eldest son, was baptized on 5 July 1846 (William 1846). There followed Emma, born in 1849 who probably died in infancy, and Henry in 1850 who lived only a few days. By 1851 the couple had moved back over the Somerset border to Willand parish, in east Devon, where another son, also Henry was born on 3 January 1852 (Henry 1852). Their youngest child, Sarah, was also born in that parish, on 1 October 1855. James 1812 died in Willand on 30 Jun 1860 of phthisis, a wasting disease now known as tuberculosis, probably reflecting the very hard and frugal lifestyle of a farm labourer of the period. Hannah, his widow, was left to bring up her family alone, as is shown by the census returns for Willand parish. [52] By 1871 her children had left home, leaving their mother Hannah, now aged 58, to earn a meagre living as a charwoman. She died in Willand in 1897, aged 80.
William 1846, eldest son of James 1812, rejected the inevitable life of a farm labourer and left his home parish. He found employment as a platelayer on the railway, moving north to Middlesborough where at the age of 30 he married 24 year old Hannah Mary Whitfield on 11 March 1882 at the local Wesleyan Methodist church. Hannah’s father was a pattern maker, a skilled craftsman, so William had lifted himself a step or two in the social scale. Both of their two children were born in Middlesborough, a son William Henry in 1883 (William H 1883) and a daughter Elizabeth Hannah in 1886. Following his father, William 1846 enjoyed only a relatively short life for he died on 29 December 1890 aged 38, leaving his widow to bring up their children. Elizabeth Hannah died in 1918, a spinster aged 32, while William H 1883 married in 1906. His only son was born in Middlesborough in 1910.
There we leave the descendants of John 1766, eldest son of Henry c 1746.
Robert 1772, second son of Henry c1746 Lusemore married Ann Loaring on 13 January 1805 in Awliscombe parish, but the couple were probably living as man and wife for several years prior to that event. On 29 December 1799 Ann, daughter of Robert Lusemore was baptized in Payhembury parish without any mention of her mother, followed by Sarah on 27 February 1803. Then two sons were baptized in the nearby parish of Awliscombe to Robert and Ann Lusemore, Robert on 26 May 1805 (Robert 1805) and Henry on 25 March 1808 (Henry 1808). The same unusual spelling of the surname and the regular sequence of baptism dates makes it fairly certain that Ann Loaring was the mother of all four children. The family lived all their lives at Upton, in Payhembury parish, where Robert 1772 worked as an agricultural labourer. Ann was buried there on 30 May 1841 aged 75, Robert on 18 April 1851 aged 79. The 1841 census return, taken on 6 June 1841, shows Robert the father living with Robert the son, both described as agricultural labourers, or farm workers. [53] We now follow the two sons of Robert 1772.
Robert 1805, eldest son of Robert 1772, and his family are of special interest because they continue the trend towards a permanent change in the spelling of the surname, from Loosmore or Loosemore via Lusemore to Lusmore. He was baptized as Lusemore but was Lusmore at his Exeter marriage in Spring 1842 to Mary Gard; in the 1851 census he was Loosemore, in 1861 Lusmore, in 1871 and 1881 Loosemore. Robert 1805, a farm worker like his father, and Mary made their home at Upton, in Payhembury parish, where all their seven children were baptized, Sarah on 17 Jul 1842 and Robert on 2 February 1844 (Robert 1844), both Lusemore, then William 22 February 1846 (William 1846), Ann 27 August 1848, Alice 1 March 1851, Thomas 27 February 1853 (Thomas 1853), John 8 July 1855 (John 1855), the final five all with the surname Lusmore. Mary née Gard died in Payhembury on 7 June 1855 at the young age of 40; her husband Robert 1805 outlived her by 34 years, until 1889.
Very little is known about the daughters of Robert 1805. Sarah, the eldest, was living with her widowed father in 1861; Ann was living with her with her father in 1851 but not in 1861 though no evidence has been found for her death, so she may possibly have been in service; Alice died in 1873 a spinster aged 22. [54] We look now at his four sons.
Robert 1844, eldest son of Robert 1805, was living with his father in Upton in 1851, but by 1861, now aged 17, he had left home, probably for London, since on 12 February 1872 he joined the Metropolitan Police as a constable in ‘A’ Division at its headquarters, Great Scotland Yard, giving his surname as Lusmore. He must have met his future wife in London, but we next meet him in Oundle, Northamptonshire, where he married Sarah Jane Palmer in autumn 1878. They made their home in central London where their first child, Alice Maud, was born in the borough of Westminster in Spring 1880. By the following Spring they had moved south of the Thames to St Saviour Southwark parish, where they were living at 10 John Street. [55] Their second child, Rose Evelyn, was born at that address on 17 March 1882; a third daughter, Mabel Beatrice, was born there in autumn 1884. Three years later, on 12 November 1887, Robert was transferred to ‘J’ Division, north London, where he and his family lived for the remainder of his service. Sadly, his youngest daughter Alice Maud died aged 15 years early in 1896, just two years before her father’s retirement on 14 February 1898, still with the rank of constable. He and his family were then living at 61 Beaconsfield Road, New Southall, Barnet.
Robert’s service record and retirement papers give a few personal details. He was then aged 54 years, height 5 ft. 8½ ins., with brown hair (partly bald), grey eyes and a dark complexion. He had served as a police constable for 26 years and 2 days, his weekly pay at retirement was £1.12s.0d (£1.60p)and he was entitled to a full annual pension of £55.9s.4d (£55.47p). [56] His daughter Rose Evelyn married Lionel Stapleton Johnson at Edmonton in 1912; Mabel Beatrice married Frederick Holdich Smith later in the same year, also at Edmonton. In his later years Robert and his wife Sarah Jane moved north to 2 Cornwall Rd, Bedford, where she died in 1923 aged 74 years; Robert died on 28 March of the following year as Lusmore. As a nice touch for an unassuming but thoroughly respectable citizen, his will describes him simply as ‘gentleman’. His two daughters, appointed joint executrices, were the sole beneficiaries. [57]
William 1846, second son of Robert 1805, continued the change in spelling of his surname. His birth was registered as Lusmore though his birth certificate says ‘Lusmore or Loosmore’, while the church baptism register lists it as Loosmore. Later in life he retained the spelling Lusmore. All we know of his early life is that the 1871 census for Payhembury lists him, aged 25, as an indoor servant with William Boundy, a farmer. By 1881 he had joined the Royal Navy as a cadet servant age 35, being posted as a ‘dom. 2nd class’ aboard HMS Britannia, moored off Dartmouth. [58] Then, on 26 January 1882 he married Charlotte Sperring in Totnes register office, describing himself as a cadet servant. The birth certificate of their first child, William Stephen Skelly, born on 12 January 1883 (William S 1883) confirms William 1846 as a cadet servant in spite of his description as a farm servant on the marriage certificate. Over the next sixteen years a further eight children were born, all taking the family name Lusmore. Next was Robert, born in mid-1885 who died a bachelor age 82 at 18 Acre Place, Stoke, Plymouth on 21 April 1968; probate of his will was granted on 16 May. Nothing is known of the third son, John Henry, born two years after his brother Robert; either he died in infancy or left the country, for there is no record either of his marriage or death. We know a little more about the fourth son, John, born in spring 1889 (John 1889), see below. There followed three daughters, Alice Maud born 1891 who married William Willington at Newton Abbot in 1924, Lilian Kate born 1893 who married Sydney Saunders in 1920 at Devonport, and Sarah Ann born on 3 January 1896 who died a spinster at 30 Brancker Road, Milehouse, Plymouth on 21 February 1976. The youngest child, Thomas Ernest, was born in 1899 (Thomas E 1899).
Although William 1846 was a crew member of a Royal Navy vessel it is not clear whether he was formally a naval rating or whether he was merely a civilian who found employment on a naval training ship moored permanently off-shore at Dartmouth. The regular birth sequence of his nine children in his first seventeen years of marriage, all in Townstall parish within Dartmouth borough, makes it likely that his employment did not take him far from Dartmouth. He died there, early in 1929 aged 83, without leaving a will; his wife Charlotte survived him by just six years, dying early in 1935, aged 78. We look now at the families of three of his sons.
William S 1883, eldest son of William 1846, was born when his parents were living in Cemetery Lodge, Townstall, Dartmouth. Nothing is known of his occupation or life style, but in the summer of 1910, aged 27, he married Alice Maud Beynon, a 21 years old local girl. The couple moved west to Plymouth where their only known child, Gordon W S, was born late in 1913. William S 1883 died in 1959, his wife Alice in 1977, both in Plymouth.
John 1889, fourth son of William 1846, married 23 years old Bertha Evelyn Distin in summer 1917, also a local girl. They too had but one child, Douglas G, born in Dartmouth at the end of 1918. John 1889 died in 1966 aged 77, his wife Bertha 12 years later, both in Plymouth.
Thomas E 1899, the youngest son, remains a shadowy figure; nothing is known of his early life. He may have emigrated as a young man and certainly completed a period of military service, for his name appears in the “Debt of Honour Register” compiled by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. [59] His entry states that ‘he died on 23 December 1944 at 130 Military Hospital, Baragwanath, Johannesburg, South Africa, and is buried in Johannesburg West Park Cemetery, in the South African military section, grave no. 285.’ The large number of 1939-1945 burials in the Johannesburg cemeteries arose from the fact that there was a large military wing in the Johannesburg General Hospital, and Military hospitals at Baragwanath and Cottesloe. The Bragwanath hospital handled many casualties sent from the Middle East. It is therefore likely that Thomas Ernest had been wounded in that war zone. The Somerset House wills index states that probate of his will was granted on 19 Dec 1945 to Sarah Ann Lusmore, his unmarried sister. He died a bachelor.
This completes our account of the descendants of William 1846, second son of Robert 1805. His third and fourth sons, Thomas 1853 and John 1855, need not detain us long.
Thomas 1853, third son of Robert 1805, joined the Devon Constabulary, emulating his elder brother Robert 1844, though staying in his home county instead of making a home in London. His early life in Payhembury remains to be discovered but evidently he moved to Exeter, for he was appointed to the City Constabulary on 24 January 1874 as a constable with collar No.16. [60] We next meet him when on 27 April 1880 he married Martha Young née Pickering in the Exeter parish of Holy Trinity. She was a widow aged 33, he was 27 years old, described as a police officer. They settled in Holy Trinity parish for in the census return for the following year we find them living in Quay Lane in that parish; he gave his occupation as ‘policeman 1st class’. [61] Nothing more is known of Thomas 1853. Their marriage was childless; Martha his wife died in Exeter near the end of 1900, aged 53, but there is no record of either his death or of his re-marriage.
John 1855, fourth and youngest son of Robert 1805, is even more shadowy and may have died in infancy. No records of any marriage or of his death have been found.
This completes the account of the descendants of Robert 1805, eldest son of Robert 1772. We look now at the offspring of his second son, Henry 1808.
Family and descendants of Henry 1808 (Robert 1772, Henry c1746, Henry 1720, Henry 1688, Joseph c1658, Aaron bur1696)
Henry 1808, second son of Robert 1772, was baptized as Lusemore. Although born in Awliscombe parish his parents returned to Payhembury, a few miles almost due west of Honiton, where Henry lived the rest of his life. On 19 April 1832 he married Sarah Carnell, a local girl, after which they lived very close to Henry’s brother Robert 1805 at Upton, a small village in the parish, where all their children, four sons and three daughters, were born and baptized. Dealing first with their daughters, Elizabeth was baptized on 3 May 1835; the 1851 census shows her in service in Payhembury village. [62] On 12 May 1860 she married James Dimond in Exeter St. Pancras church and leaves our story. Next, twin girls, Martha and Mary, were born on 6 September 1838 and baptized on 30 September. In 1851, although aged only 12 years, the census shows that they were both then in service, Martha as a house servant with the local butcher and Mary in the neighbouring parish of Talaton. [63] They also leave our story. The eldest son, also Henry, was baptized 14 April 1833 (Henry 1833) as Loosmore. He was followed by William on 13 March 1842 (William 1842), John on 16 February 1845 (John 1845) and Edwin on 25 December 1850 (Edwin 1850). It is noteworthy that all the children reverted to the surname Loosemore or Loosmore at baptism. The occasional loss of the middle ‘e’ in the parish register may have been no more than a personal whim of the incumbent or parish clerk. Before looking in more detail at the lives of these four sons we may just note that Henry 1808 died in 1851 at the comparatively young age of 50, and was buried on 31 October in his home parish. Sarah his wife survived him by only five years, dying in the summer of 1863.
We look now at the progeny of the four sons of Henry 1808.
Henry 1833, eldest son of Henry 1808, was working, aged 18, on a 280 acre farm in Cullompton in 1851, until on 17 July 1854 he married a widow, Ann Pring née Sanders aged 33, in Clayhidon parish The marriage certificate spells his surname Loosemore, though he signed as Loosmore. Ann brought with her a daughter Harriet Pring who was aged 11 in 1861, at which time the family was living in Clyst Hidon parish where Harriet had been born, about 5 miles due west of Payhembury. In the 1861 census Henry was described as an agricultural labourer, a general term for anyone working on a farm, by which time three daughters had been born to him and his wife Ann: Mary at the end of 1854, who married in 1879, Elizabeth in 1857 who probably died in infancy, and Sarah Ann in 1859 in Cullompton parish. By 1862 the family had moved again, this time to Clyst St. Lawrence parish, just south of Clyst Hidon, where their last five children were born. Their first son, Henry, was born on 6 April (Henry 1862), followed by John Loosmore on 23 Jun 1864 (John 1864), Edwin about 1865 (Edwin 1865), Alice in 1866 and Jane in 1869. Edwin’s birth appears not to have been registered but he is known from the 1871 census return for Clyst St. Lawrence parish, where the whole family is known as Loosemore, though the births of Henry, John and Alice were registered as Loosmore. [64] Henry 1833 died at Clyst St. Lawrence towards the end of 1873 at the early age of 44, leaving his widow to bring up six children aged from 3-14 years. Sarah Ann married in the summer of 1882, Alice in the autumn of 1893, but nothing is known about the youngest child, Jane. Of his three sons, nothing is known of John 1864; he may have died in infancy. We look now at the remaining two sons.
Henry 1862, eldest son of Henry 1833 (eldest son of Henry 1808), was living with his parents in 1871 but by 1881, now aged 16 years, he had left home and was working as an indoor servant to a farmer in Broad Clyst parish, a few miles south west of his home parish. [65] Five years later, having reached his majority, he married Maria Tucker in the spring of 1886. Then, the following year he with his new wife left England for the U.S.A., sailing from Plymouth. They eventually settled in Kansas City while Henry worked for the next 36 years with the Union Pacific Railroad. He died in 1930. Their only known son, Reginald Henry, was born 25 July 1889; his family and descendants are still to be found in Kansas and Arizona.
Edwin 1865, second surviving son of Henry 1833 (eldest son of Henry 1808), remained in Devon, unlike his elder brother. In 1879, aged 14, he was apprenticed to a Mr. Roberts in Exeter and then, on reaching his majority in 1886 he married Mary Jane Adams in Exeter. Edwin died in 1949, his wife in 1952, both in Exeter. Their family, of two sons Stanley Adams and Albert Edwin, and three daughters of whom two survived childhood, lived mainly in the area around Exeter.
William 1842, second son of Henry 1808, grew up in the area just east of Exeter. In 1871 he was living in Sowton parish with his wife Ann née Gould and an infant daughter Mary Jane, though no record has been found of his marriage. They left this district within the next year or so for Backwell parish just south of Bristol, where their remaining four children were born. [66] William John, the eldest son born in 1872 married Emily Griffin in 1897 and their family grew up in Cardiff, where he worked as a railway guard. Their descendants still live in the same area. The next child, Annie Sarah was born late in 1874 and married in 1915; another daughter Gertie Alice, born in November 1880, married in 1898. A second son, Harry Richard, was born in 1877 and was living in 1881 but nothing more is known of him.
John 1845 and Edwin 1850, third and fourth sons of Henry 1808, are shadowy figures. John 1845 died in 1922 in the area close to Backwell parish where his elder brother lived; he may have married Ellen but no record has been found of the event. Edwin 1850 died aged just 16 months.
At this point we may leave the descendants of Joseph 1723, second surviving son of Joseph 1686, and turn to the youngest son, John 1730. His many descendants will take us on a long journey far from the rural parishes of east Devon, to South Wales and then across the Atlantic to the New World.
The progeny of John 1730, youngest son of Joseph 1686, will eventually take us far indeed from rural Devon but his story starts in the east Devon parish of Yarcombe. [67] As we have already seen, he was baptized in Clayhidon parish on 31 May 1730. Nothing further is known about him until 22 March 1757, when he married Ann, daughter of John Lenthall and his wife Jane, in her home parish of Yarcombe, the eastern boundary of which is also the Devon county boundary with Somerset. John and Ann made that parish their home, where in the next 20 years all their nine children were baptized. In order, they were William 19 November 1758 (William 1758), Peter 2 March 1760 (Peter 1760), Zebulon or Zebedee 16 February 1763 (Zebedee 1763), Martha 14 October 1764, Mary 1 March 1769, Lydia 21 December 1770, James 15 August 1773 (James 1773), Robert 21 July 1776 (Robert 1776) and Elizabeth 20 September 1778. Their father, John 1730, was a yeoman farmer but very little is known about his lifestyle. In 1774 he and his family lived at Studbeer (or Stodbear) Farm in the north-west sector of the parish; he was also listed as occupier in the 1798 land survey and may have farmed the property for most of his married life. Late in his long life the farm was transferred to his son James 1773, who was recorded as the occupier in the 1810 survey. [68] Today (2002) the house and buildings are in a ruinous state.
John 1730, his wife Ann and their nine children were a prosperous and happy family if one is to judge by his long and detailed will, in an age when most people in rural Devon existed at a bare subsistence level. [69] Each of his surviving children received a significant legacy, as did many of his numerous grandchildren, to a total of £545 cash, excluding the value of any property. His will was made in July 1814, just six months before he died on 30 January 1815. He was buried on 7 February in Yarcombe churchyard at the good age of 85 years. His wife was buried just three years later, on 13 January 1818 aged 82. [70] The will of John 1730 refers to him as ‘late of Yarcombe, now of Cotleigh’, so he and his wife Ann may have spent their last years living with their youngest son Robert 1776, who farmed in that parish. Of their daughters, Martha married Benjamin Dimond on 26 August 1782, Mary married Abraham Knight on 26 January 1790, both in Yarcombe church; Mary remarried to John Doble on 11 November 1806 in Buckland St. Mary parish after the death of her first husband. Lydia married Joel Parris on 2 February 1786 and Elizabeth married Samuel Hurford on 20 October 1799, both in Yarcombe. They all leave our story, while we follow the fortunes of the five sons of John 1730.
Sons of John 1730 of Yarcombe (youngest son of Joseph 1686 of Churchstanton)
William 1758, eldest son of John 1730 of Yarcombe, plays no real part in our story. He married Mary Hockey ‘of Membury’ in Yarcombe on 29 October 1781, after which the couple must have left the parish since the church register contains no further record of either them or any of their children. Nothing is known of their later life; their marriage may have been childless.
Peter 1760, second son of John 1730 of Yarcombe, grew up in Yarcombe and later made his home there, having married Elizabeth Willie on 19 April 1787 in the parish church. [71] The church register then described him as ‘yeoman’, no doubt reflecting the prosperity and social status of his father. Only two children are known, Mary baptized on 29 February 1788 and John on 19 January 1794 (John 1794). The small size of the family may have been due to the ill-health of Peter 1760, for he died on 12 March 1803, aged only 42, being buried in the parish on 27 March. [72] Surprisingly, he made no will. Elizabeth his widow, left to bring up their two children aged 10 and 16 years, remarried on 18 April 1804 to Francis Drake of the same parish, by whom she had a further three sons. We leave them to look at the family of John 1794, only son of Peter 1760.
Family of and descendants of John 1794 (only son of Peter 1760, John 1730, Joseph 1686)
We know nothing of the childhood in Yarcombe of John 1794, but on 26 August 1817 he married Lydia Bradber in the neighbouring parish of Upottery. He must have been left property by his father or inherited it as part of a marriage settlement, for in later life he occupied Buckishayes Farm in Upottery. The first of their six children, William, was baptized on 19 October 1818 (William 1818) in Upottery parish. Shortly afterwards they apparently crossed the border into Somerset, making a home in Combe St. Nicholas parish, where the remainder of their children were baptized, Mary on 9 April 1820, Elizabeth on 8 April 1821, John in 1823 (John 1823), Lydia on 25 December 1827 and Francis about 1840 (Francis 1840). Exact dates for the two sons John and Francis have not been found; their birth years have been inferred from census returns. [73] When John 1794 died on 18 February 1845 in Upottery parish he was a yeoman living at Buckishayes Farm. His wife Lydia survived him by only a few months, until the summer of 1845. In his will he bequeathed a total of £270 to various members of his family, entrusting this to two of his “brothers-in-law” who in fact were two sons of his mother’s second marriage. He also wished his youngest son Francis 1840 to “keep on my farm business” and support his mother “in hansom style” but if the farm was sold she should have all the interest from the proceeds during her life or widowhood, after which the capital was to be divided between his children Francis, John and Lydia. [74] His daughters all survived into adulthood. Mary, the eldest, married Edward Smith in Autumn 1840 at Honiton, Elizabeth married William Coles in Membury parish, Devon on 30 May 1839, and Lydia married in Spring 1849 at Wellington, Somerset. We look now at the sons of William 1818.
Family of William 1818 (eldest son of John 1794, Peter 1760, John 1730, Joseph 1686)
William 1818 would have lived with his parents, in Combe St. Nicholas parish, until old enough to leave home, probably some time between 14-18 years of age, but nothing is known of his later life until he married Mary Broom in Upottery parish on 2 April 1846. He was then described as a labourer. Less than two months later their first child, John was born there, on 26 May 1846 (John 1846). They later moved to Broad Clyst parish where a daughter, Mary, was born in the summer of 1849. However, William and Mary his wife had only a short time together for she died on 28 March 1851 from “disease of the lungs”, probably tuberculosis, the day before the census was taken. She was then only 29 years old. She may have been ill for some time because the census return shows that the household included a 65 year old widow, perhaps acting as a nurse, and a servant girl, Mary Harner, aged 22. William was then working as a railway porter. [75] That this Mary had been more than just a servant is clear since on 10 November 1851 a son, George (George 1851) was born to them in Musbury parish, near Axminster, close to the border with Somerset. Then a year later, on 7 November 1852, William married the young Mary Harner in Axminster registry office. The census returns for 1861-1891 [76] show that William and his second wife Mary came back to live in Upottery parish for over 30 years, until she died late in 1892; William 1818 outlived her by just over 10 years, dying early in 1903 at the good age of 85 years. Of their three children, nothing is known of the eldest son John 1846; he may have died in infancy. Mary, the second child, married Alfred Butler on 24 September 1870 at Winsham, Somerset. We look now at their son George 1851.
George 1851, youngest son of William 1818, left home between the 1861 and 1871 censuses. We next meet him when on 27 March 1877 he married Mary Jane Stevens in Upottery parish. She was born in the parish of Combe Raleigh, Somerset. The couple settled in that parish, where all their ten children, six sons and four daughters, were born and baptized; all survived into adulthood. The eldest son, William James, was baptized on 9 May 1878 and married Susan Kelley at Plymouth registry office on 14 May 1901 but there were no known children of the union. Next came Alice, baptized on 3 October 1880, who married in the Honiton area in 1906 and lived in Bishops Lydeard, near Taunton. She was followed by Francis John, born 19 March 1882 (Francis J 1882), then Fred, baptized 1 June 1884 (Fred 1884), Jesse born 16 February 1886 (Jesse 1886), Eva in 1881 who married Albert Selway in 1919, May in 1890, Henry in 1893 who married in autumn 1937, Robert born 28 May 1895 (Robert 1895), and the youngest, Bessie born 10 October 1898 who married Samuel James in 1927. The six eldest children were shown living with their parents at Busshy Wood in the Upottery 1891 census return. [77] George 1851, a farm worker, died in mid-1915 aged 63; his wife Mary Jane had died in 1907, aged 50.
All the four remaining sons of George 1851 married and produced families. Francis J 1882 married Bertha Mary Hussey in autumn 1905 and lived in Cotleigh parish where their three sons and three daughters were born. All except the youngest child, a boy, married and had families in the same general area of east Devon and Somerset. Fred 1884 married Florence Richards in 1912 in Feniton parish, east Devon; of their three children, two sons and a daughter married and brought up families in the same area while the youngest, a daughter, remained unmarried. Jesse 1886, who became a butcher, married Julia Alice Clarke in Chardstock parish on 27 September 1911. Of their twelve children, three sons and nine daughters, all except two daughters married but only one of the sons is known to have had a family. Robert 1895, the youngest son of George 1851, married Elsie Mary Abbott in 1921 at Dorchester and had two children, a boy and a girl, both of whom married. The son’s family lives in Wrexham.
Family of John 1823 (second son of John 1794, Peter 1760, John 1730, Joseph 1686)
John 1823, who became a farm bailiff [78] , was twice married. In mid-1846 he married Elizabeth Coles by whom he had two children, Betsey born in 1848 and Henry on 22 May 1853, both of whom died in infancy. Elizabeth his first wife died in 1862 at the young age of 36 years but it was not until 15 July 1893 that John 1823 remarried to Sarah Ann Betstone née Turner, in Axminster Roman Catholic church. He died only six years later in 1899, aged 76; Sarah Ann died in 1911 in Axminster aged 83.
Family of Francis 1840 (third son of John 1794, Peter 1760, John 1730, Joseph 1686)
The first mention of Francis 1840 after his birth was in the 1861 census when, at the age of 21 he was boarding with a farmer in Membury parish. [79] Then on 8 April 1864 he married 21 years old Martha Price in Chard parish, Somerset. Her father, Henry, was innkeeper of the “Kings Arms”, in Chard, but he retired soon after their marriage in favour of his son-in-law, who was the innkeeper in 1871 and 1881. [80] By 1891 Francis 1840 and Martha had retired and were living at Oak Cottage in the parish with two of their three daughters. All three had been baptized in Chard parish, Mary Susan Bessie on 30 March 1866, Martha Lydia Beatrice 8 July 1877, and Laura Theresa 13 March 1878. Later they all married, but that Loosmore branch was extinguished with the death of Francis 1840 at Chard on 20 September 1896, aged 56. His simple will left all his estate to his wife Martha, who was its sole executrix. She died at Oak Villa, Chard on 12 August 1908 aged 65, leaving all her possessions to be shared between the three married daughters. This completes our survey of the progeny of Peter 1760, second son of John 1730 of Yarcombe.
Family and descendants of Zebedee 1763, third son of John 1730 of Yarcombe
Zebedee 1763 is something of a puzzle. He was not a farmer, and we know nothing of his life until February 1787 when a list of certified gamekeepers published in the local press included ‘Loosmore, Zebedee, of Ford, yeoman’. [81] His first known child, John, was baptized 19 June 1799 (John 1799) in Cotleigh parish the ‘son of Zebedee Loosmore and Esther’, though no record has been found of his marriage. The next two children were baptized in the parish of Uffculme, Devon, Esther on 2 July 1802 and Anne on 14 July 1805, daughters of Zebedee and Hester. Nothing more is known about the child Esther. Anne married Abraham Knight jnr. on 20 May 1833 in Uffculme, the son of Abraham Knight snr. whom we meet later in this chapter. Three of their sons left England, emigrating to Australia in the 1850s and 1860s but we shall not follow that trail. For reasons that will become clear in the next paragraph, it is believed that two additional sons were born to Zebedee and Esther in Devon: Robert about 1809 (Robert c1809) and James about 1811 (James c1811), though their exact dates and place of birth have not been found.
It is believed that John 1799 is to be identified with John Zebedee Loosmoor who married Sarah Mullins in the parish church of Bristol St. Michael on 20 April 1826. In 1830 John Loosmoor, butcher, was living at 28 St. Michael’s Hill, Bristol. In the 1851 census for Westbury, Bristol, John Loosmoor with his wife Sarah and four children were living at 18 Clarence Place; he was said to be a butcher, born in Devon, then aged 51. Sarah, his wife was then aged 54, born in Wiveliscombe parish, Somerset. [82] The 1841 census return for Clifton records that at 20 Hotwell Road lived Robert Loosmoor, butcher aged 30 (not born in the county), with his wife Sarah, a young son Reuben, and James Loosmoor aged 30, also not born in the county. In this census the ages of adult males were rounded up so it is reasonable to assume that as Robert was already married he was the elder of the two and that he and James were brothers. This is the evidence for assuming that Robert is Robert c1809 and James is James c1811, brothers of John 1799 as was mentioned in the previous paragraph.
Family of John 1799, (eldest son of Zebedee 1763, John1730)
From the 1851 census return already mentioned we know that John 1799 and his wife Sarah had a family of four, three daughters and one son, all born in Westbury-on-Trym, near Bristol. They all used the family name Loosmoor. The eldest, Maria born about 1828, married James Maher, a tailor, in summer 1857. Sarah, born about 1832 and a dressmaker in 1851, died a spinster at Bristol in 1924, aged 92. Emma, born about 1834 and a milliner and dressmaker in 1851 and 1861, also died a spinster, in 1914 aged 80. In the 1851 census their only son, John Zebedee, described as a gardener, was 17, the same age as Emma, so he was born about 1834 (John Z 1834). After John 1799 died in the autumn of 1853 aged only 54, Sarah his widow with two of her children, Emma and John Z 1834, continued to live in the family home at 18 Clarence Place, Westbury; by 1861 Maria and her husband James Maher were also living there. [83] Sarah, widow of John 1799, died in Bristol late in 1873, aged 80.
Family of John Z 1834 (John 1799, Zebedee 1763, John 1730)
We have seen that in 1851 John Z 1834 continued living with his sisters and widowed mother family at 18 Clarence Place, Westbury-on-Trym, Bristol, after his father’s death in 1853. When his sister Maria married in 1857 her husband, James Maher took over as head of the household but the others remained with them at the same address However, by 1867 his mother and sisters had vacated the house, leaving him in possession together with a young widow, Mary Jane Gale née Howell, by whom he had three sons, John Edward born 13 November 1867 (John E 1867), William Zebedee born 21 December 1868 (William Z 1868), and Frank Ernest born 1871 (Frank E 1871), though he did not marry her until 23 November 1872. After that belated marriage in Clifton Register Office a fourth son, Henry Reuben was born to them on 30 December 1873 (Henry R 1873) at the same address. All four sons took the family name Loosemoor. In the 1861 census return John Z 1834 was described simply as a gardener, which often implied no more than an odd-job man, but at the birth of his second son in 1868 he was a master gardener, while on the marriage certificate of his youngest son he was described as a nurseryman, suggesting that he was indeed a horticultural specialist. John Z 1834 died early in 1875, less than two years after his marriage, at the young age of 40. His widow Mary Jane, still only 37 years of age, married again at the end of that same year. She took as her third husband Robert James Perrett, a widowed paper-cutter two years older than herself by whom she had two daughters. They continued living at the same house at 18 Clarence Place, together with Henry R 1873, the youngest son of her previous marriage. [84]
John E 1867, eldest son of John Z 1834, died in Bristol in 1902, a bachelor aged only 35.
William Z 1868, the second son, married Louisa Elizabeth at Hemel Hempstead in 1899, a union which produced a son, William Studley Loosemoor who became an aircraft fitter, and a daughter, Muriel Ruby who died in Bristol aged only 32.
Frank E 1871, the third son, enlisted in the Grenadier Guards as a private soldier No. 2229 for 12 years on 6 Jan 1890 when, according to his attestation papers he was aged 18 year and 1 month, of height 5ft. 11¼ ins. He served in South Africa during the Boer War from 9 Aug 1900-31 Jul 1902, and was awarded medals for actions in Cape Colony, Orange Free State; Transvaal, plus the King’s SA medal and clasp, SA 1901 & 1902. [85] He died a bachelor in 1920, aged only 48 years.
Henry R 1873, fourth son of John Z 1834, married 24 year old Ada Elizabeth Warr on 17 June 1899 in Clifton parish church. Their two daughters and one son were all born in Bristol, where their descendants still live.
Families of Robert c1809 and James c1811 (2nd & 3rd sons of Zebedee 1763, John1730)
Very little is known about these two sons. In 1841 Robert c1809 was living at 20 Hotwell Road, Clifton, Bristol with his wife Sarah Webber though no record of their marriage has so far been found. [86] He was then said to be a butcher, 30 years old; neither he nor Sarah (also aged 30) were born in the county of Bristol. His family name was spelt Loosmore. Their household also included a son, Reuben who was born in Holwell St, Clifton on 12 December 1839 (Reuben 1839), and James Loosmore, also aged 30 but described as a servant, who is assumed to be James c1811. Reuben’s family name is given as Loosmoor on his birth certificate. Subsequently two further children were born to Robert and Sarah in Clifton, first Robert born late in 1841 who died in autumn 1842, and then Mary Ann born late in 1843, who died in summer 1846; both these children used the family name Loosmoor. Robert c1809 died in mid-1849, leaving Sarah to bring up his young son, but nothing more is known about her, or about James c1811.
Reuben 1839 grew up in the Bristol area, where he became a grocer, according to his declaration on 22 July 1868 when he married Elizabeth Ann Buxton Brocklehurst in Clifton register office. Elizabeth was then 21 years old, the daughter of Samuel Brocklehurst; both their fathers had been butchers, both had died prior to the marriage. Reuben and Elizabeth were then both living in the Bristol parish of St. James and St. Paul. He used the spelling Loosmore at the ceremony, though an unnamed daughter born to them in the third quarter of 1870 was registered as Loosmoor; sadly her death was registered in the same quarter and she may have been stillborn. Nothing more is known of Reuben 1839 or his wife. With this we conclude our somewhat incomplete survey of the progeny of Zebedee 1763, third son of John 1730 of Yarcombe.
Family and descendants of James 1773, fourth son of John 1730 of Yarcombe
James 1773 married 28 year old Elizabeth Pratt of Stockland in her home parish church on 21 April 1801. The couple made their home in Yarcombe parish where, over the next 12 years, nine children were born to them, six sons and 3 daughters, all of whom were baptized in the parish church. Mary, the eldest daughter, was baptized on 1 January 1804 but may have died soon afterwards, for nothing more is known about her. Next, Grace, baptized 11 November 1804, married James Long in her home parish on 29 May 1823, while Elizabeth, baptized 31 May 1812, married William Stone in Yarcombe on 21 April 1831. They must now leave our story. The six sons of James 1773 and his wife were John baptized on 21 March 1802 (John 1802), Peter 6 July 1806 (Peter 1806), William 18 November 1807 (William 1807), Robert 5 April 1809 (Robert 1809), James 5 February 1811 (James 1811), and Edward 29 August 1813 (Edward 1813).
James 1773 no doubt helped his father John 1730 run Studbeer Farm, because although the 1798 Land Tax survey shows the older man as the tenant occupier, by the time of a survey of 1810, now aged 80, he had passed the property over to his son who was then shown as the occupier. [87] James 1773 was evidently a well respected parishioner as the church register records that he was a churchwarden from 1819-1830 inclusive, and again in 1833-4. His name appears in three parish Rate Books as one of two church-wardens responsible for keeping an account of money disbursed to the parish poor. His signature appears in one of them, spelled ‘James Loosmore’. [88] By 1841, now aged 66, he and his wife had left Studbeer Farm and instead were keeping the Travellers Rest Inn in Yarcombe. [89] Now known as Drakes Arms Farm, it may still be seen, lying off the road (B3170) from Yarcombe to Taunton. James 1773 died on 4 March 1842 and was buried in Yarcombe churchyard on 9 March. His wife Elizabeth survived him by just over 3 years and was buried close by him late in 1845. [90] We now follow his six sons.
John 1802, eldest son of James 1773, was the first of four brothers who left their home parish in east Devon to create what eventually became a very large Loosmore presence in South Wales. His early years must have been spent with his family in Yarcombe and it was in his home parish that he married Sarah Bright, a local girl, on 15 March 1825. During those early years he would no doubt have assisted his father at the Travellers Rest Inn and hence have become familiar with the life of a publican/innkeeper. It is not surprising, therefore, that when he and his new wife settled in the nearby parish of Upottery he should have embarked on the same style of work. Entries in the baptism register there for each of their first four children describe him as a publican or innkeeper. Martha was baptized on 24 January 1827, Mary 24 August 1828, Elizabeth 3 March 1830 and Reuben 7 December 1831. Yet the ties of both John and Sarah his wife with Yarcombe remained strong, for when Mary died aged only 1 year she was buried in Yarcombe, on 25 January 1829; similarly when Elizabeth died just a week or so after her baptism in Upottery she too was buried in Yarcombe, on 12 March 1830. This death of their second child may possibly have provided the spur for them to start a new life away from Devon, for some time between December 1831 and June 1837 John 1802 together with his wife, his daughter Martha and son Reuben moved from Upottery to South Wales. On 30 June 1837 Reuben was re-baptized in the parish of Cardiff St. John, but their disappointments were not yet over, for on Christmas day that same year the young boy died in Bridgend from measles, aged only 6 years, leaving Martha as their sole surviving child. [91]
Soon after the arrival of John 1802 in Bridgend with his wife and daughter he was appointed by the inhabitants as the town policeman in the full “Peeler’s” uniform, as is clear from the death certificate of his son Reuben and his evidence before the Bridgend magistrates in July 1838 after an arrest. [92] He told the court “I am the police officer for the lower hamlet of Coity”, and later, “He laid hold of me by the neck. I was dressed in my uniform so he must have known I was a police officer.” Then, at the formation of the Glamorgan County Constabulary in July 1841 he was appointed No.2 Sergeant of Police, one of only three constables to gain this promotion, at the princely salary of 22s.0d per week (£1.10 in today’s money). He occupied the station house (with one cell) which had been provided in the hamlet of Nolton by the town vestry, and appears to have been widely respected. In mid-1844 Sarah his wife died and on the following 30 October he married again, taking as his new bride Ann Russ of Llantrissant, near Cardiff, where the wedding took place. Then, some time between 1845 and 1850 the housing arrangements for full-time policemen in Bridgend were changed, which would have required him to vacate the house which had earlier been provided for him and move to a new police station. This was not to his liking and he resigned from the Constabulary, starting up in business first as a lime burner and later as a coal merchant. No details of his later life have been discovered, but he and his wife moved back to Cardiff, where she died at the end of 1878. John 1802 survived her by just two years, until his death on 30 October 1880, aged 77. He was then living in Cardiff St. Mary parish and seems to have been active right to the end, working as bailiff to the Glamorgan County Court. [93] The informant of his death was ‘M. Harmer’, so he may well have been living with his daughter Martha, who had married William Harmer at Stroud on 13 August 1850.
Peter 1806, second son of James 1773, spent his entire life near to his home parish, by contrast with his brothers John, William, Robert and James, who all ‘emigrated’ to south Wales. His early life was no doubt spent working on or near Studbeer Farm, although no record of those activities has survived. He must also have made contact with his various cousins, all of whom were children of farmers. Indeed, we can be sure that these contacts occurred because on 24 February 1829 he married his cousin Elizabeth, daughter of his uncle Robert 1776 whom we shall meet later in this chapter, in Cotleigh parish church where she had been baptized on 3 March 1805. Peter 1806 and Elizabeth then settled in neighbouring Upottery bringing up their children, all daughters, on Barefield Farm, a 110 acre property which he farmed at least from 1841 to 1881. [94] Grace, the eldest, was baptized on 20 June 1830; she died a spinster dressmaker on 25 January 1880. Next was Charlotte, on 25 December 1831, who married Robert Wilson in summer 1850 and bore him three children; the whole family were living with Grace, Charlotte’s sister, in 1871. The third daughter, Mary, was baptized on 19 July 1833 but was buried in Upottery on 4 January 1835; the youngest, Edith, was baptized 5 December 1834 and married in 1854. Peter 1806 died late in 1891 aged 86; Elizabeth his wife followed him early in 1895 aged 90.
William 1807, third son of James 1773, was the second of the four brothers who eventually left Devon to make a life in south Wales, but his youthful years were spent in Yarcombe, the parish of his birth and marriage. On 10 November 1829 he wed Sarah Knight, a local girl, and the couple settled in their home parish, where the first five of their eleven children were born. Mary Ann, the first, was baptized on 19 September 1830, followed by Eli on 11 March 1832 (Eli 1832), Abraham on 16 November 1834 who probably died before 1841, and Grace on 14 August 1836. By 1841 the family had moved across the border into Somerset to live in the adjacent parish of Otterford, where three more children were born, Elizabeth on 16 December 1838 who died shortly afterwards, William born early in 1840 who died that same summer, and James baptized 31 October 1841 (James 1841). The 1841 census for Otterford records that the family were then living there with three of their children, Mary aged 10, Grace aged 5, and a son Edward also aged 5, perhaps her twin. No record of Edward’s birth or baptism has been found. The 1841 census for Otterford says that he was not born in Somerset, yet he is not mentioned in the Yarcombe 1841 census or in its church baptism register. We shall refer to him as Edward 1836. [95] The birth of one other son, William, was registered in Taunton district in mid-1845 (William 1845), the last to be born in Devon. Shortly after this birth William 1807 with his entire family moved to Bridgend, where his elder brother John 1802 had already been living for several years. The 1851 census for Lower Coity records that William 1807, his wife Sarah and seven of their children were living in Bridgend near the old castle. Their two youngest children, Charlotte and Emma, were baptized in Nolton church on 13 August 1848 and 18 November 1850 respectively. [96] William 1807, who could only find work as a labourer, died in Bridgend early in 1879. In 1881 Sarah, his widow, was living in Ynysawdre parish with her daughter Grace and her husband John Wynn whom she had married in 1862. Sarah died in 1883.
Dealing first, and very briefly, with the remaining daughters of William 1807, Mary Ann, the eldest, married William Coward, a brewer, on 20 January 1851 in Clifton St. Michael parish, Bristol. The others who have so far not been mentioned are Charlotte, who died in autumn 1851 aged 3, and the youngest, Emma, about whom nothing is known. We now look at the surviving sons of William 1807.
Eli 1832, eldest son of William 1807, third son of James 1773, spent his early years in his home parish of Yarcombe, though at the time of the 1841 census, aged 8 years, he was staying with his grandparents at the Travellers Rest Inn. [97] He probably accompanied his parents when they moved to south Wales and at the 1851 census was a house servant with a doctor, William Richard, in Laleston parish. We lose track of him in 1861 but he did not move far from Bridgend for on 27 October 1866 he married Suzannah David there. [98] The marriage register gives his occupation as coachman, as do the baptism entry of his only daughter Hannah (Anna) on 27 October 1867and the 1871 census return for Laleston. His only son, William, was baptized on 6 August 1871 (William 1871). Eli 1832 must have worked hard to improve his lot for when William 1871 married Elizabeth Hopkins on 2 November 1895 in Laleston he is described in the register as a publican at the ‘New Inn’ in the village. Further confirmation from the register is given when his daughter Hannah married William Francis on 23 April 1901. At his death his entry in the burial register on 10 May 1905 gives his address as the New Inn, Laleston; he was then said to be aged 74 years. When Suzannah, his widow, died on 6 June 1922 aged 87, she was living in a hospice in Laleston; in her simple will she left all her estate to her daughter.
William 1871, only son of Eli 1832, lived all his life in Laleston where he was married. He and his wife Elizabeth had two children, Ethel baptized on 15 November 1896 who later married Ernest Hyde, and Bertie baptized on 28 August 1898 (Bertie 1898); at this period William 1871 worked as a coachman like his father. Bertie 1898 married in 1931; his son later emigrated to Canada, became a doctor and now lives with his family in Alberta.
Edward 1836, second son of William 1807, third son of James 1773, married first a young widow, Elizabeth Lewis née Spooner, on 3 February 1856 by licence in Swansea parish church, at which time she had one 3 year old son, Samuel, by her previous marriage. In the next 14 years five children were born to them, Emily in autumn 1856 in Llanelly, then four children in Swansea, John late in 1859 (John 1859), William born 14 July 1861, baptized 10 April 1863 in St. Mary parish (William 1861), Elizabeth Jane in 1866 and Edward James on 2 July 1870 (Edward J 1870). The Swansea 1871 census records that they were then living at 25 Miers St, Swansea, when both Edward 1836 and his stepson Samuel, then 18 years old, were described as plasterers. In 1881 the whole family except for the eldest son John 1859 were still living at the same address, Samuel née Lewis having taken the Loosemore family name. Edward 1836 was then a master plasterer, assisted by Samuel, Emily was a dressmaker, William 1861 a joiner, while Edward J 1870 was still at school. By 1891 the family had moved to 10 Muckworth Terrace, Swansea St. Thomas, Edward 1836 had retired, his stepson Samuel carrying on their business as a builder, William the second son was now William C 1861 and had been ordained as a Congregational minister, [99] while the rest of the family had left home. [100] Emily had married Alfred James on 27 September 1881 in her home parish of Swansea St. Mary, Elizabeth Jane had married in 1887, while John 1859 had also been ordained as a Congregational minister. He was to marry Frances Phillips Thompson in 1892 at Bradford. Their only child, John Horton (or Henry), was born on 31 May 1895.
After the death of his first wife Elizabeth early in 1897 Edward 1836, now aged 65, married again on 5 July 1898 to Elizabeth Davies, a spinster aged 41, in St. Theodore Church, Tythegoston parish, Glamorgan. He died on 17 February 1915; in his will he left his house to his wife. She died in Porthcawl on 16 February 1920. His second son, William C 1861, married Martha Neill Orr in the Congregational Church at St.Annes-on-sea, Fylde on 1 August 1894. Their only child, Mary Beryl, was born in 1899 at Wandsworth, London. His third son, Edward J 1870, married Emma Mary Lilly Shillcock in 1931 in London.
James 1841, third surviving son of William 1807, third son of James 1773, was a young boy when he accompanied his parents to the Bridgend district of South Wales some time in the 1840s. In 1851, aged 10, he was at school in Bridgend and we can assume that he continued to live with his parents until ready to leave and support himself. [101] He could not have remained long in South Wales, for at his marriage on 26 April 1874 he was working as a butler in Widcombe parish, now a district in south east Bath. He married Mary Ann Stevens in that parish church after banns. By 1881 he and his wife, both aged 40, were innkeepers in Bradenham, a village 4 mile north-west of High Wycombe, Bucks. Their only child, Amy Mary Charlotte, had been born in that district early in 1876. After James 1841 died on 20 January 1884, aged just 42, his wife continued as innkeeper for at her death on 13 November 1908 her will described her as keeper of “The George” inn, West Wycombe. It is reasonable to assume that she and her husband had kept this inn since before 1881. Amy Mary, only daughter of James 1841 and Mary Ann, married Joseph Child, a coal and cartage contractor, in 1903.
William 1845, fourth surviving son of William 1807, third son of James 1773, was born in Devon as we have already noticed, but he was baptized over 3 years later, on 13 August 1848 in Nolton parish church, close to Bridgend, Glamorgan. In the 1851 census return for his parents’ family he is recorded as aged 6 years, a school boy. [102] In 1861 he was staying with his cousin Joseph 1839 a son of his uncle Robert 1809 whom we shall meet in the next main section. Joseph 1839 had recently married Jane Lougher and the whole group were staying with Jane’s parents Stephen and Jane Lougher at 15 High St., Llangynwyd parish, close to Coity, Bridgend. [103] William 1845, then 16 years old, was working as a painter. Some years later he evidently met Elizabeth Norris who had been born in Mells parish, Somerset, for on 31 January 1870 the two young people were married in Elizabeth’s home parish. She was generally known as Betsy, the name which appears on her marriage certificate. They then made their home in Bridgend town where eleven children were born to them. Nothing is known about their first child Emma, born early in 1871 but it was not uncommon then for the first child to die in infancy. Their next child was born on 19 October 1872 as William Joseph, but baptized on 5 January 1873 as Joseph William; we shall refer to him here as Joseph W 1872. The family was then living at No.28 Oddfellows Row, Bridgend Town, which was to remain their home for many years. There followed William James, born on 1 July 1874 (William J 1874), [104] John in 1876 who died in 1882 aged 6 years, Edwin in autumn 1877 who died a bachelor at Bridgend on 2 March 1942, Frederick James in 1879 (Fred J 1879), Elizabeth Ann in autumn 1880 who married Edwin James Ellaway in 1898, Reuben in 1882 (Reuben 1882), Arthur in 1884 (Arthur 1884), Mabel in 1886 who married in 1907, and John on 23 May 1887 (John 1887) at which time his parents were still living in Oddfellows Row, Bridgend. William 1845 worked as a railway haulier during the whole of this period. He died early in 1925 aged 79; Elizabeth his wife had died six years earlier, in 1918, both in their adopted town, Bridgend. We now look briefly at the sons of William 1845.
Joseph W 1872, eldest son of William 1845, William 1807, James 1773, was living with his parents in Lower Coity parish, part of Bridgend, in 1881. In that census return he is recorded simply as Joseph, aged 8. On 28 September 1895 he married Ada Knowlson, a 23 years old local girl, daughter of a shoemaker. At that time he was a labourer living at Clifton Place, Bridgend but the couple made their home at 18 Oddfellows Row, quite close to his parents. Six children, 4 boys and two girls, were born to them in Bridgend. The eldest, William James born on 30 April 1896 married Enid Punter in 1926 in his home town and had a family of one son and four daughters. He died in 1965. The second son of Joseph W 1872, Redvers George Victor, born on 5 November 1900, married Lilian Gates in 1928 in Bridgend; they had a son, David, who died aged 3 and one girl. Redvers died in 1961. The third son, Frederick born in 1902, married Olwyn Punter in 1938 in Bridgend. Beatrice Rose, eldest daughter of Joseph W 1872, born in 1904, later married Reginald le Geyt. Alfred the fourth son, born 20 July 1909 in Bridgend, married Mabel Thomas in 1930; he died in 1985. The youngest caughter, Minnie E was born in 1912 and married William Martin in 1934. All the children of Joseph W 1872 were born at 18 Oddfellows Row.
William J 1874, second son of William 1845, William 1807, James 1773, was also living with his parents in Lower Coity, part of Bridgend, in 1881. Late in 1895 he married Rachel Ann Kenzie in his home town, where they made their first home home. The first of their seven children, William Arthur George, was born on 5 September 1896 (William AG 1896) at Llynvi St., Bridgend. He was followed by Violet Evelyn in autumn 1899 who died the following year before reaching her first birthday. Soon afterwards the couple moved to 1 Oddfellows Row, close to his parents, where Rachel Christine Eveline was born on 20 October 1902; she married Stephen G Harris, a bank manager, in 1924. There followed three more daughters: Isobel J, Marion Frances, and Glenys Eileen, and a son, Owain Glyndwr who was born in Bridgend on 3 December 1916 (Owain G 1916). William J 1874, who worked as a stonemason, was generally known in Bridgend as ‘Bill Loosmore the mason’. He and his wife Rachel lived all their lives there. He died on 27 May 1941, she on 30 January 1960. Both of their sons married, William AG 1896 in 1936 to a widow, Enid May née John, and Owain G 1916 in 1937 to Velda Harries.
Fred J 1879, fifth son of William 1845, William 1807, James 1773, married Catherine Ann Jones in Bridgend at the end of 1903. Their eight children, four sons followed by four daughters, all made homes in Bridgend where their descendants are still to be found. We shall just mention the four sons. The eldest, Eli, was born near the end of 1904 (Eli 1904) and married Gwenllian Richards in 1940; they had a family of 2 sons and one daughter. The next son, Harold born late in 1906 (Harold 1906) married Doris Violet Gruby in 1936. He was followed by Mervyn, born 9 May 1909 (Mervyn 1909) who died a bachelor aged 71, and by Frederick Fitzroy on 18 February 1912 (Fred F 1912) who married Winifred Jenkins in 1937. Fred J 1879 died in Bridgend aged 76, seven years after his wife Catherine.
Reuben 1882, sixth son of William 1845, William 1807, James 1773, was the first of the sons to leave Bridgend, his home town, though he waited for several years after marriage before taking the decision to move. Early in 1901 He married Mary Howells, a local girl, and only a few months later, on 7 June 1901, their first child, Ida Maud, was born at 2 Meadow St., Bridgend. There followed a second daughter, Winifred May, born early in 1903. However, his parents apparently exerted a strong pull on their children for soon afterwards Reuben and his wife followed his elder brother William J 1874, moving to 6 Oddfellows Row where their first son, Edgar, was born on 11 January 1905 (Edgar 1905). Another son, Ernest Charles was born at the same address on 20 July 1906 (Ernest C 1906). By 1911 the whole family had moved to Pontypridd, when another son, William A was born that autumn (William A 1911). He was followed just a year later by Clifford Norris (Cliff N 1912), then Sibyl L late in 1915, Betsy A in 1919 and Reuben O in 1921 who died a bachelor in 1940. After the death of his first wife Mary in the autumn of 1934 aged only 54, Reuben 1882 wedded Eleanor Davies who had been born in Bridgend about 1890; there were no children of this marriage. Reuben 1882 died in Pontypridd in mid-1954, aged 72 and Eleanor in mid-1969, aged 79. His eldest son, Ernest C 1906, spent his early years in Pontypridd with his parents and in autumn 1934 married Olive Mary Ambury there. A single daughter, Janice E, was born to them in 1937. William A 1911, the second son, died in Cardiff in 1937 aged only 26; he was unmarried. Cliff N 1912 left Pontypridd to marry Eunice Morris in Croydon, Surrey in 1932; they had two children, one boy, John N, and a girl, Wendy, who died in infancy.
Arthur 1884, seventh son of William 1845, William 1807, James 1773, married Annie Elizabeth Ball in Bridgend in spring 1924. Later that year twin sons were born, Alan D who married in 1956, and Leon J, who became a watchmaker. Arthur 1884 died in Bridgend late in 1934.
John 1887, eighth son of William 1845, William 1807, James 1773 had a somewhat chequered life. In June 1904 he enlisted in the Welsh Rgt for three years service and 9 years in the Reserves but purchased his discharge in August 1905 after an unhappy period during which he found the military discipline hard to bear. His first marriage, to Maud Challenger early in 1911 in Bridgend, was short-lived for just a year later Maud died in childbirth of a son, Reginald, who also died. His second marriage, to Lily E A Thomas on 19 January 1914 at Pontypridd register office was equally unhappy. Late in that same year twin sons were born, both of whom died in infancy. Perhaps in a fit of despair John 1887 rejoined the army on 26 Dec 1914, being attested into the Military Foot Police for the South Wales Borderers Rgt. He saw service abroad, receiving campaign medals for BEF France 1915, Gallipoli 1915, Mesopotamia 1916-1919, finally being transferred to the Reserves on 8 Nov 1919. At that time he was referred to as P13203 L/Cpl John Loosemore, so at some point he had been promoted, a sure sign that his conduct in this second period of service was unblemished. It is not clear when his second wife Lily died but he married again on 20 August 1938 to Emily Griffiths with whom he had three sons, enjoying a happy relationship. Here we leave the progeny of William 1807, third son of James 1773.
Robert 1809, fourth son of James 1773, was the third of the four brothers who eventually left Devon for South Wales, but like his elder brothers, his youthful years were spent in Yarcombe where he was born. Unlike them he did not find a wife there, for on 11 May 1831 he married Elizabeth Hooper in the neighbouring parish of Stockland. The first five of their six children were baptized in Cotleigh parish although that church register states that their abode was in Stockland. We cannot be sure, therefore, whether the family actually lived in Stockland but found it more convenient to have their children baptized in Cotleigh, or lived in Cotleigh but Elizabeth preferred to return to Stockland for their births. William, their eldest child, was baptized on 11 March 1832 (William 1832), followed by Hannah on 18 October 1835, who married Owen Morgan in Bridgend late in 1857, James baptized on 4 June 1837 (James 1837), Joseph on 28 July 1839 (Joseph 1839), and Martha on 11 July 1841 who died in Bridgend in 1860, aged 19. During the whole of this period in Stockland or Cotleigh Robert 1809 was referred to as a farmer. The birth of their youngest child, Eliza, on 22 September 1844 at Marsh Lane, Clifton, Bristol, in the parish of St. Philip and St. Jacob, suggests that they did not move from Devon to South Wales directly but spent some time in Bristol before settling in Bridgend. Sadly, Eliza died in Clifton late the following year just after her first birthday. We next meet the family in 1871, when Robert 1809, his wife Elizabeth, their married daughter Hannah Morgan and Emma Loosmore aged 7 who was said to be a grand-daughter born in Darlington, county Durham were living at 15 Oddfellows Row, Bridgend. [105] We shall meet her briefly a little later. Robert 1809, then in business as a hay dealer, died late in 1877 in Bridgend, aged 68; Elizabeth survived him until late in 1904. We now look at the families of his sons.
William 1832, eldest son of Robert 1809, James 1773, is a shadowy figure. Nothing is known about his early years except that he moved to the Bristol area with his parents some time between 1841 and 1844. He may have stayed in that area for on 4 July 1852 he married Jane Lock at Bristol register office, declaring himself to be a carpenter aged 23; Jane was a year older. The register office marriage may have been chosen because he had overstated his age by some three years. He and his bride then leave our story, for no further trace of them has been found.
James 1837, second son of Robert 1809, James 1773, accompanied his parents to South Wales and found employment as an ironpuddler but returned to Devon to marry Sophia Hooper in Membury parish on 5 April 1859. His younger brother Joseph 1839 returned with him and signed the register as a witness. It seems likely that both brothers were illiterate, for in the marriage register James ‘made his mark’, his family name being recorded by the officiating priest as Lusmore, while Joseph allowed his name to be recorded as Losmore. Sophia was a daughter of Phillip Hooper of Stockland and hence may have been related to Elizabeth Hooper, mother of James 1837. The young couple soon returned to South Wales, for their first child, Elizabeth, was born on 21 March 1860 at Charles Row, Cwmdu, Maesteg, in the Bridgend area and baptized there on 15 April. [106] They were clearly restive, for their next two children were born in Darlington, county Durham, Thomas on 28 August 1861 (Thomas 1861) and Emma in mid-1863. She has already been noticed, staying with Robert 1809 and his family in 1871. James 1837 still worked as an iron puddler during their stay in the north. By 1867 they had returned to Bridgend, where their fourth child, William James, was born on 1 September (William J 1867). Little more than two years later they again decided to move, this time eastwards to Llandaff, Cardiff, where they seemed to settle, for their last three children were born there, Philip, on 5 February 1870 (Philip 1870), Robert early in 1872 (Robert 1872) and Joseph on 30 October 1873 (Joseph 1873). Philip and Robert were both baptized on the same day, 10 October 1872, in Llandaff Cathedral. [107] But this was not the end of their peregrinations. By 1881 the whole family had moved westwards again to Kidwelly, a district of Llanelly, just west of Swansea. This was to be their last move. James 1837 died there early in 1896 aged 58; Sophia followed him late in 1916 aged 84. [108] We now look at the progeny of their sons.
Thomas 1861, eldest son of James 1837, Robert 1809, James 1773, as we have already seen, was born in Darlington, county Durham. He travelled with his family back to Bridgend, then to Llandaff, Cardiff, where he attended school, until in 1881 he was a tin puddler in Kidwelly, Llanelly. like his father. At this time, aged 19, he was still living with his parents. He must have left home at some time during the next few years because when on 1 November 1886, aged 25, he married Maria Carpenter in Kidwelly parish church, he was living alone in Myrtle Cottage, Kidwelly. He was also still working as a tin puddler, but by the 1891 census he had given up this rather unpleasant occupation and was employed as a hay dealer and milk seller in Llangyfelach parish, Swansea. [109] Their marriage was childless. Maria died in Swansea late in 1907, aged 47 and a year later, on 29 November 1908, Thomas married again, to Florence Goward Venables, a 32 years old spinster. He was then still living in Martin St, Llangefelach, his address in 1891, but was now in business as a corn merchant. A daughter, Dorothy Mary Martha, was born of this second marriage late in 1909, but only a year later Florence died in Swansea at the young age of 34, perhaps as a delayed consequence of the birth. With a very young daughter to bring up Thomas was in need of support but it was not until the summer of 1913 that he married for a third time, to Margaret Hare, also in Swansea. His troubles were not yet over, for only four years later Margaret died aged 53. Thomas 1861 died on 6 June 1941, aged 79.
William J 1867, second son of James 1837, Robert 1809, James 1773 was born in Llandaff, Cardiff and moved to Kidwelly with his parents. By 1891, aged 23, he was working as a furnaceman in a tinworks, in which he remained at least until his marriage on 14 April 1900 to Alice Elizabeth Jane Matthews, in St. David’s Church, Morriston in Llangyfelach parish, Swansea. His younger brother, Joseph, was a witness at the wedding. Two daughters were born to them, Emily Frances in 1901 and Florence May the following year. When Emily was baptized on 29 May 1901 her parents were living at Myrtle Cottage, Kidwelly, the house which William J 1867’s elder brother Thomas 1861 had occupied in 1886. William J 1867 later became a dairyman and was elected mayor of Kidwelly during the first World War. He died in May 1951 at the good age of 83.
Philip 1870, third son of James 1837, Robert 1809, James 1773 was born in Llandaff, Cardiff but nothing is known of his childhood. Although as a young man he and his family lived in Kidwelly, Llanelly he married his first wife, Elizabeth Mahoney, in Bridgend early in 1893 at the age of 23. They then returned to Myrtle Cottage, Kidwelly to raise their family of ten children, supported by Philip’s earnings as a furnaceman in a tinworks. The Welsh registrar evidently had difficulty with Elizabeth’s maiden name, for it was given various spellings at the births of their children, as we shall see. Their eldest son, Joseph, was born on 8 October 1893 (Joseph 1893) at Myrtle Cottage, his mother’s name being spelled McCarthy. When the next, William, was born on 8 June 1897 (William 1897) they had moved to Castle St., Kidwelly and his mother’s name was recorded as Emmanuel. Two years later when Thomas was born on 3 August 1899 (Thomas 1899) at the same address she was again called Emmanuel, but on 24 February 1905 at the birth of Annie Sophia, their first daughter, they had moved again to Globe Row, New Dock, Llanelly and her mother’s name was now Macarty. Annie later married Henry Burt. Next came Phillip John, born on 30 January 1907 (Phillip J 1907) at Gwendraeth Cottages, Kidwelly; his mother’s name was then Mioney. From then on the spelling became stable as Mahoney. Emily was born in autumn 1909 but nothing more is known of her, then Rosey late in 1911 who later married Evan Thomas. Next, Eli, born mid-1914 (Eli 1914), Lily late in 1915 who died in 1928 aged 12, and the youngest, Robert, in mid-1917 (Robert 1917). Elizabeth, wife of Philip 1870, died in 1930 at the age of 56, and two years later he married Mary Walsh in Llanelly. Philip died in autumn 1948 aged 78 years.
We now look very briefly at the six sons of Philip 1870. Joseph 1893, eldest son of Philip 1870, married Dilys Dean in 1924 at Llanelly; he died in 1935 aged only 39 years. William 1897, second son, died in Llanelly aged 2 years. Thomas 1899, third son, married Elizabeth Rily at Narberth in 1924. They raised a family of seven children of whom six lived into adulthood (three sons and three daughters), whose descendants still live in South Wales.
Robert 1872, fourth son of James 1837, Robert 1809, James 1773, like his other brothers, moved to Kidwelly with his parents and at the beginning of 1893, aged 21, married Catherine Gravell in Llanelly where their four children were born. The eldest, Thomas James born 1896, married Mary Davies in Llanelly early in 1917; one son and one daughter were born of this union. The second child, Martha born on 3 April 1899 in Kidwelly, married Cyril Parmenter there in mid-1926. Margaret Sophia, the third, was born late in 1901 in Kidwelly and died a spinster in 1937. William James, youngest child of Robert 1872 and Catherine, was born on 23 October 1902 and married Beatrice Thomas in 1930; their immediate descendants are still found in Llanelly and the surrounding region.
Joseph 1873, fifth son of James 1837, Robert 1809, James 1773, spent his life in Kidwelly. At his marriage in Kidwelly to Mary Ann Davies on 1 April 1899 he was living in Myrtle Cottage, Kidwelly, and was in business as a haulier. Later he owned Castle Dairy in the parish together with three cottages in Water Street. Mary Ann died in 1917 aged only 43 years; Joseph died nine years later, on 31 March 1926. There were no children of the marriage.
This completes our account of James 1837, second son of Robert 1809, fourth son of James 1773.
Joseph 1839, third and youngest son of Robert 1809, James 1773, accompanied his parents and the rest of their family to Bridgend but then, as we have already noticed, he returned to Devon with his older brother James 1837 to be a witness at the latter’s wedding in Membury parish. The brothers returned to Bridgend, where later in that same year Joseph 1839 married Jane the daughter of Stephen Lougher and his wife. In 1861 James 1837 and his new wife Sophia were living next door to the Loughers in Maesteg, close to Bridgend. Joseph 1839 and his wife Jane also made their first home in Maesteg, where the first three of their ten children were born. At this time he was in business as a hay dealer. Lily Jane, their eldest child born in mid-1861, later married Lewis Lee. Robert, their eldest son, followed two years later in mid-1863 (Robert 1863), and then a second son, William Thomas was born on 11 May 1865 (William T 1865) at Commercial St., Maesteg. At about this time they left their home in Bridgend, for on 1 November 1868 another daughter, Eliza Mary, was born in Haverfordwest, a town at the extreme west of Pembrokeshire, [110] though she was not baptized until 16 November 1887, aged 19, in Swansea St. Mary Church. Not long after her birth the family moved again, to Swansea where they made their permanent home. Their next child, Henrietta, born in autumn 1871, who married Ernest Jeffries in Swansea in 1896, was followed by Joseph late in 1873 (Joseph 1873), then Edward in autumn 1875 (Edward 1875), Margaret in autumn 1880 who married Stanley Hopkins in 1914, Jane in 1883 who married William John Urch in 1917 at Bridgend, and Frank late in 1886 (Frank 1886). During this latter period their father, Joseph 1839, exchanged his job as a hay and corn merchant for work as a tin puddler. [111] This change of occupation was apparently a temporary measure, for at his death on 30 May 1910 in Bridgend he was described as a hay merchant. His wife Jane outlived him by over 20 years, until mid-1933 when she died in Bridgend at the grand old age of 92. We now look briefly at the families of his sons.
Robert 1863, eldest son of Joseph 1839, married Emily Louisa Jane Russell in Swansea late in 1886; by 1891 he had taken over his father’s business as a hay merchant. [112] Over the next 28 years six sons and five daughters were born to them, of whom all except one daughter survived childhood. The first child, Mary Jane was born in 1889 and died in 1915 aged 26. Joseph Edward followed in 1891 (Joseph E 1891) and married Margaret Ann Lloyd in 1912; their surviving son Aubrey Roy Lloyd was born in 1918. The third child, Lily Mary, was born late in 1893 but died in infancy. She was followed in 1896 by Robert Brinley (Robert B 1896), who enlisted as Pte. 320754 in the Welsh Rgt and was killed in action on 6 November 1917 in Egypt. He appears in the “Debt of Honour Register” compiled by Commonwealth War Graves Commission and is buried in Beersheba War Cemetery, Israel. [113] The fifth child, Emily Doris, born in 1898, married Roland Henry Dyke in 1922. Next, Alexander Aubrey, born in 1898 (Alex A 1898), enlisted as Able Seaman Z/340 Howe Bn., RNVR and died on 13 November 1916. He too appears in the “Debt of Honour Register” compiled by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission; his name appears on the Thiepval Memorial, Somme, France for he has no known grave. [114] The seventh child, William Frederick, born on 14 May 1899 (William F 1899) in Swansea, married Violet Standen in 1921; their immediate descendants still live in the Swansea area. Gladys, born in 1901 married Richard Davies in Swansea, while the ninth child, Stanley born on 16 December 1903 (Stanley 1903) was twice married. Descendants of his second marriage, to Hilda Parker in 1933, still live in the Swansea area. The tenth child, Clifford born 28 July 1905 (Clifford 1905) in Swansea married Rowena James in 1927 while the eleventh and youngest, Violet Winifred, married Donald Thomas in 1936, in Swansea.
William T 1865, second son of Joseph 1839, moved to Swansea with his parents and married Mary Anne Edwards in Swansea St. Peter Church on 10 September 1886. Almost nothing is known about their family life, except that their only child, Irene Hannah, born on 13 December 1899, married William Davies in 1923. William T 1865 was a labourer, a man of very modest means and probably overworked for he died in Swansea in 1911 at the comparatively early age of 46. His widow Mary Ann must have been hard-pressed to earn a living but she lived a further 14 years, dying near the end of 1925 aged 60.
Joseph 1873, third son of Joseph 1839, would have lived his early years in Swansea, but after he married Annie Rees Pearce on 30 March 1910 in the Hope Baptist Chapel, Bridgend the couple made their home there. He was already a hay and corn merchant, possibly in business with his elder brother Robert 1863 though we have no definite information of a joint enterprise. Although marrying later in life than was usual—he was then aged 36—four children were born to them in the next six years, all in Bridgend. Little is known of the eldest, Joseph William, born on 31 January 1911, (Joseph W 1911) but it is thought that he spent some time as a monk. Certainly he died a bachelor aged 66. The second, Frank Howard, born on 11 April 1912, (Frank H 1912), became a commercial traveller. He married in 1938 and his children and their families still live in that area. The third son, Norman Lougher, born in 1914 (Frank L 1914) married in 1938; their children live in the north of England. The youngest child, Doreen Alethea, was born in 1916 and now lives in Italy. Annie Rees, wife of Joseph 1873, died in 1936; he lived until 1951.
Edward 1875, fourth son of Joseph 1839, married Naomi Davies at Swansea in 1902. All their five children, three sons and two daughters, were born in Swansea and all survived to maturity. The three sons, Alfred born 10 June 1903, Edward Garfield born 1 April 1906, and Harold born 1910 married; most of their immediate descendants still live in West Wales. Of their two daughters, Averil born in 1908 died unmarried, while Dora born in 1912 married at the end of WW2. Edward 1875 died in 1937, Naomi his widow died in 1964.
Frank 1886, fifth son of Joseph 1839, married Gladys Mary Davies at Bridgend in 1912 where he also was in business as a hay merchant, possibly in conjunction with his brothers Robert 1863 and Joseph 1873. Their eldest son Frank Herbert, born in 1916 (Frank H 1916), married in 1945 while the second son, Robert Glynn, born in 1923, (Robert G 1923) and married in 1947, spent much time abroad as an administrator.
James 1811, fifth son of James 1773, was the youngest of the four brothers who eventually left Devon for South Wales, though like them he spent his youth in Yarcombe where all four of them were born. In 1841 he was in service as a servant with Thomas Drake at New Barn Farm in his home parish. Unlike his brothers he was still a bachelor when the family left Devon for he married Mary James in the Ricarnah Baptist Chapel, Newcastle, Bridgend, on 23 September 1846. The couple made their home in Laleston parish, Bridgend, where all their three children were born. At the time of his marriage he declared his occupation to be that of a butler, a vocation he continued at least until the end of 1849 when registering the birth on 23 November 1849 of their eldest son Morris John (Morris J 1849). The 1851 census return for Laleston records him as a house servant with John Bennett, an elderly widower, and his three spinster daughters, together with five other servants, so we can assume that he was in charge of a substantial household. [115] Their second child, Louise Jane, born in 1852, was to marry Jacob Davies, while another son, Edwin James, was baptized in Laleston on 14 February 1853 (Edwin J 1853), when his father was again stated to be a butler. Nothing is known about their lives after 1851 but before 1866 they had moved eastwards to Eglwysilan parish, in the area close to Pontypridd. Mary, wife of James 1811, died early in 1866 in that parish but in 1871 James, now a widower, was still living with his children there, in Glyntaff hamlet. His two sons worked as forgemen, presumably in an ironworks, while Louise acted as their housekeeper. Staying with them was Emma, youngest daughter of William 1807, elder brother of James 1811; she was then aged 20, a sempstress. [116] Towards the end of that same year 1871, Louise Jane married Jacob Davies as has already been noticed. Her father, James 1811, died less than two years later, in mid-1873. Then on 3 May 1875 the eldest son, Morris J 1849, married Margaret Roberts in Carmel Baptist Chapel, Pontypridd. Soon after their marriage the couple emigrated to New South Wales, Australia, for on 18 June 1876 their first child, Richard James (Richard J 1876) was born at Minmi, NSW.
However, returning to those children of James 1811 who remained in Wales, in 1881 Louise and her husband Jacob Davies, a haulier, were still living in Glyndaff hamlet with their two children. Louise’s younger brother Edwin J 1853, now aged 28, was living with them, probably involved with Jacob’s business for he was then also described as a haulier. Ten years later Edwin J, still unmarried, had left Jacob and Louise and was boarding in Glyndaff with a collier, John Williams and his wife Rebecca, when he was said to be a coker . [117] Edwin J 1853 died in Pontypridd in 1908.
As for Morris J 1849 and his wife Margaret in New South Wales, Australia, after Richard J 1876 a further eight children were born to them, four sons and four daughters, though only two of those sons are known to have married, Edwin 1878 to Bridget Murphy at Wollongong in 1930 and David 1890 to Annie Travis at Maitland East in 1934. In addition Richard J 1876, the eldest son, married Elizabeth Miller at Newcastle, NSW on 9 June 1897; this marriage was the only one known to have produced sons, all in Minmi, NSW. They were Maurice John, born on 1 August 1899 (Maurice J 1899), who married Alma May Robson at Bourke 3 January 1904 and Richard James born in 1911 (Richard J 1911) who married Olive J Sheldon at Cessnock in 1931. Descendants of both sons still live in NSW. Here we leave the descendants of James 1811, fifth son of James 1773
Edward 1813, sixth and youngest son of James 1773, lived all his life near to Yarcombe, his home parish as did his elder brother Peter 1806, instead of accompanying his other brothers John 1802, William 1807, Robert 1809 and James 1811, to South Wales. Nothing is known of his early life until 14 April 1841, when he married Mary Gollop in Yarcombe parish church. The 1841 census, taken on 6 June, shows him and his new wife living at Tollers Marsh, a property in the hamlet of Marsh situated at the north-east edge of Yarcombe parish at what was then the main coaching route from London to Exeter, now the A303. Tollers Marsh had been in the Gollop family since the end of the 18th century as the result of a bequest from Peter Toller who had purchased the 23 acre property in 1784. [118] Not long afterwards Edward 1813 and Mary moved across the Devon/Somerset border to Otterford parish, where all but the youngest of their six children were born and baptized. Elizabeth Mary, the eldest, was baptized on 11 June 1843 and married William Warren on 19 May 1881. Next, Sarah Ann, baptized 28 January 1845, married Robert Pym, a farmer from Buckland St. Mary, on 15 April 1879. Then Caroline, baptized 11 January 1848, married Henry Vickery on 19 March 1874, while the fourth daughter Grace, baptized 17 April 1849, married Samuel Shire Clarke on 17 April 1881. All four daughters were married in Whitestaunton parish, Somerset. There followed two sons: John Edward baptized on 2 March 1851 (John E 1851) in Otterford and Edwin, born early in 1855 (Edwin 1855), by which time the whole family had settled in Whitestaunton parish. The move from Otterford occurred very soon after the baptism of their first son, for the 1851, 1861 and 1871 censuses all show them living at Woodhayes Farm, Whitestaunton, which Edward 1813, a typical yeoman farmer, expanded from 85 acres to 175 acres during this period. [119] He died on 30 November 1877 on his farm. Mary his widow continued living at Woodhayes with her then unmarried daughters Elizabeth and Grace, but by the time of the 1881 census, aged 71, she had appointed a bailiff, Samuel Clarke, to help her youngest son Edwin 1855 in running the farm. [120] The date of Mary’s death is uncertain. We now look at the two sons of Edward 1813.
John E 1851, eldest son of Edward 1813, lived with his parents in Otterford during his youth and no doubt helped his father to run Woodhayes Farm as he grew up. He may have continued working there after the death of his father in 1877 for he was said to be a farmer when on 8 March 1881, just a month before the census, he married Sarah Ann Drake of Upottery in her parish church. His departure from the parental farm was no doubt one reason why his widowed mother employed a bailiff, as we have seen above. John E 1851 and his new wife settled in neighbouring Yarcombe parish where their first three children were born and baptized. The eldest, Alice Mary, born early in 1882 and married in 1903, was followed by Francis Drake born on 30 July 1885 (Francis D 1885) as Loosemore, and John Henry on 15 July 1887 (John H 1887) as Loosmore, both in Yarcombe. Not long afterwards the family moved to Rull Farm in Otterford parish, Somerset where two more sons were born, Edward on 16 February 1890 (Edward 1890) as Loosmore and Tom on 29 July 1891 (Tom 1891) as Loosemore. We shall have cause to mention this variability in spelling of their family name a little later. Their mother, Sarah Ann, must have died about 1895 though no record of the date has been found, for in the autumn of 1896 John E 1851 re-married to Mary Board at Taunton. The first child of this second marriage, Florence Annie, was born at Rull Farm on 27 September of that same year, 1896; she was to marry William Evans in November 1917. A further seven children were born of this second marriage, of whom all but next one survived into marriage. Robert, born at Rull Farm on 21 February 1899, survived for only a few days. There followed Percy on 29 October 1901 (Percy 1901), Henry on 15 October 1904 (Henry 1904), James on 17 August 1905 (James 1905), Jessie Caroline late in 1909 who married in 1933, Philip in 1912 (Philip 1912), and Daisy M in autumn 1914 who married in 1934. All these children took the family name Loosmore. Mary and her large family, all of whom lived at Rull Farm, must have been shocked when her husband, John E 1851, died at Bristol on 19 March 1915, only a few months after the birth of its youngest member. He may have been visiting one or other of his children in South Wales for his place of residence was given in his will as Rull Farm. He had appointed two trustees to handle his estate, whose responsibilities must indeed have been onerous. Here we shall do no more than look very briefly at the fortunes of his eight surviving sons from his two marriages.
Families of the eight surviving sons of John E 1851
Francis D 1885, eldest son of John E 1851, left his home parish as a young man, following several other members of his group to Bridgend, South Wales where he found employment as a colliery surface worker. In 1913 he married Margaret Ann Thomas at nearby Neath, a union that produced four children, Arthur Edward born 1914 who died a bachelor in 1946, Beatrice Diana born 1916 who married in 1941, Dennis Thomas born in 1918 who died a bachelor in 1950, and Edith Grace in 1921. John H 1887, the second son, also moved to Bridgend as a young man, where in 1912 he married Mary Catherine Fabian in the Calvinistic Methodist Chapel at Pyle. He remained a farmer, eventually living with his wife and two daughters at Persondy Farm, St Mary Hill, Bridgend. Edward 1890, the third son, followed his two elder brothers to South Wales, marrying Sarah Ann Morgan in Cardiff 1919. He found work as a collier at Bridgend where they where they lived with a daughter who died aged 20m and one son. Tom 1891, fourth and youngest son of his father’s first marriage, was the last one to move to South Wales. He married Gwenllian Davies at Bridgend in 1924, with whom he brought up a family of one son and two daughters.
Percy 1901, fifth son and eldest of the second marriage of his father John E 1851, left England for Australia on 25 May 1923, sailing from Tilbury on the s.s.Orcades for Victoria state. [121] He later moved to New South Wales where he married. Henry 1904, sixth son, married at Yeovil in 1933; James 1905, seventh son, also married in the Yeovil area, at Sturminster in 1930, as did Philip 1912, eighth and youngest son, in 1938.
Edwin 1855, youngest son of Edward 1813, youngest son of James 1773, lived all his life as a farmer in the area fairly close to Whitestaunton parish, his birthplace. After his father died he continued living with his widowed mother at Woodhayes Farm until the summer of 1881 when he married Mary Jane Norton in the same parish. The newly-weds made their first home there, where most of their ten children were born. As was quite common at the time, their first child, Elizabeth Mary born early in 1882, lived only a few days. There followed Annie, born mid-1883, about whom nothing is known; she also may have died in infancy. Next was William, born in autumn 1885 (William 1885), who died a bachelor at Manor Farm, Burstock in 1936. [122] He was followed by John on 1 June 1887 (John 1887), Frank in 1889 (Frank 1889), Ben on 18 April 1891 (Ben 1891), Edwin on 7 July 1894 (Edwin 1894), Fred late in 1896 (Fred 1896). At this point the family moved to Membury, near Axminster, Devon, where two more sons were born, Thomas in 1899 (Thomas 1899) and Richard on 4 April 1901 (Richard 1901). The family’s later movements remain to be discovered, but when Edwin 1855 died on 20 November 1915, aged 60, he was living at Knapp Fm, Whitestaunton. Mary Jane, his widow, eventually went to live with her eldest son William 1885 at Manor Farm, Burstock, where she died in 1941. We now look briefly at the lives of those sons who married and produced families.
John 1887, second son of Edwin 1855, left home and was farming in Membury parish when he married Edith Rose Summers on 10 February 1914 in her home parish of Awliscombe. They had only one daughter, Dora Mary born late in 1916, who married in 1937. Frank 1889, the third son, also a farmer, married Lily Travers at Wincanton in 1913; their family of four daughters and one son, were all born in Shepton Mallett. His son, Maurice William Frank, born in 1917 (Maurice 1917) later enlisted in the 4th Bn., Dorset Regt, and died on 3 Jul 1944 in France during WW2. Ben 1891, the fourth son, emigrated to USA, arriving at Ellis Island in 1911, eventually settling in Texas where his six children and their descendants still live. Edwin 1894, the fifth son, married Violet Cooper at Sherborne in 1916; they had one son, Basil. Fred 1896, the sixth son, married Ellen Hill at Broad Clyst, Devon, in 1921; their daughter, Julia Ruth, emigrated to Canada and lives in Ontario. Thomas 1899, the seventh son, married in 1929 but the union was childless. Richard 1901, the eighth and youngest son, married in 1925; his son and daughter both married and live with their children in Weymouth and Bridport.
This completes our account of the descendants of James 1773, fourth son of John 1730 of Yarcombe. We look now at the descendants of:
Robert 1776, fifth & youngest son of John 1730 of Yarcombe
Robert 1776 would have spent his youth in his home parish, no doubt helping his father run Studbeer Farm. It may be that his father also owned Greenway Farm in Cotleigh parish or perhaps enabled his son to lease it since Robert 1776 was living in that parish when he married Elizabeth Sampson there on 9 November 1802. She came from Stockland parish, as did Elizabeth Pratt who had married his elder brother James 1773, so the two Elizabeths may well have known each other. Robert 1776 and his wife lived the remainder of their lives in Cotleigh where eight of their nine children were born and baptized, the exception being the eldest, Mary, who was baptized in Yarcombe. Nothing else is known about Mary who may well have died in infancy. The next child, Elizabeth baptized on 3 March 1805, was destined to marry her cousin Peter 1806, a son of Robert’s elder brother James 1773, as we have already noticed. There followed Ann, baptized 28 June 1807 who was unmarried at the time of the 1841 census taken on 6 June of that year, John baptized 25 December 1808 (John 1808), Robert on 22 July 1810 (Robert 1810), James on 6 January 1813 (James 1813), Joseph on 4 April 1817 (Joseph 1817), Charlotte on 30 August 1818 who married George Newton, a farmer from Stockland, in the summer of 1841 in Cotleigh, and finally Zebedee on 29 November 1823 (Zebedee 1823). It is not known exactly when Robert 1776 took over at Greenway Farm, but he was certainly in occupation there in 1841, together with his wife, daughters Ann and Charlotte aged 20 already married with a son James Newton aged 1, plus three of his sons, John 1808, James 1813, and Zebedee 1823. [123] His tenure may have started as early as 1814 since his father’s will, dated that July, treated Robert more favourably than his other sons and made him responsible for the funeral arrangements of both his parents. When his father, John 1730, died the following year at the good age of 85 he was said to be living in Cotleigh, so one may speculate that both parents were staying with their youngest son Robert 1776 and Elizabeth at Greenway Farm. When Robert 1776 died on 22 July 1846 at Greenway Farm he also owned tenements in Stockland which he left to his sons Robert, James and Joseph, and Oake Cottage in Cotleigh, left to his wife Elizabeth and then to his youngest son Zebedee. [124] His wife, Elizabeth, outlived him by just seven years, until 6 January 1854. We now look at the families of the sons of Robert 1776.
John 1808, eldest son of Robert 1776, died a bachelor in 1886, aged 78. Nothing else is known of his life.
Robert 1810, second son of Robert 1776, is also a shadowy figure; nothing is known of his life except that he was apparently still living in 1845 when his father’s will was made.
James 1813, third son of Robert 1776, married Mary Willie on 11 April 1843 at Churchstanton, her home parish. In 1851 he occupied Bull Farm, a property of 118 acres in Monkton parish, Devon but by early 1861 he had moved back to Greenway Farm, Cotleigh, a 70 acre property which he had inherited after his mother had died in 1854. He worked this farm for the remainder of his life, which ended on 14 December 1887. [125] Mary his wife outlived him by only a few months, for she died in the first quarter of 1888. The first three of their four children were all born in Cotleigh, James was baptized there on 28 April 1844 (James 1844), Mary Jane on 22 June 1845 and Keziah on 7 May 1848, then another daughter, Charlotte, was born in Monkton but baptized in Cotleigh on 19 June 1853. Mary Jane married William Young in 1872, Keziah married in 1869 and Charlotte married Henry Phillips in 1881. We now look briefly at their only son, James 1844.
James 1844, only son of James 1813, lived with his parents until after the 1871 census, at which time he was aged 27, no doubt learning farm management by helping to run his father’s Greenway Farm. Then, on 24 February 1873 he married Elizabeth Spurie, daughter of a Churchstanton farmer, in her parish church, recording his name as Loosemore although baptized Loosmore. By 1881 he was in possession of Willhayes Farm in Cotleigh and was still farming the same property in 1891. [126] Their three children were all born and baptized in Cotleigh, Francis James on 11 March 1874 (Francis J 1874), Henry late in 1875 (Henry 1875), and Elizabeth on 31 January 1878. All three children were baptized as Loosemore, confirming the change of family name. Some time after 1891 James 1844 sold Willhayes Farm since on 22 June 1912, when he made his will, he was living at Holmsleigh Farm in the same parish, where he died on 22 November 1921, aged 77. Mary his wife had died in 1916. Francis J 1874, his eldest son, had two daughters so the younger son, Henry 1875, inherited Holmsleigh Farm which he held throughout his life. He married Sarah Ellen Billington in 1920; their son inherited the farm in due course.
Joseph 1817, fourth son of Robert 1776, grew up on his father’s farm like his elder brother so when, aged just 21, he married Hannah Newton, a local girl, on 12 March 1839 in Cotleigh parish church he gave his occupation as farmer. He signed the register as Loosemore, a spelling which was retained by his descendants. The young couple made their home in Whitestaunton parish, across the border in Somerset, where their two children were born and baptized, Hannah Charlotte on 25 April 1841 and Mary Ann on 16 October 1846, both being given the family name Loosemore. Both entries in the parish baptismal register state that Joseph was then a publican. Sadly Joseph and Hannah had only a short time together, for she died early in 1849; Mary Ann also had only a short time to live, for she was buried in Whitestaunton on 27 June 1850. Joseph 1817 with his young daughter Hannah Charlotte then moved back from Somerset to the small Devon parish of Feniton, a few miles due west of Honiton, where in 1851 he worked as a farm servant at Coscombe farm, a 60 acre property owned by a widow, Ann French. [127] He stayed there for only a few years before leaving the West country with his daughter for Brinsworth, a small parish in Yorkshire just between Rotherham to the north and nearby Sheffield to the south. This final departure from his family and his homeland raises the possibility that his marriage to Hannah Newton may have incurred the disapproval of his parents, but this is speculation and may do him an injustice. He and his daughter lived together in Brinsworth village until after the 1871 census, during which period Joseph 1817 found work as an agricultural labourer, while three children were born to Hannah Charlotte, of whom two survived infancy. [128]
The eldest, George Harry, born on 28 February 1860 to the 18 year old Charlotte Loosemoore, survived to adulthood; we shall meet him a little later as George H 1860. Next, James Frederick was born late in 1863 in Rotherham RD; he died the same year. Clara, the youngest, was born on 28 July 1867 to Charlotte Loosmore. No information regarding the father is given on the birth certificates of either George Harry or Clara so it must be assumed that all three children, who took their mother’s family name, were born out of wedlock. In the 1861 and 1871 censuses the children were described as grandchildren of Joseph 1817, head of the household. Then, on 7 February 1875 Hannah Charlotte married James Lever, a mechanic, in Tinsley parish, close to Rotherham. The 1881 census shows Charlotte Lever, aged 39, born in Whitestaunton parish, Devon and her son William aged 5 (he was born on 30 March 1876 in Tinsley, Yorks), living in a Rotherham lodging house owned by William Lewis. Charlotte is described as a lodging house manager, so she was probably working as a concierge; there is no mention of her husband James Lever. She appears to have abandoned her daughter Clara, for the same census shows Clara Lucimore aged 13, working as a domestic servant in the Angel Inn, Brinsworth, Yorks. [129] The young girl must have had a desperately unhappy life for her working conditions would have been far from attractive. Sadly, she died in Rotherham workhouse on 9 June 1885, aged 18. A search through the complete national 1881 census has failed to find any trace of Joseph 1817, nor has any record of his death come to light. He seems to have disappeared completely from view.
Family of George H 1860, only surviving son of Hannah Charlotte, Joseph 1817, Robert 1776
The 1871 census records that George H 1860, then living in Brinsworth just north of Sheffield, with Joseph 1817 and his mother Hannah Charlotte, was working as a farm servant despite his tender years (he was then aged 11). The next time we meet him is on 17 December 1882 in Sheffield when he married Selina, a daughter of Joshua Hoyland and his wife Mary. He may have known her for some time before their marriage for it can hardly be a coincidence that although her parents and their younger children appear in the 1881 census Selina, like her husband-to-be, is not recorded there, either in Yorks. or anywhere else. [130] One wonders whether Joseph 1817, George H 1860 and Selina Hoyland may deliberately have evaded the census enumerators. George H’s marriage certificate gives his name as George Henry Lewsmore and in later life several spelling variations occur. The couple made their home in Ecclesall Bierlow parish near Rotherham, where seven sons and one daughter were born to them over the next 15 years. Mary, their only daughter, died in infancy in 1893 but all the sons survived to adulthood. The eldest son, Joseph Joshua, born early in 1884 (Joshua 1884) was registered as Lussmore. He married Jane Elizabeth Turner towards the end of 1906 in his home parish; the descendants of their seven children are still to be found in the area around Sheffield. Next, George Arthur Hoyland, born in autumn of the following year (George AH 1885) was registered as Loosemore. He married Ethel Linacre in the summer of 1913; the descendants of their nine children are also still living in the area around Sheffield. The third son, John William, born in autumn 1887 (John W 1887), married Emma Walker in the summer of 1919, soon after the end of World War 1; they had two children, one son and one daughter. Nothing is known of the fourth son, Harry, born in the autumn of 1890 (Harry 1890), and very little of the fifth, Frank, born in autumn of 1894 (Frank 1894) except that he seems to have died a bachelor. The sixth son Arnold, born on 7 June 1896 (Arnold 1896) was the most outstanding of the seven and we shall consider him separately. The seventh and youngest son, Ernest, born late in 1898 (Ernest 1898) married Elsie Caswell, also in 1919; their six children and descendants later moved away from Sheffield.
The seven sons of George H 1860 and his wife Selina formed a remarkable group, all of whom served in the army during WW1. Joshua 1884, a shoeing smith by trade, enlisted on the outbreak of war and served in that capacity as a private soldier in the Army Service Corps. The second son, George AH 1885, had already completed eight years service with the Kings Own Scottish Borderers (KOSB) but immediately re-enlisted in the Royal Engineers in September 1914, as did the third son, John W 1887. The fourth son, Harry 1890, was about to complete eight years service with KOSB in autumn 1914 but his discharge was delayed by the war, in which he was slightly wounded. The fifth son, Frank 1894, enlisted in the Royal Engineers at the same time as George A.H. the second son. The youngest son, Ernest 1898, over-stated his age and joined a battalion of the York &Lancaster Regiment in Oct 1914; he was slightly wounded and later became a prisoner of war. But it was the sixth son, Arnold 1896, who brought the greatest honour to his family by his award of the supreme decoration for bravery in action, the Victoria Cross. We look now at his exploits in more detail:
War-time service of Sgt. Arnold Loosemore, V.C., D.C.M.
During WW1 he enlisted in the 8th Bn. The Duke of Wellington’s West Riding Rgt as 15805 Pte. Arnold Loosemore, and saw service in the Dardanelles; he was there at the time of the withdrawal. He then served in a Lewis gun section with his regiment in France where, on 11th August 1917 during an attack at the Steinbeck Sidings near Ypres, occurred the action for which he was awarded the Victoria Cross in September 1917. At the time of this action he was still a private soldier. The official citation states:
“For most conspicuous bravery and initiative during the attack on a strongly held enemy position. His platoon having been checked by heavy machine-gun fire, he crawled through partially cut wire, dragging his Lewis gun with him and single-handed dealt with a strong party of the enemy, killing about twenty of them, and thus covering the consolidation of the position taken up by his platoon.
Immediately afterwards his Lewis gun was blown up by a bomb, and three of the enemy rushed for him, but he shot them all with his revolver. Later, he shot several enemy snipers, exposing himself to heavy fire each time. On returning to the original post he also brought back a wounded comrade under heavy fire at the risk of his life. He displayed throughout an utter disregard of danger.”
Shortly after this event he was promoted on the field to the rank of sergeant. On 2 Jan 1918 he received his V.C. at the hands of H.M. King George V.
He then returned to the front where in October 1918 he was awarded the D.C.M. for gallantry and distinguished service in the field for an action the previous month. The official citation for this action , to 15805 Sgt. A Loosemore, V.C., W. Riding Rgt, Sheffield, states:
“For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. When out with a fighting patrol he displayed conspicuous gallantry and powers of leadership when his officer was wounded and the platoon scattered by hostile bombs. He rallied the men and brought them back in order, with all the wounded, to our lines. On a subsequent occasion he handled his platoon with great skill and a complete disregard of his own danger under heavy machine-gun fire, and it was owing to his determination and powers of leadership that the platoon eventually captured the enemy post which they were attacking.” [131]
This decoration was handed to Sgt Loosemore by H.M. King George V when he visited Sheffield in 1919.
Finally, on 13th October 1918, just 3 weeks before the Armistice, he was dangerously wounded, his left leg having to be amputated. After the war he spent several months in hospital, but never fully recovered from the effects of his war-time experiences. Eventually he contracted tuberculosis, the cause of his death on 10 Apr 1924. He was buried in Ecclesall Church, Sheffield with full military honours on 15 April, his coffin carried in procession on a gun-carriage drawn by six horses, attended by many thousands of people. The Lord Bishop of Sheffield officiated at the funeral service. A full account of this and other related events appeared in local newspapers. He was survived by his widow Amy Morton, whom he had married on 24 August 1920, and their 3 year old son, also Arnold. [132]
This completes our account of the family of George H 1860, and also of Joseph 1817, the fourth son of Robert 1776. Finally, we look at:
Zebedee 1823, fifth and youngest son of Robert 1776, John 1730
We have already noted that he was baptized in Cotleigh parish on 29 November 1823. Nothing is known of his early years until 1841 when, as we have already seen, the census records him, aged 15, living with his parents on Greenway Farm in that parish. [133] Zebedee 1823 was to live his whole life in Cotleigh, where he died and was buried late in 1896. However, first he married Elizabeth Ware from the neighbouring parish of Stockland, in Cotleigh on 13 June 1848. As the youngest son of his parents he could expect very little help from them, so we find that in 1851 he with his wife Elizabeth, a daughter Lucy, and his widowed mother were all living in Oaks Cottage in Cotleigh, which was to remain his home for the next 40 years. [134] Zebedee was described in the 1851 census return as a pauper agricultural labourer, by contrast with his brother James 1813 who would live comfortably on Greenway Farm, his inheritance from their father.
Lucy, born late in 1850 who married Edwin Pollard in 1871, was the first daughter of Zebedee 1823 and his wife Elizabeth, though their first child, a son Elijah baptized on 26 November 1848, had died just before the census in 1851. There followed a further six children: Maria, born 1852 who died a spinster in 1925; Caroline born 1853, died in 1855; Elizabeth born 1854, died in 1856; Robert Elijah born 1856 and baptized 10 February in that year (Robert E 1856); another Elizabeth born 1857 of whom nothing more is known, and Jeremiah born 1861 and baptized 17 November that year (Jeremiah 1861). The family lived uneventful lives until Zebedee’s wife Elizabeth died late in 1873, aged 56. Three years later, in the autumn of 1876, Zebedee married again to Jemima Hoare, a union which produced two more children. Ada Mary born in autumn 1877 but lived only a few days, was followed almost exactly three years later by Herbert, born in Cotleigh in autumn 1880 (Herbert 1880) and baptized on 6 September in his home parish. Zebedee 1823 died in Cotleigh late in 1896, aged 72, while Jemima his widow died in Exeter late in 1922. To round off this account we now look at his three surviving sons.
Robert Elijah 1856, eldest son of Zebedee 1823 by his first wife Elizabeth, spent his early years with his parents at Oaks Cottage in Cotleigh parish but by 1871, then aged 15, he seems to have left home, though nothing is known of his whereabouts until 1881 when he was living alone at Fords Cottage in his home parish, working as a shepherd. That same summer he married Mary Mitchell from the neighbouring parish of Colyton, the couple making their first home in Cotleigh where their first child, Jessie, was born on 18 November 1882; she was baptized in the parish on the following 17 December. By the time their second child, Bessie Maria, was born in 1885 and baptized on 3 May Robert Elijah was working as a dairyman at Osmore dairy in nearby Membury parish, so it is not surprising that by 1891 they had moved there from Cotleigh. A third daughter, Mary May was born in Membury early in 1894, followed on 18 November 1895 by their last child and only son, Harry (Harry 1895). By then Robert Elijah had been promoted for he was described as a dairy manager; the family were then living at Godsworthy Farm. [135] His wife Mary died in 1907 while Robert Elijah outlived her by 28 years, until 1935.
Their only son, Harry 1895, has left an amusing account of his early years with his family from which we learn that they were spent travelling with his parents between several farms in Devon, Somerset and Dorset. He says in his diary “At Farm Barton I learnt how to make snares, acquired a ferret and a purse net from the sale of mole skins up early before milking to attend to my catch, have breakfast, hike to school (2 miles) with rabbits, school books for my homework and lunch in my satchel. The rabbits I would take to the butcher at Crewkerne, 5d or 6d each. Then home from school, more milking, then evening meal and then homework, and attending to my snares again. No time for juvenile delinquency.” He became apprenticed to a blacksmith, but in 1913 there were outbreaks of foot and mouth disease and when his elder cousin Amos Pollard visited from British Columbia in 1914 Harry decided to go back to Canada with him. In June 1915 he joined the Canadian Field Artillery as a blacksmith gunner, spending the remainder of WW1 in Flanders. He was wounded in action and was plagued all his life with the injuries he had sustained on the Somme Front. He returned to Canada in 1919, to be joined the following year by Margery Bartlett of Ilminster, Somerset. whom he married. They, with their two children Robert, born in 1921 who became a schoolteacher and Rosemary born in 1925, spent the rest of their lives in the Gulf Islands of British Columbia. During WW2 Harry 1895 served with the Canadian Scottish Reserve as a Corporal, engaged in training troops. On Salt Spring Island he built several houses, worked as a logger, finally building his own smithy. He became well-known and loved as a veteran character. [136]
Jeremiah 1861, second son of Zebedee 1823 by his first wife Elizabeth, was living with his parents in 1871 but by 1881, aged 17, he was employed on Yonder Ridge Farm, in Stockland parish as a farm servant. [137] On 21 November 1883 he enlisted in the Royal Artillery at Devonport as 39951 Jeremiah Loosmore, gunner, R.A. for 12 years. After preliminary training he was posted to Dover the following April, en route for St Helena, where he arrived on 5 Jul 1884. After 3 years in that remote inhospitable spot he embarked on R.M.S. Orontes on 26 October 1887 bound for Hong Kong where he arrived on the following 21 December. After 5 years in this posting he contracted chronic dysentery which left him unfit for active service. He left for England on R.M.S. Hemsley on 10 March 1894 and was discharged as gunner on 8 May 1894, with 10 years 169 days service, entitling him to a pension of 7d/diem for 12 months. [138] His marriage to Annie Sharples in 1913 was childless.
Herbert 1880, only son of Zebedee 1823 by his second wife Jemima, remains an unknown figure in his early years except that in 1891, aged 10 years, he was living with his parents in Oak Cottage, Cotleigh. We next hear of him when on 22 July 1909, aged 29, he married Maud Mary James, aged 22, in her parish church of Mathern, Monmouth; he was then said to be a haulier. Two years later the couple emigrated to Canada, passing through Ellis Island in 1911 en route for Calgary. After an initial period exploiting his knowledge as a haulier he purchased 480 acres of land in 1919, just a year after his son Ralph (Ralph 1918) was born, and began farming. He made a success of this enterprise, as did his son, who took over the farm in 1943 at his marriage, expanded it to over 1100 acres and specialized in breeding and showing Belgian heavy draught horses. [139]
There we conclude our account of the descendants of Aaron bu1695 of Churchstanton, who it is believed was descended in turn from the family of Walter Loosemore of Langport who died in 1623.
*******
[1] Partial transcripts of all the wills are in Appendix 12 which are intended to be read in conjunction with the main text. Details extracted from these wills are not referenced separately in the main text.
Langport borough records are held at Somerset Record Office (henceforth SRO), Taunton. They are separately referenced here as appropriate.
[2] Parish registers for Langport and Huish Episcopi are held at the Somersert Record Office, Taunton. Langport registers start, not very helpfully, at 1728, those for Huish at 1678.
[3] Surviving Lay Subsidy rolls at the PRO are in class E179. Piece numbers for Pitney Hundred, which include Langport, are 171/284 (1570/1); 256/4 (1592/3); 171/321 (1598/9); 171/353 (1622/3); 172/372 (1627/8); 172/376 (1628/9);. 256/17 (1640/2).
[4] The IGI records the bridegroom as William Diment but examination of the register shows the surname to be Vincent.
[5] Parish registers for Aller and Pitney parishes are held at the Somerset Record Office, Taunton.
[6] Surviving records of the suit are deposited at the PRO, London, call number C 2/Chas1/T6/45.
[7] Surviving papers of the suit are deposited at the PRO, call number C 2/Chas1/C59/32.
[8] See A Court of Survey of the Portreeve and Cominalty [of the borough of Langport] there held the sixteenth day of February 1658[/9] in the time of John Michell Portreeve there, in SRO D/B/la.6.
[9] See SRO D/B/la.5.
[10] Somerset. Record Society, xxiv, 1908, 117.
[11] See D.Melville Ross, The Papers of the former Corporation of Langport, 1596-1886, Som. Archeol. and Nat. Hist. Soc., liii, 1907, Pt2, 148-173.
[12] See SRO Q/SR.99
[13] See SRO D/B/la.6.
[14] Definitely Lusemore, not Leasemore as in the PRO PCC index
[15] Selworthy parish is in north Somerset, between Porlock and Minehead.
[16] For the 1625/6 Lay subsidy for Bossington tithing see PRO E 179/171/361.
[17] For the 1642 subsidy see PRO E 179/172/409.
[18] A J Howard, transcr. Somerset Protestation Returns & Lay Subsidy Rolls 1641-2, pub. T L Stoate, 1975, Bodl. shelfmark 2184 Som. d.3.
[19] The Dulverton parish register is held at SRO, Taunton.
[20] Surviving papers for this suit, on four membranes, are held at the PRO, their ref. C 2/Eliz1/L9/18. See also the Entry Books of Decrees and Orders in Chancery at the PRO, refs. C 33/71, f91v and C 33/72, f84v, for the defendants answers.
[21] That is, February 1694 in Old Style, 1695 in New Style. The Churchstanton parish register is currently held at the Somerset Record Office (SRO), consequent upon the transfer of the parish to Somerset in 1896.
[22] Yarcombe and Upottery parish registers are held at the DRO, Exeter.
[23] See Exeter Flying Post, Thursday, April 10th, 1788: “On Friday last [4th April] Peter Loosemore was executed at Heavitree gallows pursuant to his sentence for bullock stealing. He behaved in every way becoming to his unhappy situation.”
[24] The Ottery St. Mary parish register is held at the DRO, Exeter.
[25] For Samuel and his wife/widow the innkeeper at Eastbrook, Pitminster see census returns PRO HO 107/1922 f118 for 1851; RG 9/1613 f101 for 1861; RG 11/2364 f107 for 1881. For Samuel jnr. b. c1839 see the 1851 census return. The wills of Samuel and Ann, pr. 21 Jul 1860 and 21 Mar 1898 respectively, are held at the Family Records Centre, London.
[26] The parish registers of Farringdon and Whimple are held at the DRO, Exeter.
[27] The will of William 1759 is held at the DRO, Exeter, ref. IRW L704.
[28] See Broad Clyst 1851 and 1861 census returns for Arabella a retired baker, PRO HO 107/1866, f139, p30 (1851); and RG 9/385, f55 (1861).
[29] The Broad Clyst parish register is held at the DRO, Exeter.
[30] The 1851 census return is PRO HO 107/1535, f140 pp14-15. The church registers of St. Bodolph and St. Ethelburga are held at the Greater London Record Office.
[31] The Letter of Admon., dated 25 Mar 1897, re-sworn April 1897, is held at Somerset House, London.
[32] The census returns for part of Broad Clyst are: (1851) PRO HO 107/1866, Village, f134, p21; (1861) RG 9/1385, Broadclist Village, f56.
[33] Details taken from the marriage certificate.
[34] Probate of their wills were granted on 3 May 1922 (William John) and 16 May 1931 (Sarah).
[35] Muster rolls for the 12th Lancers overseas period are PRO WO 16/1234-5 and /2756-66.
[36] Records examined of the UK Cavalry Depot, Canterbury are PRO WO 12/1229 (1876-7); /1287 (1885-6); /1288 (1886-7); /1289 (1887-8).
[37] For the seven musters see PRO WO 16/2927 (1888); /2938 (1889, 2 musters); /2952 (1890); /2965 (1891-2, 2 musters); /2979 (1892).
[38] The published Monthly Returns for Sandhurst Military College, Aldershot District, for July 1892 to December 1893 (WO 73/45-47, p 77), give the complement of the RMC cavalry detachment (no names), noting that its non-commissioned soldiers remained on the strength of their regiments. This would explain why Edward continues to be included in musters of the 12th Lancers.
[39] His entry in the 1891 census return is PRO RG 12/1008, f 35, p 4. The 1881 return for Sandhurst RMC, Cavalry Barracks, is RG 11/158, f 87, p 9.
[40] The 1851 census return for Daniel at 33 Bridport Place, St. Leonards Shoreditch is PRO HO 107/1536 f108 p 28.
[41] This is the extra-parochial liberty lying immediately outside the bounds of the City adjacent to St. Andrew Holborn parish where Daniel 1691 had lived, see Chap.8.
[42] In 1871 the census shows them living at 35 Castleton Terrace, Torquay, see RG 10/2086 f114 p60; by 1881 they had moved to 35 Victoria Rd, Torquay, see RG 11/2168 f162 p72.
[43] Probate of Daniel’s will was granted on 9 Apr 1888; it is held at Somerset House.
[44] For them in the Exwick census returns see PRO HO 107/1867, f105 p17 (1851); RG 9/1389, f28 p14 (1861).
[45] For details of George Roberts Loosmore see his birth certificate.
[46] For their entries in the Sampford Peverell census returns see HO 107/222 in Higher Town (1841); HO 107/1888 f449 p4 (1851).
[47] Surviving records of Wesleyan Methodist baptisms for Sampford Peverell are in PRO RG 4/1326, covering baptisms only from 1825-33. A collection held at the Devon Record Office on microfiche contains no records for Sampford Peverell.
[48] The Otterford parish register is held at the Somerset Record Office, Taunton.
[49] The 1745 marriage licence has not survived in the collection held at the D.R.O.
[50] The marriage register entries do not survive for this date, which however is recorded in the Bishop’s Transcripts held at the DRO, Exeter.
[51] Census returns for Camp Cottage, Upottery are PRO HO
107/201 Bk21, f4v (1841); HO 107/280 p11 (1851);
RG 9/1376 f109 (1861); RG 10/2040 f 74 (1871); RG 11/2133 f76 p2 (1881).
[52] Census returns for Hannah Loosemore in Willand parish
1851-1881 are PRO HO 107/1888 f440 p14 (1851);
RG 9/1478 f58 (1861); RG 10/2168 f58v (1871); RG 11/2234 f54 p5 (1881.
[53] The Payhembury church register is held at the DRO, Exeter. For the 1841 Payhembury census return with Robert 1772 and Robert 1805 at Upton see PRO HO 107/226 Bk7, f7 p8.
[54] See Payhembury census returns PRO HO 107/1864,Upton,
f19, p5 (1851); RG 9/1380, Upton, fol.54, p12 (1861);
RG 10/2045, Upton, f38 (1871); RG 11/2136, Upton, f50 p1 (1881).
[55] See 1881 census return PRO RG 11/529, 10 John Street, f139, p51.
[56] Robert Lusmore’s police service details are at PRO MEPO 12/27 and 13/21.
[57] The will of Robert 1844 is dated 23 Feb 1923, pr. 31 May 1924.
[58] See (i) the 1871 census for Payhembury, PRO RG 10/2045, f37 p12, and (ii) the 1881 census for Dartmouth Town, PRO RG 11/2175, f78, p5 for HMS Britannia.
[59] The Commonwealth War Graves Commission web-site is at www.cwgc.org
[60] Private communication from the Curator, Devon & Cornwall Constabulary Museum, dated 20 August 2002.
[61] See 1881 census return for Exeter Holy Trinity parish, PRO RG 11/2152, f71 p32.
[62] See the 1841 and 1851 census returns for Henry and family at Upton, PRO HO 107/226 Bk7 f7 p8 (1841); HO 107/1864 f19 p5 (1851). For Elizabeth in service in 1851 see HO 107/1864 f26 p18.
[63] For Martha in service in 1851 see HO 107/1864 f25; for Mary in service in Talaton see f60.
[64] For the family of Henry 1833 in 1871 at Clyst St. Lawrence see PRO RG 10/2050 f89, Sherwell Cottages, Little Upton.
[65] For Henry 1862 in service in Broad Clyst parish see the census return PRO RG 11/2141, Southbrook Farm, f34 p4.
[66] For William in 1871 see census return for Sowton, PRO RG 10/2051 Clyst Village, f16, p5; for him in Backwell parish see RG 11/2460 Church Town, f20, p1 (1881) and RG 12/1953 Cottage (next to Fairfield Inn), f125 (1891.
[67] A general history of Yarcombe is Ruth Everitt, From Monks to the Millennium: A History of Yarcombe, 1999.
[68] Copies of the Yarcombe Land Tax Surveys are held at the DRO.
[69] His will is deposited at the DRO in their collection of Inland Revenue Wills, ref. IRW L695.
[70] These details and those of several of his children are still legible on a family gravestone in Yarcombe churchyard.
[71] The church marriage register records only the year, omitting the day and month, which were obtained from the Bishop’s transcript, also held on microfilm at the DRO, Exeter.
[72] See note 59 above.
[73] For John 1823 see census return for 1881, Axminster parish, PRO RG 11/2127, Pursbrook, f9, p11; for 1891, Chard borough RG 12/1893, Wallscombe (Old Town), f59. For Francis 1840 see return for 1851, Upottery parish, HO 107/1863, Buckishayes Farm, f278 p6; for 1861, Membury parish, RG 9/1372, Birch Farm, f84, p16.
[74] The will of John 1794 is held at DRO, Exeter, their ref. IRW L698; see also PRO Death Duty Reg. IR 26/1713 f.395.
[75] See 1851 census return for Broad Clyst parish, PRO HO 107/1866, Hele, f77 p10.
[76] See census returns for Upottery parish: RG 9/1376, Tiphayes Cottage, f102, p6 (1861); RG 10/2040, Busshy Wood Cottage, fol.77 p8 (1871); RG 11/2133, Aller Cottage, fol.76 p2 (1881); RG 12/1671, Aller cottage, fol.137 p2 (1891).
[77] See Upottery 1891 census return PRO RG 12/1671, Busshy Wood, f140 p7.
[78] For John 1823 a farm bailiff in 1891 see census return for Chard parish, RG 12/1893, Wallscombe (Old Town), f59.
[79] See Membury 1861 census return PRO RG 9/1372, Birch Farm, Birch tything, f84, p16.
[80] For Francis 1840 as ‘Kings Arms’ innkeeper, Chard see census returns RG 10//2405, f79 p37 (1871), and RG 11/2386, f69 p18 (1881). For him retired see Chard census return RG 12/1893 Oak Villa, f75 (1891).
[81] See Exeter Flying Post, issue dated Thursday, February 22nd, 1787: page 4b.
[82] The Bristol St. Michael’s marriage register is held at Bristol City Record Office. For John a butcher in 1830 see Pigot’s National Commercial Directory for that year. For the 1851 census return for Westbury, Bristol see PRO HO 107/1955, 18 Clarence Place, f27, p47.
[83] For the Westbury 1861 census return see RG 9/1739, 18 Clarence Place, f36, p23.
[84] For the Perrett household in 1881 including Henry R 1873, see census return RG 11/2502, 18 Clarence Place, f62, p6.
[85] For details of his military service see PRO WO 97/5361 under name.
[86] For Robert c1809 in 1841 see census return for Clifton, PRO HO 107/377, Bk 6, 20 Hotwell Road, f11, p16.
[87] See ref. 57 for James 1773 the occupier of Studbeer Farm.
[88] Yarcombe Rate Books are held at the DRO, Exeter. For his signature see Rate Book PO13, eleven pages from the rear.
[89] For James 1773 at the ‘Travellers Rest Inn’ see 1841 census return PRO HO 201 Bk23, Travellers Rest Inn, f4 p3.
[90] See ref. 69 above for their names on a common family gravestone in Yarcombe churchyard.
[91] For Reuben’s death see his death certificate, supplied by Brian Loosmore of Alberta, Canada.
[92] Policemen were then referred to as “Peelers” since a national police force was instituted while Sir Robert Peel was Home Secretary.
[93] For details of his service as a policeman see E.R.Baker, Glamorgan Police Magazine, Spring 1955 pp8-14, Spring 1957 pp10-16, Autumn 1964 p271. For him a County Court bailiff see his death certificate.
[94] For Peter 1806 at Barefield Farm, Upottery, see census returns PRO HO 107/201 Bk18, Barefield Farm, f3 p1 (1841); HO 107/1863, f247, p13 (1851); RG 9/1376, f83 (1861); RG 10/2040, f53 p10 (1871); RG 11/2133, f57 p8 (1881).
[95] For the 1841 Otterford census return see PRO 107/959 Bk18, Royston, p15.
[96] For the family of William 1802 in the 1851 Bridgend census see PRO HO 107/2461, f638 p44. Nolton and Laleston church registers are held at the Glamorgan Record Office, Cardiff.
[97] For Eli at the 1841 census see ref.88 above. For him in the 1851 census see PRO HO 107/2461, Laleston, f694; in 1871 see RG-10-5421, Laleston Village fol.43, p16.
[98] For the date of his marriage in Laleston church see ref.94 above.
[99] William 1861 was plain William at birth and baptism but William Charles at marriage, the 1891 census, and in his will.
[100] For Edward 1836 family at 25 Miers Street, Swansea see census returns PRO RG 10/5458, f8 p10 (1871); RG 11//5363, f134 p30 (1881). For them in 1891 see RG 11/4484, 10 Muckworth Terrace, St Thomas Swansea, f74.
[101] For James 1841 at school in Bridgend in 1851 see ref. 94 above.
[102] For William 1845 in the 1851 census see ref. 94 above.
[103] For William 1845 in the 1861census return for Llangynwyd parish, PRO RG 9/4072, 15 High St., f68 p18.
[104] He was plain William on his birth certificate and at marriage, but William James at death & his letter of Admon.
[105] For Robert 1809 and family at Bridgend in 1871 see census return PRO RG 10/5419, No.15 Oddfellows Row f66 p54.
[106] For James 1837 at Maesteg in Spring 1861 see census return PRO RG 9/4072, 16 High Street fol.68, p18.
[107] A limited range of the Llandaff Cathedral register (baptisms 1860-1874) is held at the Glamorgan R.O., Cardiff.
[108] For the family of James 1837 at Kidwelly in 1881 see PRO RG 11/5377, West End Villas, f73 p36; for them in Kidwelly St. Mary in 1891 see PRO RG 12/4498, Bailey Street, f39.
[109] For Thomas 1861 in the 1891 census see PRO RG 12 4473, Martin St., Llangyfelach , Swansea, f3.
[110] The Haverfordwest baptism register for this period is held at the Glamorgan R.O., Cardiff.
[111] For Joseph 1839 and family in Swansea in 1871 see census return PRO RG 10/5452, Plymouth Street, fol.55, page 53. For him a tin puddler see 1881 census return RG 11/5368, Llanrhidian Higher, f79, p39-40
[112] For Robert 1863 a hay merchant see 1891 census RG 12/4482, 15 New Oxford St, Swansea, Victoria Ward, f.53v.
[113] For the Commonwealth War Graves Commission see ref. 59 above.
[114] See ref. 59 above.
[115] For James 1811 in the 1841 census see PRO HO 107/201, [Bk no. not recorded], New Barn Fm. For him at Laleston in 1851 see PRO HO 107/ PRO HO 107/2461, [address not recorded] f693, p1.
[116] For James 1811 and family in Egwysilan parish in 1871 see census return PRO RG 10/5374, Glyntaff hamlet, Quarry Road, f83.
[117] For Jacob and Louise Davies with Edwin J 1853 in 1881 see census return RG 11/5293 Eglwysilan parish, Glyntaff hamlet, Llanores Street, f101. For Edwin J 1853 in 1891 see census return RG 12/4410 Eglwysilan parish, Glyntaff hamlet, 10 Bridge st, f28v & f29.
[118] For details of Tollers Marsh see Ruth Everitt, A History of Yarcombe, 1999, pp51,58. For Edward 1813 and his wife living there in 1841 see census return PRO HO 107/201/22-24, Tollers Marsh [Bk no. not recorded].
[119] For Edward 1813 and his family in Whitestaunton parish see census returns PRO HO 107/1927, Woodhayes [f. no. not recorded] (1851); RG 9/1635,Woodhayes f86-7 (1861); RG 10/2404, Woodhayes f10 p7 (1871).
[120] For Mary the widow of Edward 1813 at Woodhayes in 1881 see census return RG 11/2385, Woodhayes, f81 p3-4.
[121] Details of his emigration taken from his Certificate of Identity, No.8575, issued by the Migration and Settlement Office, Australia House, Strand, London.
[122] Burstock, a village in Dorset county, about 6 miles north-west of Bridport.
[123] For Robert 1776 at Greenway Farm in 1841 see census return PRO HO 107/214, Greenway, Bk 9 f4 p3.
[124] A copy of the will of Robert 1776 is held at the DRO, Exeter, their ref. IRW L700.
[125] For James 1813 at Monkton in 1851 see census return PRO HO 107/1863, Bull Farm, f234 p5. For him at Cotleigh from 1861-1881 see returns RG 9/1375, Greenway, f83 (1861); RG 10/2038, Greenway, f14v (1871); RG 11/2131, Greenway Farm, f86, p2 (1881).
[126] For James 1844 a farmer in Cotleigh see census returns RG 11/2131, Willhayes Farm, f87, p3 (1881); RG 12/1670, Wellhayes, f71 (1891).
[127] For Joseph 1817 at Feniton in 1851 see census return PRO HO 107/1864, Corscombe, f8, p9. For him and his family at Brinsworth see PRO RG 9/3505, Brinsworth Village, f102 (1861) and RG 10/4704, Brinsworth, f136 (1871).
[128] For Joseph 1817 at Brinsworth see ref. 124 above.
[129] For Charlotte Lever née Loosmore and her son William in 1881 see census return RG 11/4671, 33 &35 Westgate, Rotherham, f8 p10 & f9 p11. For Clara Loosmore in 1881 see return RG 11/4673, Angel Inn, Rotherham, f120 p34.
[130] For Joshua Hoyland and his family in the 1881 census see return RG 11/4639, Hallam parish, Yorks, f51 p9.
[131] London Gazette: 14th September 1917, p9533 for the V.C. citation; 3rd October 1918, p11674, for the D.C.M. citation.
[132] See for example the “Sheffield Daily Telegraph” for 15 Sep & 6 Oct 1917; 29 Sep 1918; 11 Apr & 16 Apr 1924; 1& 2 May 1969; 14 Jun 1977; 11,15,25 May 1979; 19 May 1982; 30 Mar 1983; 25 Jun, 15 Aug, 1993.
The issue for 11 Apr 1924 gives the date of his marriage.
[133] For Zebedee 1823 at Greenway Farm in 1841 see ref. n120 above.
[134] For Zebedee 1823 at Oaks cottage, Cotleigh see census returns : HO 107/1863 f105 p10 (1851); RG 9/1375 f83v (1861); RG 10/2038 f16 (1871); RG 11/2131 f86 p2 (1881); RG 12/1670 f73 p6 (1891).
[135] For Robert Elijah 1856 at Fords Cottage in 1881 see census return RG 11/2131 f87 p4; for him at Membury in 1891 see RG 12/1668 f61.
[136] These details taken from an 11-page type-written account by Harry 1895 in 1988 a copy of which is in my possession.
[137] For Jeremiah 1861 in the 1881 census see RG 11/2128 f.69, p8.
[138] For details of the military service of Jeremiah 1861 see PRO, Kew, WO 97/3313.
[139] Details of Herbert 1880 and his son in Canada supplied by Brian Loosmore M.D., son of Bertie 1898 who we met earlier in this Chapter.