... and where is the spell-checker when one needs it?

Thanks Chris - maps and plans are on the to do list! Debated waiting until everything was 'finished' before putting anything online but decided partial information was better than none.

Janet - I fully support your approach - partial information is certainly better than waiting for perfection.  Chris

Hi Janet,

A job well done :-)

Unfortunately most of my Cole-Heal-Osbourn ancestors who passed away in Buckland Brewer dont seem to be buried there :-( Do you know where I can look for thier resting places? I think some of them would be in Langtree, Little Torrington as well as other niebouring places.

Keep up the gr8 work,

John

Nothing available for Langtree or Little Torrigton yet but there is a newly formed historical society for Little Torrington so maybe they will get to work. Keep an eye on http://www.gravestonephotos.com/public/area.php?area=Devon&coun... nothing there yet but it is being added to all the time. Of course not everyone who is buried in Buckland Brewer had a gravestone. We will be indexing the burials too in due course. WEeve made a start. I've added a few more for St Mary and St Benedict today. Went out to check them but the Buckland wind was very keen so despite sunshine didn't get as many done as I'd hoped! 

Plans and grid references now uploaded for all three churchyards - also added another 100 or so stones for St Mary and St Benedict this week - still another 100 or so to add. In total there are about 700 stones in the three churchyards and nearly 2000 entries in the database for people mentioned on the stones (some are duplicates).

Wow!  Brilliant work.  Chris

Just uploaded the last of the Buckland Brewer gravestone inscriptions http://tinyurl.com/a6trc6y 700+ gravestones and nearly 2000 names recorded. We will be adding those from inside the church and the war memorial soon. A full index of the burials for St Mary and St Benedict is almost complete. Still searching for the burial registers for Thornhillhead and Eckworthy

To repeat my previous comment: Wow!

Just joined. From Little Britain, Ontario Canada where several former Buckland Brewer residents lived ( and were buried). I have ancestors in the PROUSE family, specifically my 2x gt grandmother, Matilda PROUSE (1826-1896) d/o William Charles PROUSE & Elizabeth PINCENT. It was pure coincidence that we ended up living in the same location in Canada that some of my ancestors came to so long ago.

Welcome Deborah. I would be really interested to hear Matilda's story. I know quite a bit about some of her brothers and sisters but I didn't know what had happened to her. I don't suppose you've got any photos of the Prouses? This family were part of the Bible Christian emigrations from North Devon.

In 1812 William Prouse married Elizabeth Pince in Buckland Brewer. William’s origins are uncertain; he probably came from Woolfardisworthy or Clovelly. He seems to have been a farmer of some substance in the village, described at times as ‘yeoman’. Although their eldest daughter, Harriet, was baptised in Clovelly, the family spent most of the first twenty years of their married life at Cleave in Buckland Brewer; William also worked Dean’s Moor. In the early 1830s they moved to East Dyke in Clovelly. This area was significant in the Bible Christian movement as the Jewell family of neighbouring Dyke Green, rented the land on which a Bible Christian Chapel stood for about forty years. This chapel later became the subject of great dispute when, in 1858, the landowner Sir James Hamlyn Williams of Clovelly Court, in an apparent, volte face, withdrew the right to the chapel. A heated exchange ensued in the North Devon Journal, begun by James Thorne in the issue of 2^nd December 1858. ‘We shall be anxious to see what explanation or extenuation Sir James Williams can offer. The case as it now stands, appears to be one of unmitigating intolerance, wholly unworthy of his antecedents.’

Second bit of previous comment - too long to post all at once!

Sir James did not let this pass and replied in the following issue. ‘I had hoped that my long and unswerving political consistency, and, above all, my well-known attachment to the cause of civil and religious liberty, would have saved me from the garbled and incorrect description of what took place some time ago at Dyke…   I make it a rule in general, never to answer anonymous letters in newspapers … [it was clearly attributed to James Thorne] On my return to this place last summer (after an absence of more than twelve months), I was informed by many of the most respectable and influential persons in the parish and neighbourhood, that this chapel was becoming a perfect nuisance; that their servants and apprentices made it the excuse for remaining out till two or three o’clock in the morning; and that the proceedings of some of these Bible Christians were so uproarious and disorderly as to make it necessary for a policeman to be sent to this chapel for several Sundays in succession.’

During their few years at Dyke, the two eldest Prouse daughters, Harriet and Thirza, married the Jewell brothers Joseph and Henry of Dyke Green Farm.

Elizabeth Prouse née Pince had been born in Great Torrington. It is likely that she was the daughter of John and Mary Pince who were living at Bilsford when they died in 1830s. It may be that the death of John Pince, in 1835, prompted the family to return to Buckland Brewer, as by 1841 Elizabeth and her younger children are living at a property which is described in the documents as ‘Hakeys Bilsford’ and ‘Walkeys Bilsford’ but in reality was probably Wakely’s Bilsford, Wakely being a local family name. In 1841 the areas is described as ‘Bilsford Village’, it appears to have been a collection of six or seven labourer’s cottages, with perhaps one more substantial dwelling, Bilsford Cottage, housing the blacksmith, who was another member of the Prouse family; possibly William’s nephew. Henry and Thirza Jewell née Prouse had also come to live at a Bilsford cottage and they had at least five children born in Buckland Brewer.

William Prouse, some thirteen years older than his wife, died in January 1841, when the youngest of their nine children was seven years old. At least three of the Prouse children emigrated to Mariposa, Ontario, Canada. Now known as Kawartha Lakes, Mariposa is near Peterborough, about thirty miles north of Lake Ontario. It is likely that the first Prouse to leave Buckland Brewer was William, whose marriage to fellow Bible Christian Isabella Rodd, probably took place in Canada. They are believed to have emigrated about 1848 and taken up a farm in Mariposa. William’s sister Thirza and her husband Henry Jewell and their children left at some point in the 1850s and settled close by. Youngest son, Edwin, also left Buckland Brewer and went to farm in Mariposa. The family retained their affiliation to the Methodist Church, as Bible Christians or Congregational Methodists once in Canada. Mariposa, along with Darlington Township had the highest concentration of Bible Christian Chapels in Ontario. William Prouse was a trustee of the Betheseda Chapel which was erected in 1861.

The only son of William and Elizabeth to remain in Buckland Brewer was John Prouse. After a spell at Braddons, he returned to Bilsford until his death in 1893.

HI Janet,

You mention the exersion of Bible Christians to Ontario. Where would they have sailed from and do tou know which destination port they would have went too?

John

Many went from Bideford, I have some leaving from Padstow in Cornwall.  Especially at first, quite a number went to Prince Edward Island. Cobourg was a popular point of entry. There are no systematic passenger lists of those leaving the UK until 1890. Others went to New York and then dispersed from there to US and what was then Upper Canada

https://eric.exeter.ac.uk/repository/bitstream/handle/10036/88193/F... Takes a while to download but see pages 320-327.

As a novice, please forgive me if I do not represent this information in the best way, also my research is primarily from Ancestry.ca family trees and have few source citations to confirm them. I have John WAKELY (1875 -) married Suzanne LARROUMY (1725-1795). Their son John WAKELY (1750-) married Sarah ? (1750-) around 1773. Their daughter Mary WAKELY (1772-1839) married John PINCE (1757-1833) around 1792. Their daughter Elizabeth PINCE(1792-1875) married William Charles PROUSE in 1812.Their daughter Maltilda PROUSE (1826-1926) married Richard Watts BROWN (1833-1899) not known when. Their son William Wesley BROWN (1870-1933) married Mary "Minnie" WRIGHT (1885-) not known when. Their daughter Elizabeth Matilda BROWN (1907-) had a son Edward Garfield BROWN (1923-1994) out of wedlock, hence the maiden name. Edward was my father, my mother was Viola Beryl HANCOCK - they never married!. Richard Watts BROWN has roots in St. Teath, Cornwall which is not that far from the Buckland Brewer area. Matilda and Richard had 8 other children and they were living mostly in the Vespra Township, Simcoe county, Ontario, Canada (now Barrie). Sorry no pictures yet (other than one of Elizabeth PINCE and her gravestone).

Hi Deborah,

My 6thG-grandparents are Mary Wakely and Richard Cole. Are you related to Mary? She was born in 1691 and died in 1761/2 I believe in Buckland Brewer. They had at least 4 children.My family settled in Simcoe, Norfolk Co., ON..

John

I think that the Bible Christians chartered boats to North America and many of these used Padstow as their port of departure. In Ontario (Upper Canada) they came to Cobourg and Port Hope. I the 1861 census of Hope Township just west of Port Hope, approximately 45% of all of the households were Bible Christian. Most of the little rural chapels in that part of Ontario were originally BC. Ebenezar Church on Courtice, Ontario (named after the Buckand Brewer Courtices) is still a thriving congregation. I have looked at the 1841 census for St Gennys parish in Cornwall and am able to find several families including my own in the 1851 and 61 Hope Township census. 

I understand that the farmers came to Durham County, Ontario and many miners went to Minnesota or Wisconsin.

Huron County in western Ontario opened up in the 1850s and had a large population of second generation Bible Christians. 

Barry

I believe that my 3g-grandparents were Bible Christians who settled in Norfolk Co. Ontario, although the only evidence I have is a baptism of one of their children by the Bible Christians. I have been told they likely went via merchant ship to Canada in the early 1840s, but unfortunately I do not have any documentation to confirm or disprove :-( So, as both Barry and Janet have said, there is a possibilty they may have departed from Padstow and arrived in eother Port Cobourg or port Hope and then moved on to Charoletteville.

I have attempted to locate the Bible Christian records, but they are seemingly very elusive. I am told they are with the United Church archives in Toronto, but they dont seem to be a very easy group to work with, at least online. Wish i lived a lot closer so i could check the archives out myself. Perhaps next time I am in southern ontario I will get the opportunity :-)

Numerous emigrants went from Bideford on ships owned by the Chanter/Yeo families who hd ship building interests in North Devon and Canada

Thx Janet!!

You wouldnt know if there are existing records for my William & Charity Cole family there? The census says the family arrived in Canada in 1842.

Passenger lists pre 1890 are very rare indeed here. Often the only way we know when people left or or what ship is from Canadian records or family information. Ship's departures sometimes got mentioned in the press but rarely with passenger names, unless they were very prominent people. Sometimes an obituary will mention emigration details but again they are on your side of the Atlantic

My Mary Wakely (also seen spelt Wakeleigh) was bn 6 Aug 1692, married Richard Cole 17 July 1719 and died 9 Feb 1762 according to the parish records I have seen. All these events happened in Buckland Brewer.

I haven't traced Mary's family too far yet, so cant say one way of the other either :-( Perhaps John was Mary's nephew? Mary's parents Henry Wakely and Joan Kitto and her younger brother William are the only family members I am aware of. William died at age 21 so I am unsure if he had children (or married for that matter).

As for the Bible Christians in Canada, it seems that they (at least formally) didn't go to Norfolk Co. where my family settled - according to Sherrell Leetooze when I spoke to her a couple of years ago. She has written a few books on the Bible Christians in Canada. Many of my Cole ancestors are buried in a United Church cemetery in Norfolk so what you say makes sense to me in terms of my family. The family likely were affected by the church changes you mention as time went along.

For those of you who are interested in Bible Christians emigrating from Devon to Canada, there is an article in the current [May 2013] issue of "Families", published by the Ontario Genealogical Society [http://www.ogs.on.ca/] [. Its title is "The Courtice Family from Devonshire to Darlington and their Bible Christian Connection". The author is James M. Bowen. Surnames mentioned: Annis, Conant, Ashton, Colley, Cory, Courtice, Fawcett, Freeman, Hollway, Jenkins, Jenning, Lane, Mason, Phillips, Rundle, Score, Teneyck, Thorne, Tremeire, Verney.

David Falconer

Thanks very much David I will see if I can get someone to scan me a copy

I will circulate a copy of the paper.  I will be receiving a pdf copy from the editor shortly and would be please email my paper to anyone that is interested.

Jim

yes please Jim janet@few4.orangehome.co.uk

Hi Jim,

I would love a copy of the PDF as well. My email: jdcole@knet.ca. If anyone is interested in Bible Christians in Canada, Sher Leetooze has written a couple books on them. You can check this site out if you are:  https://sites.google.com/site/sherleetooze/thebiblechristianproject

John

James M. Bowen is a great grandson of Mary Ellen Courtice, the daughter of Thomas Courtice originally of Buckland Brewer. The article in the OGS, May 2013 issue of "Families"  does not include this information.

Just to let you know that we will be forming a Buckland Brewer History Group - official inaugural meeting in September. There will be options for those who live elsewhere to join, receive our e.newsletter, get help with research and take part in some of our research projects if this appeals. We hope to have a few printed copies of the first newsletter on display at the village fete in three weeks time (it may be very short!). If anyone has anything written about their Buckland families that I could use I'd be very grateful janet@few4.orangehome.co.uk

Beyond my budget but 4 Fulford Daguerreotypes on sale on ebay http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Four-Daguerreotypes-Ann-Philip-Fulford-of...

If anyone splashes out copies would be appreciated!

The soon to be launched Buckland Brewer History Group now has a shiny new (but very baby) website http://bucklandbrewerhistorygroup.wordpress.com Do take a look and let me know what you think. We will be adding data to this over time. I hope some of you will want to join the group. It is for all those interested in Buckland Brewer's history. We have the first newsletter ready to send to members - we hope this will grow in size and scope. There are several exciting projects in the wings - you will be able to take part in some of these from a distance. I am glad that this is finally getting off the ground, we have had a good level of interest and it can only be good for the collation of Buckland Brewer's history.

Memorial inscriptions from inside St Mary and St Benedict's church now on the bottom of the page at http://bucklandbrewerhistorygroup.wordpress.com/?page_id=184&pr...  that link looks weird  - let me know if it doesn't work

More being added to our website all the time http://bucklandbrewerhistorygroup.wordpress.com/

Announcing our oral history project http://bucklandbrewerhistorygroup.wordpress.com/data/your-memories-...  written memories and photographs also welcome.

For those who have been waiting for Buckland Brewer History Group to set up online ways to pay for membership - it is now available http://www.parishchest.com/Buckland_Brewer_History_Group__LID15488

David, I have your message although it is not visible here. Barton Court is a holiday complex and spa created out of the former Barton Farm outbuildings. The farm itself and two farm cottages (now knocked in to one) are private dwellings. It is likely that the Passmores lived in the Farm itself.

Hi Janet, the link seems to work fine for me :-)

I can't see David's message at all here - just in my email notification - all very strange.

Thanks for your reply about Barton Court, Janet. It's curious that my original question only appeared by email. Perhaps it's because I used "send message to group" instead of "comment wall" (which I'm using now).

David

That might be it David. I have a photo of Barton Farm I can send you if you email me your email address bucklandbrewerhistorygroup@hotmail.co.uk

Take a look at this amazing video of Buckland Brewer http://youtu.be/5BqzE8PBEE8 thanks to http://www.burnthecurtain.co.uk/. Brilliant if your ancestors came from Buckland Brewer but you haven't been able to visit. There will be a permanent link on the links page of our website http://bucklandbrewerhistorygroup.wordpress.com

Nice video Janet... can see the Cole-Manning place quite nicely as well as Bible Christian church :-)

Hello Janet, all:

Is there a local archives or record office where one can find leases and land records for Buckland Brewer and neighbouring parishes such as Parkham? I am thinking of travelling to Devon in October, and would like to look up old records of my Passmore, Downing and Fortescue ancestors.

Best wishes

David Falconer

David You would need the North Devon record office in Barnstaple but there aren't a great number of leases for these parishes. The Devon Heritage centre in Exeter has a little additional material.

Nicholas Poyntz of Buckland Brewer died in 1609. He was survived by six children, Humphry, William, John, James, Grace and Mary. At the time of Nicholas’s death, his daughter, Grace, had married Richard Hogge in 1596 and was living in Newton St Petrock. Following his death, his eldest son and executor, Humphrey married Mary Heath in Wells cathedral on 23 May 1610.

Nicholas had a brother, Hugh, who died without issue in Newton St Petrock in 1593.

There is a record of a Humphrey Poyntz being baptised in Buckland Brewer on 13 January 1623, the son of John. It appears that this Humphrey married Joan and moved to Monkleigh.

It is said that there is an inscription under the floor of Buckland Brewer church concerning family Poyntz. Is there any knowledge of such an inscription, what was said, or where a transcript may be found?

Does anyone have any other information concerning this part of family Poyntz?

Buckland Brewer History Group is hoping to establish a group to have discussions/share presentations via Google+ - do get in touch if you are interested

Buckland Brewer History Group are getting together volunteers to trace the history of the 81 men on our First World War role of honour. Please take a look at the list on our website to see if you can help https://bucklandbrewerhistorygroup.wordpress.com/data/buckland-at-war/