Researching SMITH

Inevitably, anyone with English ancestors will discover that one of their ancestors bore the name of SMITH. In my case I have two great-grandmothers named SMITH: Rose Broom SMITH (1866-1934), whose photo is to the right, and Edith SMITH (1868-1953).

Rose Broom SMITH was born in Greenwich, Kent, England, the daughter of William Broom SMITH (1834-1908) and Elizabeth Ann WALL (1837-1909). According to census data, William Broom SMITH was born in Lambeth, Middlesex. William joined the Royal Navy and was an engineer serving aboard HMS Ajax when he married Elizabeth Ann WALL in 1857 in Stoke Damerel, Devon. According to his daughter's obituary, William later served aboard the cable-laying ship SS Great Eastern. Three of their six children were born in Stoke Dameral and the other three in Kent. According to his marriage certificate, William Broom SMITH's father was also named William Broom SMITH, but I haven't been able to trace this line back any further.

On the other hand, Edith SMITH's father, Henry SMITH, was born in Dolton, Devon in December of 1834. He was the son of Thomas SMITH (1807-1841) , a cooper, and Mary Field BULLEID (1809-1894). After Thomas SMITH died, Mary Field BULLEID married William HALLS (1813-1893), a builder from Merton, Devon. In 1873, Henry SMITH, his wife Elizabeth Tucker BUDD and four small daughters left Devon for Ontario, Canada and settled in the hamlet of Elimville in Usborne Township, Huron County.

But why did Henry SMITH choose Elimville?

Henry SMITH's father was baptised in Merton, Devon in 1807. As I researched the SMITH's of Merton, I made an interesting discovery. It appears that Mary Field BULLEID second husband was the cousin of her first.

Thomas SMITH was the son of Thomas SMITH (1779- ?), a cooper, and Elizabeth SCRIGGINS (1779- ?). Both Thomas and Elizabeth outlived their son. Thomas was the second youngest of the five children of John SMITH (1744-1815) and Mary FRAINE (1743-1810). The youngest child was Jenny SMITH (1787-1846), who married Philip HALLS (1791-1846) in 1810. Of their six sons, only the second oldest, William HALLS, stayed in Devon. The rest emigrated to Canada during the 1840s. Three of them settled near Elimville in Usborne Township, Huron County, to be joined many years later by their step-nephew, my gg-grandfather, Henry SMITH.

Sixteen years after arriving in Canada, Henry and family headed west to Manitoba. By that time the family had grown to nine children — eight girls and one boy. Three of the four oldest girls stayed behind in Ontario. Eight of Henry SMITH's children married and produced 27 grandchildren. Most, however, never knew their grandfather, as Henry SMITH died in Hamiota in 1903.

Researching Gravestones

One of the features of my website is the photographs and transcriptions of gravestones and monumental inscriptions from the North Devon parishes of St Giles in the Wood, Yarnscombe, High Bickington, Atherington and Tawstock. With each photograph and transcription, I have included some basic biographical information. Surprisingly, the research required is usually fairly straightforward and actually takes only a few minutes.

Consider the photograph of the gravestone of Richard CONGRAM (1787-1858) of Atherington which was recently added to my website. The first step was to check the transcription of Atherington burials available online through Devon Heritage. The burial register usually confirms the information on the gravestone but sometimes there are descrepancies. For example the year on the gravestone may not match the year in the burial register. In Richard's case, he was buried five days after his death and was 71 years of age when he died.

The next step was to check census data to find out where Richard was born. According to the 1851 Census he was born in the neighbouring parish of Chittlehampton. Armed with a location and an approximate year of birth it was time to use the International Genealogical Index (IGI) to find a baptism. While the IGI can be accessed directly online, it was more effective to go through Hugh Wallis's website and search by surname and batch number. Sure enough I found a Richard, son of William CONGRAM and Margareth, baptised at Chittlehampton in 1787.

Whenever possible I also try to include information about the parents. Using the Deanery of Barnstaple CD published by the Devon Family History Society, I found a 1781 marriage at Chittlehampton between William CONGRAM and Margareth SQUIRE, but unfortunately was not able to learn much more. There is a baptism at Chittlehampton for Margareth SQUIRES in 1757, but I did not find a likely candidate for William CONGRAM. It also seems likely that both of Richard's parents died before 1813 since neither burial is listed in the Deanery of Barnstaple CD.

Richard's son, Thomas CONGRAM (1823-1903) is also buried at Atherington.

Thomas Moore (1782-1832)

The memorial to Thomas STEVENS (1782-1832) in Little Torrington, Devon only tells part of the story. Thomas, the son of the Reverend Thomas MOORE (1740-1802) of Bishops Tawton, was the grandson of Henry STEVENS (1698-1748) and Christian Maria ROLLE (1709-1780), aunt to John, Lord ROLLE of Stevenstone (1751-1842). Thomas changed his name to STEVENS as a condition of the will of his cousin Elizabeth CLEVELAND née STEVENS and it is this name that his monument bears. What the monument does not say is that Thomas committed suicide by cutting his own throat with a razor.

Newspaper accounts of his death were far less restrained. One death notice was printed in the 1832 Annual Register:

14 Jan. At his seat, Cross, near Torrington, Thomas Stevens, esq. recorder of Exeter, Barnstaple, and Torrington, and a major in the North Devon regiment of Yeomanry cavalry. Educated for the bar, he early displayed talents of a superior order, and in 1826 he was elected by the chamber of Exeter to fill the honourable and responsible office or recorder of that city. On Monday, January 9, Mr. Stevens sat in the court of quarter sessions in Barnstaple; and on Tuesday, at the quarter sessions in South Molton; and, on each of those days, he complained of indisposition in his head. A tumultuous assemblage of people at Torrington on the following days, called forth his active exertions both as a magistrate and an officer, and probably increased the excitement which disease had previously begotten in his mind. On Friday evening he wrote a letter to a gentleman, which bore strong indications of great mental agitation. In this perturbed state he retired to his room on the evening of Friday. In the morning was heard from the dressing room, which induced Mrs. Stevens to hasten thither; and, on entering she caught her husband in her arms, deluged in blood flowing in torrents from a wound inflicted in his throat, which caused his death within a very short period.

The diaries of Thomas's wife, Sophia LE MARCHANT (1798-1860) are held by the North Devon Record Office in Barnstaple. Unfortunately a large gap exists around the time of her husband's death.

Thomas's brother John MOORE (1784-1865) also changed his name as an inheritance condition, becoming John MOORE-STEVENS. John was the Vicar of Otterton and was apparently under the impression that, as the closest male relative of Lord Rolle, he was going to inherit the Rolle Estates. The estates, however, went instead to Mark George Kerr TREFUSIS (1835-1907), the six-year-old nephew of Lord ROLLE's second wife.

Daniel Tanton: A Gruesome Death

Daniel TANTON's untimely death in 1797 at St Giles in the Wood in Devon is described in gruesome detail on his gravestone. This Grade II listed monument was the starting point several years ago of my research in the TANTON family— research that has taken me from St Giles in the Wood to the neighbouring parishes of Beaford and Great Torrington, to the seaports of Bideford and Stoke Damerel, and across the ocean to Prince Edward Island and Ontario.

Daniel, the youngest son of William and Elizabeth TANTON, was baptised at Bideford in 1779. In about 1790, William TANTON moved from Bideford to St Giles in the Wood with his wife and several of his children. The earliest record of the TANTONs in St Giles in the Wood is the baptism of a nephew of Daniel TANTON in 1791, although Daniel's brother James TANTON (1768-1853) married in the neighbouring parish of Beaford in 1788. William TANTON first appears on the Land Tax Assessments in 1794, occupying Ley, Great Huish and Collamore — part of the ROLLE estate.

After William TANTON's death in 1800, Daniel's eldest brother John (1761-1824), became the patriach of the family. John had previously established himself elsewhere so occupancy of Ley Farm passed to John's brother Thomas TANTON (1772-1835). Descendants of Thomas TANTON continued to live in St Giles in the Woods well into the 20th century.

According to his gravestone, John TANTON left, "a widdow and 12 children to lament their loss." Sometime before his death he moved to Ward Farm in St Giles in the Wood. When John died, occupancy of Ward then passed to his son Thomas TANTON (1796-1861). At least seven of Thomas's eleven children emigrated in the 1860s from St Giles in the Wood to Middlesex County in what is now Ontario.

Another of Daniel's brothers, George TANTON (1766-1848) emigrated to Prince Edward Island with most of his children in 1819, having first lived in Bideford then Stoke Damerel. One of George's sons, George Davies TANTON (1795-1844) was a bailiff who was murdered while boarding a vessel to serve a warrant on her master for trading illegally in oysters.

Langley and Brightley

An interesting sideline to stalking dead people is researching the house in which your ancestors lived. This is particularly rewarding in situations where the house still exists, especially when the house goes on the market, as is currently the case with Langley Barton in Yarnscombe, Devon and Brightley Barton in Dolton, Devon.

In 1783, my gggg-grandfather George COOKE purchased Langley Barton for £1935 but did not take up residency until 1788. At the time Langley Barton was considered part of the parish of High Bickington. My ggg-grandfather, William COOKE, was born at Langley Barton in 1791 although he emigrated to Newfoundland in 1817. His older brother, Michael COOKE, inherited the property in 1821 and lived there until his death in 1866. Michael's son, George, then inherited Langley Barton, however, he sold the property in 1878 and retired to Bideford.

Langley Barton is a Grade II listed manor house believed to date from the early 17th century. The house was previously the home of the Pollard family and it is believed that the Pollards lived there from 1303 to 1732. The Pollard coat of arms are carved above the entrance and a concealed fireplace stone bears the initials RP (most likely Richard Pollard) and the date 1624. The house has a five bay south-facing front and retains numerous 17th century features including a staircase, panelled door and fireplace.

The property is currently listed at £799,500.

Brightly Barton in Dolton, Devon was the birthplace of my gg-grandmother, Elizabeth Tucker BUDD (1921), daughter of John BUDD and Elizabeth Southcombe TUCKER. It is not certain how long Brightly Barton was occupied by the BUDD family. In the 1842 Tithe Apportionments, John BUDD is shown as the occupier while Thomas OWEN is listed at the owner. John BUDD was at Brightly Barton at the time of the 1841 and 1851 Census but by the time of the 1861 Census was living elsewhere.

Brightly Barton is a Grade II listed farmhouse dating from the late 15th century but rebuilt with additions in the 17th century and 19th century. The house is of cob and stone and was thought to have been originally built as an open hall house with a central heath. It is currently listed at £965,000.

2Lt Geoffrey Plateras Lawson Jacques

Perhaps the most unusual name in my ancestry is my maternal gg-grandfather, Plateras Lawson Jacques (1828-1870) of Keighley, Yorkshire. The Lawson part of the name is fairly straightforward. Plateras's maternal grandparents were John Corlass and Alice Lawson (1767- ?). The Plateras part is a bit trickier, but is most likely a corruption of Playtress. Alice Lawson was the daughter of Robert Lawson and Mary Playtress.

My gg-grandfather died young, however, he did have two nephews named after him, as well as one grandson: Geoffrey Plateras Lawson Jacques. Geoffrey was the son of John Henry Jacques (1868-1939) and Marion Cane (1869) of Loughton, Essex. Geoffrey was born in 1898, two years after his cousin, my grandfather, Alfred George Jacques (1896-1939). Geoffrey joined the Royal Flying Corps during the Great War and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant on 3 Jul 1916. Unfortunately 2Lt Jacques died in a mid-air collision on 5 Oct 1916 while flying a Royal Aircraft Factory BE2 over Salisbury Plain. Although Geoffrey's death was a tragedy, accidents involving the BE2 were quite common. What was remarkable about this accident was the identity of the other deceased pilot, Captain Keith Lucas, inventor of the aeronautical compass.

2Lt Geoffrey Plateras Lawson Jacques was buried in the Loughton Cemetery and is commemorated on the Loughton War Memorial.

George Jacques and the National Probate Calendar

Recently, I discovered that Ancestry now has the National Probate Calendar online. The National Probate Calendar serves as an index to wills proved and administrations granted from 1858 until 1941. Using the calendar, I've been able to establish death dates and locations for many of my relations. Prior to this I had often only been able to establish the year of death using FreeBMD.

One of the more interesting finds in the National Probate Calendar is the entry for George JACQUES (1832-1895), a brother of my gg-grandfather Plateras Lawson JACQUES (1828-1870). Named after his uncle who is said to have died at the Battle of Waterloo, George began his career as a wool spinner in Keighley, Yorkshire. When the Waterloo Mills was built in nearby Silsden, George was one of the purchasers and soon became the sole owner. In the 1870s, George had a home called Springbank built on Howden Road in Silsden. Springbank is now a nursing home.

When George died in 1895, ownership of Waterloo Mills and Springbank passed to his son, Plateras Lawson JACQUES (1863-1935). According to the entry in the National Probate Calendar, George's estate was valued at just over £72,000. Today this would be worth over £4,000,000. When Plateras died in 1935 his worth had increased to over £350,000 (£13,000,000).

Plateras married late in life and had no children. He did, however, travel extensively. Records exist showing a passage from Japan to Vancouver in 1922 and a passage a few months from Quebec City to Southhampton.