BRANSCOMBE TIMELINES

The Nineteenth Century

The header for each year is preceded with an @ sign to facilitate searching


 

 

@1800

13 January, Newton Ferrers: Mary Brooking, widow, makes her will. [proved 1802][1]

 

13 February, Littleham: Thomas Branscomb buried.[2]

 

March: The Lady Nelson departs Portsmouth for Sydney Town.

 

5 April, St.Bride's, Fleet Street: Thomas Branscomb marries Mary Savage. (IGI)

 

13 April, Meppershall, Bedfordshire: Ann, daughter of Samuel & Sarah Bransome, baptised.[3] [cf: 1788, 1790 - their two previous children were baptised `Branscombe' in the register, although the Bishop's Transcript shows `Bransome']

 

2 June, St.Thomas, Exeter: Sarah Branscombe marries Thomas Pounsford. [4] [poss. Thomas Ponsford, carpenter, witness to agreement between William Branscombe of Exeter & Anthony Gibbs 1808. If so, this may indicate a family relationship between William, who married Honour Leigh in 1799 at Dartmouth, and Sarah. If Sarah was about 26 years old at the time of her marriage, she could have been bp. 1774 Clyst St.George, daughter of John & Sarah Branscomb. If so, she was the sister of a William, bp. 1770 Clyst St.George, who may have been the William who married Honour Leigh?]

 

14 June: Napoleon routs the Austrian army at Marengo. The English fleet continues to blockade France, preventing trade.

 

8 July: The Lady Nelson arrives at Table Bay, 99 days out from England.

 

October: The Geographe and Naturaliste sail from Le Havre under passport of safe passage from Britain, to explore New Holland under Captain Baudin.

 

7 October: The Lady Nelson sails from Cape Town for Bass Strait, and Sydney.

 

19 October, St. John the Baptist, St. John's, Newfoundland: Richard, son of merchant William Brandscomb and Elizabeth, baptised.[5] [poss William m. 1799, Elizabeth Barnes? Poss siblings: Leanora Sophia (bp. 1812), George Buckingham (bp. 1814), John Arthur (1816), Sydney (1818)? Richard d. 1849 St. John's, aged 48, when he is described as a blockmaker. He has a widow, Mary. Mention is made of two brothers, William & James, and two sisters, Amelia & Mary. Amelia married Dr. Winter & Mary married Dr. Crawford. Both marriages in Newfoundland. Richard left property in Newfoundland and on Prince Edward Island worth £1500. His estate in Newfoundland was worth £900.[6] cf: 1850 Mary Frances Branscombe, relict of Richard, marries George James Hogsett in St. John's]

 

St. John's, Newfoundland: `The only houses that stood off Water Street (about 1800) between McBride's Cove and Hutchings' House, at Barking Kettle, was Mr. Carter's house on Burstheart Hill (now Carter's Hill), and Mr. Branscombe's house, which stood back of where Mr. Smith built at the foot of Theatre Hill and a cooperage near Lion's Square.'[7]

 

November: The Harbinger departs Cape Town for Sydney; Jorgen Jorgensen is among the crew.

 

December: The Lady Nelson, under the command of Lieutenant James Grant makes the first recorded passage of Bass Strait from west to east, en route from England to Sydney.

 

16 December: The Lady Nelson arrives, Sydney Town.

 

The first of two years of poor harvests in England. The pressure of the population on food supply becomes acute.

 

London's population reaches nearly 1 million. (By 1900, it has exceeded 4 million)

 

The union of parliaments of the United Kingdom of England and Scotland with Ireland.

 

Compton Castle is sold out of the Gilbert family, and becomes derelict.

 

By 1800 the City of Exeter was well down the list of important provincial centres, while remaining the unquestioned capital of the south-west ... it was easier to graduate to the freedom in some [smaller] towns than in ... the larger like Exeter and Norwich. Much depended on the degree of control exercised by the craft guilds and by the oligarchy who ruled most if not all our towns from the medieval period onwards and probably earlier.

 

Samuel Waymouth, seaman of St.Marychurch, aged 23, completes a voyage on the packet Naples from St. John's, Newfoundland to Dartmouth.[8]

 

ON ENCLOSURES:

The law doth punish man or woman
Who steals the goose from off the Common
But leaves the greater felon loose
Who steals the Common
From the goose!

 

The Napoleonic War and agricultural depression combine to force the men of Branscombe to join the popular Jack Rattenbury of Beer in smuggling.

 

Littleham: Thomas Branscombe buried.[9]

 

@1801

January: Captain John Black of the Harbinger names King Island, and the Harbinger Rocks. [on which Captain William Waymouth Branscombe came to grief in 1871] Arrives Sydney Town 12th. January.

 

1 January: The union between Great Britain and Ireland comes into effect. The Union flag is altered to include the cross of St. Patrick.

 

6 January, Greensville County, Virginia: Patsy Branscomb marries Douglass Burnett.[10]

 

12 February: Robert and Joanna Branscombe of Dawlish petition Trinity House for relief.

 

16 March: H.M.S. Invincible wrecked off the Norfolk coast, drowning 400 crew. It was part of a battle fleet of 53 ships assembled off Yarmouth in February under Admirals Parker and Horatio Nelson for the Baltic Campaign. [formerly Robert Branscombe senr. served on this ship]

 

22 March, Whimple: William, fourth child of John & Alice Branscombe, christened. (IGI) [John; poss bp. 1765 Whimple, fifth child of Thomas Branscombe & Ann (Shepherd - m. 1756 Whimple)? Poss m. 1791 Alice Mitchell, in Broad Clyst? Poss siblings: Mary Ann (1793), Alice (1795), Betty (1798), Thomas (1803), Petronella/Peternella (1806), Henry (1808), Sarah (1811), all bp. Whimple. William prob. m. 1823 - Elizabeth Granger]

 

25 March: Czar Paul of Russia is assassinated, in St. Petersburg.

 

2 April: The Battle of the Baltic. A glorious victory for Horatio Nelson. The Danish fleet is destroyed at its moorings, in Copenhagen. [cf: description by Jorgen Jorgensen]

 

12 April, St.Andrew's, Holborn: Mary Ann, daughter of William & Sarah Branscombe of Grays Inn Lane, baptised.[11] [poss m. 1830 Dawlish, Lewis Gregory?]

 

1 June: Paddington & Grand Junction Canal opens. `... the first barge arrived, with passengers from Uxbridge, at the Paddington Basin. There were public rejoicings, and all the north-western suburb was en fête in honour of the occasion. Bells were rung, flags were hung out, and cannon were fired; and one enthusiastic Paddingtonian had good reason to remember the day, for the gun which he was firing burst and shattered his arm ... passenger boats went about five times a week from Paddington to Uxbridge; and the wharves at Paddington presented for some years a most animated and busy appearance, on account of the quantity of goods warehoused there for transit to and from the metropolis, causing the growth of an industrious population around them. But this was only a brief gleam of prosperity, for when the Regent's Canal was opened [1820], the goods were conveyed by barges straight to the north and eastern suburbs, and the wharfage-ground at Paddington suffered a great deterioration in consequence.'[12]

 

4 June: George III's birthday. At the age of 63, he has been on the throne for 41 years. He is subject to fits of madness.

 

19 June, Branscombe: William Cawley dies, aged 40. An inhabitant of Beer, but born in Branscombe, the son of John & Sarah Cawley. ` He had been on a smuggling expedition, and was found dead early in the morning by John Halse, in a field of oats called Five Acres, on the west side of Markel's Hill; lying on his back with his head downhill, and [a] cask of spirit at some distance from him, below.' Buried on 21 June.[13]

 

18 July: H.M.S. Investigator, under Captain Matthew Flinders, departs England to survey the south-east coast of New Holland.

 

22 August, St. Leonard's, Exeter: Ann Crook Branscombe marries William Pim. (IGI) [Ann is the daughter of Nicholas & Elizabeth and was baptised 30 June 1776 in St.George, Exeter. Nicholas & Elizabeth (Harris) were married 17 August 1775, in Holy Trinity, Exeter. In 1838, William Pim is a witness at the marriage of Susan Branscombe, daughter of Edward & Ann (Starling) Branscombe, in Exeter]

 

1 October: An armistice is signed with france. The British blockade of French ports is lifted on October 22nd.

 

2 October, St.Saviour's, Southwark: Thomas Branscomb marries Sarah Park. (IGI) [cf: 1802 Holborn, Sarah, daughter of Thomas & Sarah baptised]

 

6 October, Highweek: Samuel Branscombe buried.[14] [poss b. 1730 or 1735, Highweek or Newton Bushel or Wolborough. Poss m. 1758 Elizabeth Shapley in Highweek? She may have died in Highweek, 1772? Poss second wife m. 1772 Mary Call? Poss third wife m. 1775 Ann Quick? According to Jones,[15] the Branscombe family preceded the Vicary family as the most important in Newton Bushel's wool, cloth & leather industries, on which the economy of the town depended. `Samuel Branscombe senior conducted his wool business from the building on the corner of Halcyon Road (now White's Garage). The business failed and the owner sold out to the Vicary family, packed up his possessions, and left town. Samuel Branscombe junior owned a tanyard in Bradley Lane but was bought out by Moses Vicary in 1837, and thus started the Vicary's involvement in the leather industry.']

 

21 October, Dawlish: Robert Branscombe dies, aged 51.[16] [direct ancestor]

 

The first national census: the population of Britain is just under 11 million. The population of Branscombe village is 603. In Paddington, the population is less than 2000, but will increase to 25,000 by 1841. The population of Dawlish parish is 1424 - in 1841 it will be 3132.

 

The population of Torquay is 838 - by 1841 it will be 5982. `Torquay first began to gain repute during the Napoleonic wars [1793-1815]. In those stirring times, war ships and even fleets were often sent to Torbay to wait for orders - indeed it was seldom but that representatives of the Royal Navy were at anchor in the bay. As these ships were at times delayed for weeks and months, the officers would send for their wives and families, and to meet their requirements, villas and cottages were built.'[17]

 

The second of two years of poor harvests in Britain. The pressure of the population on food supply becomes acute.

 

`Labour was often hired on a family basis, particularly at harvest-time, when everybody tended to be roped in, and this proved more than satisfactory from the farmer's point of view, since women workers were paid less than men (and children less still). This was certainly the custom in Dorset and, as a result of wives working alongside their husbands in the fields `... the poor little ones are locked up all day, or left under the care of some young girl of seven or eight years of age, who has enough to do to mind the baby; and when the mother comes home, smashed crockery and sullen tempers have been the result of the family left without proper guardianship or control.' Boys in Dorset, moreover, often have to go to work at the age of eight or earlier, forced to get up with their fathers at four or five o'clock in the morning and then working almost continuously until early afternoon; as a result, not only is the boy's `mind deadened, but his poor little body is permanently injured.''[18]

 

The first Ordnance Survey map, of Kent, is published.

 

From 1340 to 1801, every English monarch adopted the title King or Queen of France.

 

James, Lord de Saumerez, promoted from Captain to Rear Admiral of the Blue. [to 1804]

 

Panshanger House built by the fifth Earl Cowper. [Demolished 1953]

 

22 December, East Stonehouse [Plymouth], Devon: Richard, second son of Richard Bowden Beard & Elizabeth, born.[19] [bap. 1802]

 

The population of Exeter in 1801 was about 17,000. It will almost double by 1851.[20]

 

LONDON POST OFFICE DIRECTORY 1801

 

J Branscomb                Lottery Office               11 Holborn

 

Year of baptism of Charlotte Halsey, fifth child of fourth great-grandparents Edward & Sarah (Pratt - m. 1790 Redbourn). [siblings: Thomas (bp. 1790), Ann (bp. 1792), Edward (bp. 1793), James (bp. 1798), William (bp. 1802), Phoebe (bp. 1806), Elizabeth (bp. 1809), John (bp. 1809), Lucy (bp. 1810)]

 

@1802

6 January, Abbotsham: Catharine, daughter of Henry Brownscombe, christened. (IGI)

 

14 February: The Lady Nelson enters Port Phillip Bay, named after the Governor of the First Fleet, now retired, and living in Bath on a pension of £500 a year.

 

April (approx): The crew of the sealing ship, Harrington, anchored at  King Island for 2 months, encounter fresh wreckage on the southern point of the island. It was a large vessel, never identified. The only survivor was a cat.

 

5 April: Matthew Flinders, in the Investigator, names Kangaroo Island.

 

7 April: Flinders comes across the Baudin expedition, in Encounter Bay.

 

16 April, Stoke Damerel: Eliza Branscombe marries William Fitzgerald. (IGI) [or 14 December?][21]

 

18 April, Venn Ottery: Ann, daughter of Charles Branscombe & Sarah, christened. (IGI) [Charles poss. bp. 1773 Ottery St.Mary, son of Peter Branscomb & Ann Davies? Charles m. 1799 Venn Ottery, Sarah Hellier. cf: John Hellier m. 1749. Poss other children of Charles & Sarah: Mary (1799), William (1804) - all bp. Venn Ottery, Sarah (1805), Lydia (1808/1811?) - both bp. Ottery St.Mary]

 

The Harbinger (re-named Norfolk), wrecked at Tahiti.

 

West India Docks, London, opened.

 

16 June: Will of Mary Brooking, widow living at Newton Ferrers, is proved. She gives everything to her daughter, Mary Dolling of Newton Ferrers.[22] [cf: 1841 William & Elizabeth Dolling of Dawlish]

 

4 July, Sharnbrook, Bedfordshire: Thomas, son of John & Mary Bransfield or Bransome, baptised.[23] [cf: 1809 Charlotte Bransfield or Branscome] The 1851 census for Sharnbrook lists a Thomas Bransome aged 50, born in Sharnbrook. His wife, Mary, aged 50, was born in Bedford. Their daughters Ann, aged 11, and Sarah, aged 9, were both born in Sharnbrook.

 

1 August, St.Andrew's, Holborn: Sarah, daughter of Thomas & Sarah Branscomb of Charles Street, baptised.[24] [cf: 1801 Thomas Branscomb m. Sarah Park, Southwark. Also cf: 1805 Mary Ann, 1807 Elizabeth, 1808 Tho. Branscomb, licenced victualler, "The Two Brewers", Hog Lane, Shoreditch. A Sarah Branscomb, aged 62, dies in Oatlands, Tasmania, in 1865]

 

10 October, Emma Place Independent Chapel, East Stonehouse [Plymouth], Devon: Richard, second son of Richard Bowden Beard & Elizabeth, baptised.[25] [b. 1801 cf: 1804]

 

3 December, Branscombe: The wreck of the Danish frigate Ornen (Brown Eagle) off Branscombe. The Captain and two Hands are drowned and buried at St.Winifred's. 10 men and a boy are rescued.[26]

 

Captain Herman Simpsing of Huntspill, aged 42. Buried 28 December.

 

Neils Haagensen of Huntspill, aged 26. Buried 7 December.

 

Christian Rosenberg Holst of Grimsted, aged 19. Buried 11 December.

 

31 December, Aylesbeare: Mary Branscombe marries John Farrant. (IGI) [Mary poss widow of William, mother of Elizabeth & Susanna, bp. 1787 Aylesbeare?]

 

Charlotte Dundas, the first steam ship on the Clyde. Health and Morals of Apprentices Act.[27]

 

Approximate year of birth of Mary Eales, wife of tanner Samuel Branscombe of Highweek, b. 1792, m. 1829 Highweek, d. 1847 Highweek.[28]

 

LONDON POST OFFICE DIRECTORY 1802

J Branscomb    Lottery Office               11 Holborn & 37 Cornhill

 

Year of baptism of William Halsey, sixth child of fourth great-grandparents Edward & Sarah (Pratt - m. 1790 Redbourn). [siblings: Thomas (bp. 1790), Ann (bp. 1792), Edward (bp. 1793), James (bp. 1798), Charlotte (bp. 1801), Phoebe (bp. 1806), Elizabeth (bp. 1809), John (bp. 1809), Lucy (bp. 1810)]

 

An estimated 200 men, mostly American sealers, are settled on islands in Bass Strait.

 

@1803

6 January, Paignton Samuel Branscombe of Highweek marries Mary Perrett, by licence and with the consent of (Mary's?) parents.[1] [poss Samuel b. 1780, d. 1805, father of Samuel, b. 1805, who marries Mary Hannaford, parents of Samuel Hannaford Branscombe?]

 

5 February: George now a private ship's captain, leaves Sydney for the South Island of New Zealand in his ship, the Reliance. He is never seen again.

 

6 February, Meppershall, Bedfordshire: James, son of Samuel & Sarah Bransome, baptised.[30] [cf: 1800 - some previous children were baptised Branscombe] The 1851 census for Holwell, Bedfordshire (later Herts.), shows a James Brandsom, aged 48, born in Meppershall, and his wife Mary, born in Shillington.

 

5 March: First edition of the Sydney Gazette and N.S.W. Advertiser, the first newspaper in .

 

14 April, St.Dunstan-in-the-West, Fleet Street, London: John Branscomb marries Mary Ann Lamberth. (IGI) [poss children baptised in Southwark: Eleanor Ann (1804), William Samuel (1805), Emily Sophia (1807), John Stephen (1809), Clara Elizabeth & Eliza Sarah (1812), Louisa Maria (bp. 1814), Maria Mary (b. 1814, bp. 1829 Blackfriars)]

 

21 April, Dawlish: William Branscombe, eighth and last child of John & Agnes (Pike - m. 1781 Dawlish), born. Baptised St.Gregory's, 8 May.[31] [Becomes a master mariner. Poss siblings: John (1782-1795?), Captn. Joseph (1784-1866), Anne (1787-1787), Sarah (1790-1849), Catherine (1793-1855), John (1796), Anne (1798)]

 

18 May: The Peace of Amiens is broken once again declares war on France. The British fleet restores the blockade of Brest. Napoleon assembles an army to cross the Channel.

 

10 July, St.George The Martyr, Southwark: Richard Thomas, son of Richard & Mary Ann Branscomb, baptised.[32] [Richard senior poss third child of John Branscombe & Ann (? - m?), bp. 1772 Plymouth. Poss siblings: Ann (1764), Elizabeth (1767)? Poss m. 1798 East Stonehouse, Mary Ann Jury? Richard & Mary Ann may have moved to Southwark and baptised: Richard Thomas (1803), Amelia Elizabeth (1805), John Ould James (1807), William Edward Butler (1819)?]

 

26 July: `The Surrey Iron Railway, opened on [this day] between Wandsworth and Croyden, was the first railway in the world to provide a public service. In 1805 it was extended to Merstham ... This continuation was called the Croyden, Merstham and Godstone Iron Railway.'[33]

 

28 August: Lieutenant leaves Sydney on the Lady Nelson with the first settlers bound for the .

 

6 September: Lady Nelson anchors, Ralph's Bay.

 

9 September: Lady Nelson anchors, Risdon Cove.

 

25 September, Whimple: Thomas, fifth child of John & Alice Branscombe, christened. (IGI) [John; poss bp. 1765 Whimple, fifth child of Thomas Branscombe & Ann (Shepherd - m. 1756 Whimple)? Poss m. 1791 Alice Mitchell, in Broad Clyst? Thomas poss becomes a post-boy and dies at Willand, 1847? Poss siblings: Mary Ann (1793), Alice (1795), Betty (1798), William (1801), Petronella/Peternella (1806), Henry (1808), Sarah (1811), all bp. Whimple]

 

14 October, St. Marychurch, Tormoham: Elizabeth & Philip married. Susanna & Joan s, witnesses.

 

16 October: The first colony settles at Port Phillip, under Colonel David .

 

5 November, Gibraltar: Anne Graham, later wife of John Branscombe of Kingsbridge, is born, daughter of Robert & Catherine Graham.[34] [m. 1833 Cornwall, d. 1886 Islington]

 

From 1803 the ground between the old village of Dawlish and the sea begins to be `landscaped'. Houses are built on the north side of the stream, which is channelled down artificial waterfalls. [cf: 1809][35]

 

Thomas Jefferson agrees to purchase Louisiana from Napoléon for $15 million. `The land area of the United States virtually doubled at a stroke, and created an opportunity for developing a new empire of farmers (at the expense of the original inhabitants) ... [Jefferson] had anticipated the development of a chain of communities sharing broadly similar values but remaining politically separate from each other. After 1803 it became clear that the United States could become a single trans-continental nation.'[36]

 

The Exeter Militia List of this year includes William Brandscomb, accomptant of Holy Trinity parish. He is marked down as class 1, which means he is between 17 and 30 years of age, unmarried, with no children under 10 years.[37] [possibly William Tucker Branscombe, bp. 1784, only child of William & Mary (Tucker - m. 1783 Exeter)?]

 

LONDON POST OFFICE DIRECTORY 1803

J Branscomb    Lottery Office               11 Holborn & 37 Cornhill

 

New Brunswick: Approximate year of birth of Arthur Branscombe, son of Nathaniel & Sarah (Miller). [Siblings: Rachel, Hannah, John, Polly, Ann & Conrad M, all born in New Brunswick. Nathaniel d. 1865 Ontario. Arthur d. 1847 Ontario] [38]

 

Morchard Bishop: Approximate year of birth of Mary Branscombe, registered in the 1861 census as an unmarried stay-maker lodging in Devonport.

 

Napoleonic War;. (to 1815)

 

`When a man was called for militia service, the maintenance of his dependents fell upon his own parish, and if he obtained a substitute from another parish, the costs still fell upon his own. Whatever parish the substitute belonged to, his family were paid by Dawlish parish, and the money was either paid to the County Treasurer, or direct to the parish concerned. That this was an expensive item can be gathered from the cost of maintaining the family of William Pike of Thorverton, who was a substitute for Mr. Linkhorn of Dawlish. Pike was apparently on service with the Militia from 1803 to 1813, and the parish of Dawlish paid for the relief of his family, in all, the sum of £50.8.4, which was a large sum of money for the period.'[39]

 

Baudin, Captain; & Freycinet carve Frenchman's Rock at Hog Bay, Kangaroo Island.

 

American sealers wrecked on Kangaroo Island build and launch theships Independence, at .

 

Approximate year of birth (St. Johns, Newfoundland?) of William Branscombe. He died 1865 (St. Johns, Newfoundland?) aged 62.[40]

 

@1804

21 February, St.Mary Major, Exeter: Ann Branscombe marries William Woodrough. [41]

 

1 April, St.George The Martyr, Southwark: Eleanor Ann, daughter of John & Mary Ann Branscomb, baptised.[42] [poss John & Mary Ann (Lambeth - m. 1803 London)? Poss children baptised in Southwark: Eleanor Ann (1804), William Samuel (1805), Emily Sophia (1807), John Stephen (1809), Clara Elizabeth & Eliza Sarah (1812), Louisa Maria (bp. 1814), Maria Mary (b. 1814, bp. 1829 Blackfriars)]

 

21 May, Venn Ottery: William Branscombe, son of Charles & Sarah, baptised. (IGI) [Charles poss. bp. 1773 Ottery St.Mary, son of Peter Branscomb & Ann Davies? Charles m. 1799, Venn Ottery, Sarah Hellier. cf: John Hellier m. 1749. Poss other children of Charles & Sarah: Mary (1799), Ann (1802) - both bp. Venn Ottery, Sarah (1805), Lydia (1808/1811?) - both bp. Ottery St.Mary]

 

2 June, St.Peter's, Liverpool: William Prowse of Paignton marries Jane Birchall.[43] [William son of William Prowse & Elizabeth (Saunders - m. 1779 East Teignmouth). First son William b. 1780, 15 December, Paignton. He becomes a master mariner in 1826, founding Prowse & Co. of Liverpool in 1834, owning some thirty ships, including some captained by William Branscombe of Dawlish. Later founded Prowse, Cheshire & Co., shipsmiths and anchorsmiths. William & Jane's children include Joshua, Elizabeth, Frances, William, Thomas, John, Robert Saunders & George Christian (1819). Joshua formed his own company. Frances marries Henry Miller Barclay, who founds Prowse, Barclay & Co., with his father-in-law. Jane d. 1853, William her husband d. 1871, leaving £25,000]

 

23 September, St.Gregory's, Dawlish: Joanna , widow of Robert, & John Hodge, widower, marry. John & James witnesses. (IGI) [Robert d. 1801 - direct ancestor. cf: 1797, Hodge m. Joanna Pike]

 

Foveaux Strait, between Stewart Island and New Zealand's South Island, discovered by an named Smith.

 

John completes construction [begun 1800] of Luscombe Castle, Dawlish, for Charles a banker. [cf: 1817 Stonelands][44]

 

`At the close of the year 1804, Napoleon, having arrived at the zenith of his power, determined to invade this country, and for that purpose actually collected together at Boulogne an enormous flotilla of some 2000 craft, with 16000 sailors and 160,000 soldiers. The feverish excitement into which the audacious threat threw the inhabitants of the southern shores of England may easily be imagined, and resulted in the origin of the Volunteer Force. Every high-top hill became a beacon signal point; every citizen a soldier; every market town a military centre.'[45]

 

James, Lord de Saumerez, promoted from Rear Admiral of the Blue to Rear Admiral of the White. [to 1805]

 

Newton Abbot: Richard Bowden Beard & Elizabeth, of East Stonehouse, Plymouth, have established a grocery firm in East Street. Their second son, Richard, aged about three, will marry Elizabeth Branscombe of Newton Abbot in 1825 and become a photographic artist in London, patenting the daguerreotype process.[46]

 

St.Albans: Edward Halsey is born.[47]

 

LONDON POST OFFICE DIRECTORY 1804

J Branscomb    Stock-broker               11 Holborn & 37 Cornhill

 

Approximate year of birth of Sophia Willis [d. 1873], wife of Captain William Branscombe. [cf: 1841 census]

 

@1805

17 February, Sharnbrook, Bedfordshire: Edith, daughter of John & Mary Bransfield or Bransome, baptised.[48] [cf: 1809 Charlotte Bransfield or Branscome]

 

25 February, Bampton: Eliza Branscombe born, daughter of William Branscombe and Sarah (Passmore). [Eliza marries Charles Hazell in Hobart, 1843. Died in Hobart, 1881] [49]

 

Sunday 24 March, St.George The Martyr, Southwark: Amelia Elizabeth, daughter of Richard & Mary Branscomb, baptised.[50] [Richard poss third child of John Branscombe & Ann (? - m?), bp. 1772 Plymouth. Poss siblings: Ann (1764), Elizabeth (1767)? Richard poss m. 1798 East Stonehouse, Mary Ann Jury? Richard & Mary Ann may have moved to Southwark and baptised: Richard Thomas (1803), Amelia Elizabeth (1805), John Ould James (1807), William Edward Butler (1819?]

 

Sunday, 24 March, 10am: Susanna Branscomb dies, aged 63. Wife of Bartholomew, tin-plate worker and freeman of the City of London, who survived her. Buried Great Marlow, Bucks.? Her maiden name was Maybrick. She married ? Barret, who died. She then married Bartholomew in 1784 at St Mary le Bone, Middlesex, at the age of about 42. They may have been the parents of tin-smith Robert, b. about 1786 in Middlesex? [51] [Buried 30 March. Burial register calls her "Susan". Bartholomew d. 1806, buried Great Marlow]

 

31 March, Meppershall, Bedfordshire: Mary, daughter of Samuel & Sarah Bransome, baptised.[52] [cf: 1800 - some previous children were baptised Branscombe]

 

7 April, St.Martin-in-the-Fields, Westminster: Eliza Ann, daughter of George Bartlett Branscomb & Catherine, baptised.[53]

 

5 July, Oxford: George Hambridge [b. about 1785] found guilty of stealing or killing a sheep and sentenced to death at Oxford Assizes. Later commuted to transportation for the term of his natural life. [cf: 1806][54]

 

4 August, St.Leonard's, Shoreditch: Mary Ann, daughter of Thomas & Sarah Branscomb, baptised.[55] [cf: 1802 Sarah, 1807 Elizabeth, 1808, Tho. Branscomb, licenced victualler, "The Two Brewers", Hog Lane, Shoreditch]

 

21 October: The Battle of Trafalgar. Nelson is mortally wounded. Britain's command of the sea becomes absolute.

 

Among those serving on Nelson's flagship, H.M.S. Victory, is Captain Youll, a lieutenant, and resident at Barnell's, Branscombe [later called Trafalgar House for a number of years]. He attended 's funeral in an official capacity. [cf: 1806]

 

Among those present on H.M.S. Defiance, at the Battle of Trafalgar, was Jane Townshend. Despite a recommendation from Queen Victoria, in 1840, that all survivors present at the battle should be awarded the General Service Medal, Jane's application was refused, along with others by women, on the grounds that it would lead to innumerable further applications, there being a large number of women unofficially present in the fleet during the entire period 1794-1811.[56] [cf: 1853, Nancy Perriam of Exmouth granted a pension for service on HMS "Crescent" and "Orion" during this period]

 

27 October, St.George the Martyr, Southwark: William Samuel, son of John Branscomb & Mary, baptised. (IGI) [poss John & Mary Ann (Lambeth - m. 1803 London)? Poss other children baptised in Southwark: Eleanor Ann (1804), Emily Sophia (1807), John Stephen (1809), Clara Elizabeth & Eliza Sarah (1812), Louisa Maria (bp. 1814), Maria Mary (b. 1814, bp. 1829 Blackfriars)]

 

4 November, Topsham: Robert Branscombe marries Grace Trout. (IGI) [cf: 1806 birth of Mary Anne. Robert may have died soon after, as a Grace Branscombe marries in 1805 (or 1816!)]

 

13 November, Newton Bushel: Samuel Branscombe born.[57] [only child of Samuel (b. 1780 Highweek - d. this year in Highweek) & ? (poss Mary Perrett - m. 1803 Paignton?). Marries Mary (Hannaford m. 1827 Wolborough). Becomes father of Samuel Hannaford Branscombe, draper of Northants. d. 1858]

 

2 December, Branscombe: Rachel Perry dies, aged 20. Daughter of William & Susanna Perry. `She lost her life by a fatal accident. A young man named Henry Northcott, her Sweetheart, going into the house of James Gush where she was sitting by the side of Gush's wife, who had a young child in her lap, by the fire, and taking down Gush's Fire-Lock to see if it was clean, he incautiously touched the trigger, not suspecting the gun was loaded and the gun instantly going off, log's its whole contents in her Bowels. The muzzle of the Gun was so close to her when discharged, that the perforation (which was through the upper part of the thigh and over the groin, as she was sitting on a very low seat) was just as if it had been made by a Ball; tho' the Gun was loaded with Shot. She languished the whole of the day (it being about ten o'clock on the Monday morning when the accident happened) and died about two o'clock in the morning following, in the very bloom of life and in full health and strength.' Buried 5 December.[58]

 

28 December, St. George's, East Stonehouse, Plymouth: Eliza Brancombe marries Robert . (IGI)

 

25 December, Ottery St. Mary: Sarah, daughter of Charles & Sarah Branscombe, christened. (IGI) [Charles poss. bp. 1773 Ottery St.Mary, son of Peter Branscomb & Ann Davies? Charles of Ottery St.Mary m. 1799, Venn Ottery, Sarah Hellier. cf: John Hellier m. 1749. Poss other children of Charles & Sarah: Mary (1799), Ann (1802), William (1804) - all bp. Venn Ottery, Lydia (1808/1811?) - bp. Ottery St.Mary. Sarah poss. emigrated to Western Australia, arriving in Fremantle, 28 December 1831 per the “Egyptian” from London as did her future husband, Thomas Reece]

 

James, Lord de Saumerez, promoted from Rear Admiral of the White to Rear Admiral of the Red. [to 1810]

 

24 ?, Highweek: Samuel, son of Samuel Branscombe & Ann (Quick - m. 1775), dies, aged 25.[59]

 

LONDON POST OFFICE DIRECTORY 1805

J Branscomb    Stock-broker               11 Holborn & 37 Cornhill

 

HOLDEN'S TRIENNIAL DIRECTORY OF LONDON 1805 [60]

Mr.James Branscomb                                       Hanwell, Middlesex

[cf: 1780 Thomas Branscomb of Hanwell]

 

Oxford: Approximate year of birth of William Branscomb, registered as a 46 year-old farmer in the 1851 census for the Oxford Workhouse.

 

@1806

28 April, St.Andrew's, Holborn: John Frederick Gap Branscombe, son of John & Sarah of Saffron Hill, baptised.[61]

 

18 May, Whimple: Petronella [Peternella? cf: 1826], sixth child of John & Alice Branscombe, christened. (IGI) [John; poss bp. 1765 Whimple, fifth child of Thomas Branscombe & Ann (Shepherd - m. 1756 Whimple)? Poss m. 1791 Alice Mitchell, in Broad Clyst? Married as Peternella, 14 September1826 in Whimple, to William Pratt of Whimple. Poss siblings of Peternella: Mary Ann (1793), Alice (1795), Betty (1798), William (1801), Thomas (1803), Henry (1808), Sarah (1811), all bp. Whimple]

 

26 May, Topsham: William Branscombe marries Jane James. (IGI)

 

31 May, Great Marlow, Buckinghamshire: Bartholomew Branscomb buried, aged 66.[62] [cf: 1805 for death of his wife, Susanna]

 

12 July: George Hambridge, sentenced to transportation for life at Oxford Assizes, 5 July 1805, arrives in New South Wales on board the convict transport Fortune, aged about 21.[63]

 

13 July, Topsham: Mary Anne Branscombe, first child of Robert & Grace, baptised. (IGI) [Robert & Grace Trout m. 1805 Topsham]

 

13 July, Sharnbrook, Bedfordshire: Charlotte, daughter of John and Mary Bransfield or Branscome [Branscombe?], baptised.[64] The marriage of John & Mary, on 6 November 1796 at Sharnbrook, begins a period of official uncertainty about John's surname which persists for nearly twenty years. The entry in the marriage register notes that Mary Smith married John Bransfield or Bransome. Between 1793 and 1811 John & Mary baptise six children at Sharnbrook. At the first baptism, of Hannah in 1797, their surname is recorded as Bransfield. For the next two children, Thomas & Edith in 1802 & 1805, the registrar is obliged to record alternatives; Bransfield or Bransome. Charlotte, the next baptism, is Bransfield or Branscome. William, in 1810, is baptised Bransom, while the last attributed to parents of this name, James in 1811, is Bransome. This seems to settle down as the standard spelling (and pronunciation) by the time of the 1851 census, when there are 16 Bransomes in Sharnbrook, and this is the spelling in the registers for the rest of the century. The confusion, and the need to record alternative surnames, was sufficiently unusual for the editor of the parish register transcripts to write the following note:

 

`Every register affords instances of surnames with many variant spellings. In Sharnbrook, three families apparently had doubts as to the pronunciation of their names. The registrar between 1796 and 1808 was obliged to use alternatives; Bransfield or Bransome, Bransfield or Branscome ... it is common knowledge that there was much illiteracy in England until after the middle of the nineteenth century; this belief is well borne out by parish registers.' In 1754, the use of printed-form marriage registers and the signing of the entry by both parties first became compulsory. In Bedfordshire, an analysis of 22 marriage registers from this date shows 61% of men and 73% of women signed with a mark.[65]

 

30 September, Morchard Bishop: Eliza, daughter of John & Agnes Branscombe, christened. (IGI)

 

6 October, Morchard Bishop: Eliza, daughter of John Branscombe & Agnes (Mare - m. 1790 Morchard), baptised.[66]

 

(Kingsbridge?): Henry, fifth child of William Branscombe & Charlotte (Mortimer - m. 1789 Wolborough), born.[67] [m. 1827 Plymouth, Mary Crouch? (cf: 1835 Bristol: Mary Crouch Branscombe, daughter of Henry and Mary Crouch Branscombe, baptised. Siblings: William (1790 Wolborough), Elizabeth (1791), Ann (1792), Charlotte (1794), John (1808). There was also a  seventh child, Catherine, mentioned as a sister in the 1851 will of Ann, as yet unaccounted for]

 

Bere Alston [nr.Plymouth & the Cornish border]: Approximate year of birth of John Branscombe, possibly the son of Richard Branscumbe of Bere Ferrers and widow Elizabeth (Culwill - m. 1794 Bere Ferrers). John becomes a pilot & waterman in Plymouth, marrying Sarah -? from Calstock, Cornwall (b. 1812?), possibly about 1831 and possibly in Calstock, as all their children up to 1851 were baptised there. They had a son, John Oliver, born Calstock about 1832, who was a labourer in the 1851 census for Plymouth St.Andrew, and married in 1856 East Stonehouse, Sarah Northsworthy of Kingsbridge, by which time he was described as a bargeman. This was his profession also in the 1881 census, by which time he had a fifteen-year-old bargeman son, Frederick, another son John Crews Northsworthy (1870 Plymouth), who becomes a seaman & m. 1905 Sydney, Amy Powell, by which time his father has become a pawnbroker in Plymouth. There was also a daughter Mary Louisa (1878 Plymouth), who marries Thomas William Richard Bateman before 1918, when Sarah (Northsworthy) dies. Her husband John Oliver died in 1908. [cf: 1881 census Plymouth St.Andrew] The 1851 census also shows John senior & Sarah of Calstock had at least two other children, Louisa, born about 1834, and Richard, born about 1838, both in Calstock. John senior's mother, Elizabeth, may have been recorded in the 1851 census for Bere Ferrers, as a blind widow. [Calstock is close to Callington, Cornwall, where a Branscomb family lived from at least 1720 to 1760. John Branscomb senior, whose will was proved in 1760, was the father of at least three sons; John (bp. 1720), Richard (bp. 1722) & Thomas (bp. 1728)]

 

LONDON POST OFFICE DIRECTORY 1806

Branscomb & Co         Lottery Office Keepers
                                                 11 Holborn, 37 Cornhill & 38 Haymarket

 

Year of baptism of Phoebe Halsey, seventh child of fourth great-grandparents Edward & Sarah (Pratt - m. 1790 Redbourn). [siblings: Thomas (bp. 1790), Ann (bp. 1792), Edward (bp. 1793), James (bp. 1798), Charlotte (bp. 1801), William (bp. 1802), Elizabeth (bp. 1809), John (bp. 1809), Lucy (bp. 1810)]

 

A band of escaped convicts and renegades occupies Kangaroo Island.

 

Nelson's funeral. Captain Yule [Ewell?], of Branscombe (cf: 1805), carries a `bannerol of lineage' (?) Nelson buried in the crypt of St. Paul's Cathedral, in a sarcophagus originally made for King monarchsHenry VIII, and recovered when that king's body was exhumed and desecrated, during Cromwell's time.

 

St. John's Newfoundland: Approximate year of birth of Elizabeth, eldest daughter of William Branscombe. She dies in St. John's aged 23, in 1829.[68]

 

@1807

12 March, (Shoreditch/Bishopsgate?): Elizabeth Branscomb born, daughter of Thomas & Sarah. Baptised Bishopsgate 1810. [cf: 1801 Thomas Branscomb m. Sarah Park, Southwark. Also cf: 1802 Sarah, 1805 Mary Ann, 1808 Tho. Branscomb, licenced victualler, "The Two Brewers", Hog Lane, Shoreditch]

 

22 April: James Branscombe of Bampton [1735-1809], stockbroker, lottery contractor & lay sheriff of London, aged about 72, awarded the order of Knights Bachelors. His wife Sarah, aged about 30 [d. 1847], is made a Dame. (EBMI) [Sarah may be the wife of his son James, b. 1770, but in that case James junior must also have been knighted, as Sarah died a Dame, widow of Sir James]

 

James' obituary in The Gentleman's Magazine of December 1809, says he served as one of the sherrifs of London & Middlesex in this year.

 

The slave trade is abolished within the British Empire.

 

Jorgen paints his self-portrait, in Copenhagen.

 

26 July, St.George The Martyr, Southwark: Emily Sophia, daughter of John & Mary Branscomb, baptised.[69] [poss John & Mary Ann (Lambeth - m. 1803 London)? Poss children baptised in Southwark: Eleanor Ann (1804), William Samuel (1805), Emily Sophia (1807), John Stephen (1809), Clara Elizabeth & Eliza Sarah (1812), Louisa Maria (bp. 1814), Maria Mary (b. 1814, bp. 1829 Blackfriars)]

 

28 August, West Teignmouth: Elizabeth Branscombe marries Robert Hayman. [Anna Harries Nicholas says this is Elizabeth, second child of Robert and Joanna of Dawlish. She says the husband is Robert Spry Hayman, and that they had four children, Robert Spry (b. 8 Nov 1807, bp. 22 Nov, d. 6 Jan 1808), Joanna Branscome (b. 15 July 1818), John (b.2 May 1820), Robert John Spry (27 July 1824)][70]

 

8 November, St.George The Martyr, Southwark: John Ould James Branscomb, son of Richard & Mary Branscomb, baptised.[1] [Richard senior poss third child of John Branscombe & Ann (? - m?), bp. 1772 Plymouth. Poss siblings Ann (1764), Elizabeth (1767)? Poss m. 1798 East Stonehouse, Mary Ann Jury? Richard & Mary Ann may have moved to Southwark and baptised Richard Thomas (1803), Amelia Elizabeth (1805), John Ould James (1807), William Edward Butler (1819?]

 

23 November, Stoke Damerel: William Branscombe, yeoman,  marries Elizabeth Steer.[72] [son George Ley b. 1808 St.Austell? - cf also 1769 William Steer & Abraham Branscombe of Morchard Bishop witness a marriage]

 

20 December, Meppershall, Bedfordshire: Hannah, daughter of Samuel & Sarah Bransome, baptised.[73] [cf: 1800 - some previous children were baptised Branscombe]

 

LONDON POST OFFICE DIRECTORY 1807

Branscomb & Co         Lottery Office Keepers & Stock-brokers
                                     11 Holborn, 37 Cornhill & 38 Haymarket

 

@1808

24 January, Tiverton: Sarah Branscombe marries Robert Pring. (IGI) [Robert Pring, baker. Sarah prob bp. 1786, only child of miller James Branscombe & Rachel (Andrews - m. 1785 Tiverton). cf: 1821 will of grandfather Bartholomew, miller of Bampton]

 

3 May, Morchard Bishop: Frances Branscombe (Southcott), aged 75, is buried.[74] [wife of serge-weaver Abraham, m. 1758, mother of William? (attorney) bp. 1759 East Worlington, d. 1796, Joseph, bp. 1762, John bp. 1764 & Elizabeth bp. 1777 d. 1799]

 

12 May, Kingsbridge: John, sixth child of William Branscombe & Charlotte (Mortimer - m. 1789 Wolborough), born. [m. 1833 St.Teath, Cornwall, Ann (Graham b. 1803 Gibraltar) d. 1874, 166 Highbury New Park.[75] Siblings: William (1790 Wolborough), Elizabeth (1791), Ann (1792), Charlotte (1794), Henry (1806 - Kingsbridge?). There was also a  seventh child, Catherine, mentioned as a sister in the 1851 will of Ann, as yet unaccounted for]

 

17 July, Ottery St.Mary: Lydia, daughter of Charles & Sarah Branscombe, christened. (IGI) [Charles poss. bp. 1773 Ottery St.Mary, son of Peter Branscomb & Ann Davies? Charles of Ottery St.Mary m. 1799, Venn Ottery, Sarah Hellier. cf: John Hellier m. 1749. Poss other children of Charles & Sarah: Mary (1799), Ann (1802), William (1804) - all bp. Venn Ottery, Sarah (1805) - bp. Ottery St.Mary. Poss duplicate bp. for Lydia, 1811?]

 

2 August, Hastings: George Branscombe, fisherman, marries Mary Hutchinson, by licence. [poss daughter Mary bp Hastings 1809? poss sibling: Georgina (1812)]

 

14 August, Whimple: Henry, seventh child of John & Alice Branscombe, is christened. (IGI) [John; poss bp. 1765 Whimple, fifth child of Thomas Branscombe & Ann (Shepherd - m. 1756 Whimple)? Poss m. 1791 Alice Mitchell, in Broad Clyst? Poss siblings: Mary Ann (1793), Alice (1795), Betty (1798), William (1801), Thomas (1803), Petronella/Peternella (1806), Sarah (1811), all bp. Whimple]

 

8 September: Article of agreement of co-partnership between Anthony Gibbs of the City of London, merchant, George Henry Gibbs [his son] of the same city, merchant, `but now in Cadiz in Spain & William Branscombe [m.Honour Leigh Dartmouth 1799?], now in England but bound on a voyage to Cadiz, merchant.' Trade carried on in Cadiz in the commission line. Witness Thomas Ponsford, carpenter, St.Thomas The Apostle, Exeter.[76] [poss. Thomas Pounsford who married Sarah Branscombe in Exeter, 1800? If so, this may indicate a family relationship between William, who married Honour Leigh in 1799 at Dartmouth, and Sarah. If Sarah was about 26 years old at the time of her marriage, she could have been bp. 1774 Clyst St.George, daughter of John & Sarah Branscomb. If so, she was the sister of a William, bp. 1770 Clyst St.George, who may have been the William who married Honour Leigh? cf: 1818 for further references to this partnership in regard to the administration of the late Captain Phillip Leigh's estate. Anthony Gibbs & Son, merchants, does not appear as a listing in the London Post Office Directory until 1810, when they are at 13 Sherborne Lane, Lombard Street]

 

24 September, Kingsbridge: Mary Hannaford, future wife of Samuel Branscombe of Newton Bushel, is born.[77]

 

16 October, St. Austell, Cornwall: George Ley Branscombe, son of William & Elizabeth Branscombe, baptised. (IGI) [William, yeoman m. 1807 Stoke Damarel, Elizabeth Steer? - George Ley Branscombe m. 1828 Mary Davis, St.George Hanover Square]

 

26 October, prob New Hampshire: Joseph Branscomb of Newcastle, New Hampshire, marries Elizabeth L. Dow.

 

The African slave trade is abolished, (cf: 1807?) but continues illegally for many years.

 

The estate of in Talaton, property of Sir J.totally destroyed by fire.[78]

 

6 December: H.M.S. Crescent wrecked on the coast of Jutland. [launched 1784]

 

`In 1808 some weavers on strike invaded the homes of others who would not join them and took away their shuttles.'[79]

 

LONDON POST OFFICE DIRECTORY 1808

Sir J Branscomb & Co Lottery Office Keepers
                                       & Stock-brokers

                                                11 Holborn, 37 Cornhill & 38 Haymarket                                                          

 

HOLDEN'S TRIENNIAL DIRECTORY OF LONDON 1808 [80]


J Branscomb                                        Circus Coffee House
                                                                        Blackfriars Road


Tho. Branscomb                                   The Two Brewers
                                                                        Hog Lane, Shoreditch

[cf: 1801 Thomas Branscomb m. Sarah Park, Southwark. Also cf: 1802 Sarah, 1805 Mary Ann, 1807
Elizabeth]

 

@1809

12 February, Rock Spring Farm, Kentucky: Abraham Lincoln is born, in a log cabin.

 

13 February, St.George, Exeter: William Tucker Branscombe marries Betsy [Elizabeth?] Lake. [81] [Children: Henry Lake/Harry Luke (1809-1810), Helen (1811), William George (1813), George William (1815). William Tucker may have been an accountant and/or attorney. Henry/Harry died in Falmouth, where Helen was born. William was baptised in Exeter, George was born & baptised in London. He became a Lay Vicar at Exeter Cathedral]

 

27 April, (Shoreditch/Bishopsgate?): William Branscomb born, son of Thomas & Sarah. Baptised 1810 Bishopsgate. [this birth possibly 1808? William poss m. 1839 Shoreditch, Sarah Whelpdale? If so, he is the son of Thomas (by then deceased), a City Officer. William possibly becomes a publican in Hampstead. A Thomas Branscomb is a publican at the "Two Brewers", Hog Lane, Shoreditch, in 1808. There may be two couples called Thomas & Sarah in east London at this time. William seems to have a sister, Elizabeth, b. 1807 Shoreditch, bp. 1810 Bishopsgate. There may be another sister, Mary Ann, b. 1805 Shoreditch, and another, Sarah, bp. 1802 in Holborn. There may have been a brother, William, bp. 1810 Bishopsgate & another, George, b. 1811 in Spitalfields?]

 

1 June, St.Mary's, Marylebone Road, London: Elizabeth Branscombe marries Philip Husted. (IGI)

 

St.Mary le Bone, Middlesex: Philip Husted, bachelor, marries Elizabeth Branscombe, spinster. Witnesses: T.B., W.R..[82]

 

5 July, St.George The Martyr, Southwark: John Stephen, son of John & Mary Ann Branscomb, baptised.[83] [poss John & Mary Ann (Lambeth - m. 1803 London)? Poss children baptised in Southwark: Eleanor Ann (1804), William Samuel (1805), Emily Sophia (1807), John Stephen (1809), Clara Elizabeth & Eliza Sarah (1812), Louisa Maria (bp. 1814), Maria Mary (b. 1814, bp. 1829 Blackfriars)]

 

2 August, Shillington, Bedfordshire: Eliz. Branscombe, daughter of Samuel & Sarah, marries Jas. Gray of Holwell.[84] [Elizabeth poss b. 1790 Meppershall,Beds. This is the only occurrence of the name Branscombe in the Shillington parish registers index]

 

10 August, Kenton: Sophia Pearce of Kenton marries Thomas Anning of Kenton, by banns. [Sophia's sister, Frances, married Thomas' brother Henry, and they made their home at Venbridge Farm, south of Kenton, where Henry continued to farm until his death. A James Pearce made his home with Henry and Frances at Venbridge until his death in 1831, aged 84][85]

 

16 August, St. Leonard's, Exeter: Harry Luke, first child of William Tucker Branscombe and Betty (Elizabeth Lake - m. 1809 Exeter), is christened. (IGI) [Could this be Henry Lake, d. Dec 1810 Falmouth? cf: 1809. Siblings: Helen (1811), William George (1813), George William (1815)]

 

DawlishThe Strand at Dawlish completed. Charles (1812-1870) knew and liked Dawlish very much, as did the novelist with whom he was deeply out of sympathy, Jane . The eponymous hero of Nicholas Nickleby (completed 1839) was `born' in Dawlish.

 

The new road from Dawlish to Teignmouth is completed, and marked by the arrival of the first stage-coach. Before this, passengers had to travel to Chudleigh by horse, to connect with the coach.[86]

 

7 December: Sir James Branscombe of Bampton, stockbroker, lottery contractor & lay sheriff of London, dies, aged 74. His wife Dame Sarah, [aged about 32?], survives him to 1847.[87] [Sarah may be the wife of his son James, b. 1770]

 

The Gentleman's Magazine
December 1809

At Four-tree hill, Enfield, after a short illness, much respected, aged 74, Sir James Branscomb, Knt., of Holborn, etc., upwards of 40 years a lottery office-keeper, and more than 30 a member of the Common Council for the Ward of Farringdon Without. He served the Office of one of the Sheriffs of London and Middlesex, 1807, and was interred with grand funeral pomp at the church of St.Andrew, Holborn.[88]

 

LONDON POST OFFICE DIRECTORY 1809

Sir J Branscomb & Edward Eyton        Lottery Office Keepers
                                                               & Stock-brokers

                                                11 Holborn, 37 Cornhill & 38 Haymarket                                                          

 

Ottery St.Mary: Approximate year of birth of Henry Davy, later Attorney-at-law in Ottery & executor of Honour Branscombe (Leigh - m. 1799 Dartmouth)'s will. In the 1851 census, Honour, a widow aged 81, is living with the Davy family. Henry's wife, (Hanna?) Branscombe Davy, is Honour's niece.

 

Approximate year of birth of Robert Brinscombe, baker of Bampton. [cf: 1841 census]

 

Barnstaple: Approximate year of birth of Henry Branscombe, later a haulier in Bath. [m. 1844 or 1845, Elizabeth -? in Bristol, d. 1870 Newport, Mon. cf: 1861 census]

 

Year of baptisms of Elizabeth & John Halsey, eighth and ninth children of fourth great-grandparents Edward & Sarah (Pratt - m. 1790 Redbourn). [siblings: Thomas (bp. 1790), Ann (bp. 1792), Edward (bp. 1793), James (bp. 1798), Charlotte (bp. 1801), William (bp. 1802), Phoebe (bp. 1806), Lucy (bp. 1810)]

 

Hastings: Mary, daughter of fisherman George Branscombe and Mary, is born.[89] [poss mar 1808 Hastings, Mary Hutchinson? poss sibling: Georgina (1812)]

 

@1810

21 January, St.Botolph, Bishopsgate: Elizabeth & William, children of Thomas & Sarah Branscomb, baptised. Elizabeth was born on 12 March 1807, William was born on 22 April (1808/9?).[90] [possibly the William, born in London, who is a licenced victualler in Hampstead, in the 1861 census? His son is baptised Thomas]

 

26 January, Branscombe: John Stuckey dies, aged 91. `He was more than [blank] years a Magistrate, and was the oldest Magistrate in the County for several years before he died. He died possessed of vast worldly property which, after he had long possessed without enjoying and without using, he was at length constrained to leave to others.' Buried 3 February.[91] [Weston Barton, Stuckey's main house (he also evidently owned Hole at this time) is reported to have burned down this year, under suspicious circumstances. As a Magistrate, Stuckey would not be liked by the smugglers who were popular heroes of the time]

 

30 June, Wayne County, Kentucky: Rowland Branscomb marries Nancy Barrow.[92]

 

22 July, Sharnbrook, Bedfordshire: William aged 1 year, son of John & Mary Bransom, baptised.[93] [cf: 1806 Charlotte, his sister, baptised Bransfield or Branscome] The 1851 census for Sharnbrook lists a William Bransome, aged 42, born in Sharnbrook, and his wife Rhoda, 35, born in Harrold, Bedfordshire. Their two sons, Samuel aged 12 and George aged 10, were born in Sharnbrook. There is also a Mary Bransome aged 75, born in Harrold, living elsewhere in the village.[94]

 

A year of poor harvests in (cf: 1812/1813). Wheat reaches almost famine prices, at 100s a quarter.

 

Heavy rain causes extensive flooding on newly-reclaimed land adjoining the brook at Dawlish. Some new houses were washed away, as well as the Poorhouse, and the wooden bridges.[95]

 

In a single week, the imports to Sydney from sealing stations of Otago realised a sum, at London valuation, of more than £100,000.[96]

 

15 September, Morchard Bishop: Christian Branscombe [Morrish - wife of Joseph - m. 1785] is buried, aged 45.[97]

 

25 October, Highweek: Mary Branscombe marries Charles Crews. (IGI) [cf: Robert Crews Northsworthy Branscombe (b. 1870 Plymouth), whose mother Sarah Northsworthy was b. about 1838 in Kingsbridge. Also cf: 1840, John Branscombe Crews witnesses a marriage in Newton Bushell]

 

1 November, Exeter, St Stephen: Har Branscomb marries Jn E Pye. [98][poss Harriet, bp 1773, 19 June, Bow Presbyterian (now Mint) Meeting House, Exeter, daughter of Samuel & Elizabeth Branscomb? Or Harriet, bp 1793, 27 October, Topsham, daughter of William Branscombe & Jane (Pain - m. 1781 Topsham?). But this Harriet probably m. 1819 Topsham, Thomas Garlick. She and her husband are witnesses at her brother Robert Bradford's wedding to Amelia Clare, 1821. Pye is an Exeter watchmaker]

 

6 December, Falmouth, Cornwall: Henry Lake Branscombe buried, aged 1.[99] [Poss Harry Luke bp. 16 August, Exeter, first child of William Tucker Branscombe & Elizabeth (Lake - m. 1809 Exeter). Siblings: Helen (1811), William George (1813), George William (1815)]

 

James, Lord de Saumerez, promoted from Rear Admiral of the Red to Vice Admiral. [to 1814]

 

LONDON POST OFFICE DIRECTORY [1808??]

Sir J Branscomb & Co Lottery Office Keepers
                                       & Stock-brokers

                                                11 Holborn, 37 Cornhill & 38 Haymarket

[Entries for Sir James' business are missing from the next two editions of the Directory, re-appearing in 1813]                 

 

Anthony Gibbs & Son, merchants         13 Sherborne Lane,
                                                                                   
Lombard Street

[cf: 1808 for agreement between Anthony Gibbs, his son George Henry, both of
London, and William Branscombe of Exeter]

 

Year of baptism of Lucy Halsey, tenth and last child of fourth great-grandparents Edward & Sarah (Pratt - m. 1790 Redbourn). [siblings: Thomas (bp. 1790), Ann (bp. 1792), Edward (bp. 1793), James (bp. 1798), Charlotte (bp. 1801), William (bp. 1802), Phoebe (bp. 1806), Elizabeth (bp. 1809), John (bp. 1809)]

 

Sussex: Approximate year of birth of Mary Branscomb, listed in the 1841 census for Hastings as daughter of Mary and brother of William. Her father may be Samuel Stace, a blacksmith, but he is not registered in the household in 1841. A Samuel Stace Branscombe, blacksmith, & Mary are the parents of Samuel (James) Henry Branscomb, mariner of Hastings (b. 1817 Hastings), who marries Mary Doubleday in Monkwearmouth, 1844, and Annie Elizabeth Vibarr, bigamously, in Ararat, Victoria, Australia, about 1866. By then a miner, he dies in Ballarat, Victoria, in 1870. William may be William Thomas, apprenticed as a mariner in 1845. [cf: 1811, 19 July, Mary Branscombe m. Samuel Branscombe, Stoke Damerel]

 

1810 U.S. CENSUS [100]

South Carolina

Jeremiah Branscom

Virginia

Edmund Branscomb                                                     Greensville County
Richard
              "                                                                                 "                       "
Thomas              "                                                                                 "                       "

 

St. Johns, Newfoundland: Richard Branscombe flourished during the years 1810-1849. He seems to have been a clerk to the firm of McCarthy, Hoyles and Brown of London and St. Johns He died in 1849 and in his will is described as a "blockmaker".[101]

 

@1811

2 January, Old Church, St.Pancras, London: John Branscombe marries Mary Hexter. (IGI) [Hexter is a Dawlish name]

 

14 January, Falmouth, Cornwall: Helen, second child of William Tucker Branscombe & Betsey (Elizabeth Lake - m. 1809 Exeter), is born. Baptised 13 February.[102] [Prior to 1877, Falmouth was in the diocese of Exeter. It was the leading Packet Station of England, and there are many strays. cf: 6 December 1810 for death of brother Henry. There are no other Branscombes born, baptised, married or buried in these registers, 1663-1812. Siblings: Henry Lake/Harry Luke (1809-1810), William George (1813), George William (1815)]

 

13 February, Falmouth, Cornwall: Helen, second child of William Tucker Branscomb & Betsy (Elizabeth Lake - m. 1809 Exeter), baptised. [Siblings: Henry Lake/Harry Luke (1809-1810), William George (1813), George William (1815). cf: 1809,1813,1815]

 

15 March, Morchard Bishop: Joseph Branscombe, widower [cf: 1785,1810], & Frances Horwell, both of Morchard Bishop, publish marriage banns.[103] [m.29 March 1812]

 

27 May: J. Parsons, Rector of Holwell, Bedfordshire, conducts a survey of the population in his parish:[104] [cf: 1821]

 

inhabited houses:                                                                    24
families:                                                                                 
30
houses building:
                                                                      0
houses uninhabited:
                                                                2
families chiefly employed in agriculture:
                                29
families chiefly employed in trade etc:
                                  1
males:
                                                                                      72
females:
                                                                                   75
persons:                                                                                  
147

 

NB: `one man in the Staffordshire local militia not included in the account’'

 

2 June, Exmouth: A sudden, violent tidal wave hits Exmouth in broad daylight and otherwise good weather.[105]

 

23 June, Whimple: Sarah, eighth and last child of John & Alice Branscombe, christened. (IGI) [John; poss bp. 1765 Whimple, fifth child of Thomas Branscombe & Ann (Shepherd - m. 1756 Whimple)? Poss m. 1791 Alice Mitchell, in Broad Clyst? Poss siblings: Mary Ann (1793), Alice (1795), Betty (1798), William (1801), Thomas (1803), Petronella/Peternella (1806), Henry (1808), all bp. Whimple]

 

19 July, Stoke Damerel: Mary Branscombe marries Samuel Branscombe. (IGI)

 

28 July, Sharnbrook, Bedfordshire: James, son of John & Mary Bransome, baptised.[106] [cf: 1806 sister Charlotte baptised Bransfield or Branscome] The 1851 census for Sharnbrook shows a James Bransome aged 39, born in Sharnbrook. His wife Mary, aged 36, was also born in Sharnbrook. Their children Betsey aged 12, Thomas aged 10, William aged 7 and Mary aged 2, were all born in Sharnbrook.

 

17 August, Maidenhead: Charles Hazell born, son of John Hazell and Elizabeth (Draper). [worked for John Branscombe at 88 Pall Mall as a tea-taster. Married Eliza Branscombe (b.1808 Bampton) in Hobart, 1843. Died Sorell, Tasmania, 1882] [107]

 

15 September, Christ Church Spitalfields, Stepney: George, son of gentleman Thomas & Sarah Branscomb of Dorset Street, baptised. Born on 11 July.[108] [The terms `gentleman' or `esquire' meant men of some status though not necessarily of independent means]

 

28 September, Branscombe: William Stedham dies, aged 18. Son of Thomas Stedham of Coliton Raleigh. `This poor lad came very early in the morning to Mr Ford's Lime Kiln for a load of lime. It being very cold it is supposed that he sat down at the kiln's mouth and that, being overcome with sleep, he fell forward in upon the burning Lime, where he was found by Robert Perryman, one of the Kiln Men, burnt to death.' Buried St.Winifred's, 30 September.[109]

 

24 December: H.M.S. St.George wrecked on the coast of Jutland. [launched 1785]

 

29 December, Ottery St.Mary: Lydia, daughter of Charles & Sarah Branscombe, christened. (IGI) [Charles poss. bp. 1773 Ottery St.Mary, son of Peter Branscomb & Ann Davies? Charles of Ottery St.Mary m. 1799, Venn Ottery, Sarah Hellier. cf: John Hellier m. 1749. Poss other children of Charles & Sarah: Mary (1799), Ann (1802), William (1804) - all bp. Venn Ottery, Sarah (1805), Lydia (1808?) - both bp. Ottery St.Mary. Is this a duplicate baptism for Lydia?]

 

Marine artist Samuel Walters born on a sea passage from Bideford to London.[110] [cf: 1835]

 

Bampton: Approximate year of birth of Elizabeth ?, wife of Joseph Pepler, wine merchant of 2-3 Suffolk Street, Pall Mall East. [cf: 1861 census]

 

London's population exceeds 1 million.

 

The new industrial centres of Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds are growing rapidly. Britain's total population, at 12.5 million, has doubled since 1710.

 

Governor Macquarie lays down his street plan for Hobart. (including Macquarie Street?)

 

@1812

5 January, St.George The Martyr, Southwark: Clara Elizabeth, daughter of John & Mary Branscomb, baptised.[111] [poss John & Mary Ann (Lambeth - m. 1803 London)? Poss children baptised in Southwark: Eleanor Ann (1804), William Samuel (1805), Emily Sophia (1807), John Stephen (1809), Clara Elizabeth & Eliza Sarah (1812), Louisa Maria (bp. 1814), Maria Mary (b. 1814, bp. 1829 Blackfriars)]

 

A year of poor harvests in Britain (cf: 1810/1813). Wheat prices soar.

 

`The working people reacted [to their inability to peacefully and lawfully change their circumstances through political means] in many ways, and one of these was violence ... In 1812 someone shot dead an unpopular Yorkshire manufacturer called William Horsfall ... These were more or less spontaneous uprisings, made with little planning or forethought, but there was also an organised campaign of destruction, carried on by people calling themselves Luddites. These took their name from Ned Ludd who, according to one story, was an apprentice who smashed his employer's equipment as revenge for a beating. More likely, no such person ever existed, Ned Ludd being a name the workers made up and used when signing their threatening letters. The Luddite movement began in the counties where stockings were manufactured - Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire and Derbyshire. There was no power-driven machinery in this trade, instead the weavers worked at home on small stocking frames. In the early nineteenth century their trade was already depressed because fancy hose had gone out of fashion, and so many people had taken up stocking weaving that the employers could pay low wages. They now made things much worse by bringing in a new type of wide frame, which produced a cheap, inferior stocking that brought prices down even further and wages along with them The weavers banded together and went around at night, invading cottages where there were wide frames, and smashing them. By and large the weavers were successful and the masters had to meet their demands. This is a verse from a song called General Ludd's Triumph:

 

The guilty may fear, but no vengeance he aims,
At the honest man's life or estate,
His wrath is entirely confined to wide frames
And to those that old prices abate.
These Engines of mischief were sentenced to die
By Unanimous vote of the Trade:
And Ludd who can all opposition defy
Was the grand Executioner made.
'[112]

 

By 1812, exports of bar-iron exceed the imports of foreign iron retained for home consumption, although Swedish iron continues to be bought for the use of the steel-makers.

 

7 February: Charles Dickens born, New Town or Mile End, on the outskirts of Portsmouth. (to 1870)

 

29 March, Morchard Bishop: Joseph Branscombe, serge-weaver, aged 50, marries Frances Horwell, his second wife [cf: 1785], by banns, which Frances signed with a mark. Witnesses are Robert Horwill, Mary Branscombe [possibly Joseph's daughter aged 20, fourth child of his first marriage to Christian Morrish?], and Peter Comyns Tucker [who witnesses nearly all marriages at this time].[113] [cf: 15 March 1811. Also cf: 1851 census]

 

20 April, Topsham: John William Pearce, son of labourer John Pearce of Topsham & Mary, baptised.[114]

 

14 October, St.George The Martyr, Southwark: Eliza Sarah, daughter of John & Mary Ann Branscomb, baptised.[115] [poss John & Mary Ann (Lambeth - m. 1803 London)? Poss siblings: Eleanor Ann (1804), William Samuel (1805), Emily Sophia (1807), John Stephen (1809), Clara Elizabeth & Eliza Sarah (1812), Louisa Maria (bp. 1814), Maria Mary (b. 1814, bp. 1829 Blackfriars)]

 

25 October, North Tawton: Mary Branscombe, base child of Elizabeth Branscombe, baptised.[116]

 

13 December, St.Mary, Whitechapel: George, son of Thomas & Sarah Branscomb, baptised. Born 20 November `roadside'. [117] [cf: 1811. Poss second family with parents of this name in east London at this time? Poss siblings: Edward Richard, James Francis & Mary, all bp. 1822 Shoreditch]

 

Anthony Gibbs esquire of London's account current with Messrs. Anthony Gibbs, son & [William] Branscombe.[118] [cf: 1808,1813]

 

Calstock, Cornwall: Approximate year of birth of Sarah -?, who marries John Branscombe, pilot & waterman of Bere Alston about 1831. [cf: 1851 1881 censuses Plymouth St.Andrew]

 

St. John the Baptist, St. John's, Newfoundland: Leanora Sophia, daughter of merchant William Brandscomb and Elizabeth, baptised.[119] [poss William m. 1799, Elizabeth Barnes? Poss siblings: Richard (1801), George Buckingham (bp. 1814), John Arthur (1816), Sydney (1818)?]

 

Hastings: Georgina, daughter of fisherman George Branscombe and Mary, is born.[120] [poss sibling: Mary (1809)]

 

Dumfrieshire, Scotland: Margaret Branscombe born. Married Henry Fisher in Taunton, 1840. Children: William (1842), Henrietta (1844), Albert (1848), Margaret (1854 Melbourne, Victoria) [121]

 

@1813

11 January, Holy Trinity, Exeter: Elizabeth Branscombe marries John Banberry. Both of this parish. [John signed Banbery.[122] Mark Dalby says this name is Bunberry.[123]]

 

6 June, Morchard Bishop: Sophia, first child of Joseph Branscombe, weaver of Lower Town, and his second wife Fanny (Frances Horwell - m. 1812 Morchard), baptised. (IGI)

 

16 August, St.Mary Steps, Exeter: Jane Mary Branscombe marries shipwright John Bishop. Both of this parish.[124] [poss bp. 1791 Topsham, daughter of William & Mary Branscombe?]

 

5 September, Topsham: William Francis Buttall Pearce, son of William, mariner of Topsham, & Margaret, baptised.[125]

 

7 October, St.George's, Exeter: William George, third child of William Tucker Branscombe & Elizabeth (Lake - m. 1809 Exeter), baptised. (IGI) [Siblings: Henry Lake/Harry Luke (1809-1810), Helen (1811), George William (1815). cf: 1809]

 

A year of poor harvests in Britain (cf: 1810/1812). Wheat prices soar.

 

The East India Company monopoly on trade with India ends. Its monopoly of the China trade continues. (to 1833)

 

Kingsbridge: Approximate year of birth of carpenter William Branscombe. Married Grace (Neyle?) of Chillington, nr. Kingsbridge, in about 1834 [22 January @ St.Andrew's, Plymouth?]. By the 1851 census, they had four children - (Elizabeth?) Eunice (b. about 1835), Frederick (b. about 1837), Frocham/Fracham (b. about 1839) & Dorcas/Dorchas (Garland? b. about 1841), all in Kingsbridge. In the 1841 census, Grace and the children are registered without William, in Dodsbrooke.

 

LONDON POST OFFICE DIRECTORY 1813

Branscomb's Lottery Offices     1 Holborn Bars & 42 Cheapside            

 

London: Approximate year John Branscome born, relation of Maria B Barnes. (IGI)

 

Dawlish? Approximate year of birth of Joanna Branscombe who dies, aged 5, in 1818.

 

@1814

25 February, (Southwark?): Maria Mary, daughter of John & Mary Branscomb, born. Baptised St.Ann's, Blackfriars, 1829.[126] [poss John & Mary Ann (Lambeth - m. 1803 London)? Poss children baptised in Southwark: Eleanor Ann (1804), William Samuel (1805), Emily Sophia (1807), John Stephen (1809), Clara Elizabeth & Eliza Sarah (1812), Louisa Maria (bp. 1814), Maria Mary (b. 1814, bp. 1829 Blackfriars). Maria marries Rusk 1841?]

 

17 March, Axmouth: Susanna Branscomb marries Jeffery Jefford. (IGI) [Susanna poss bp. 1787 Aylesbeare, daughter of William & Mary?]

 

Start of Non-Conformist records for Dawlish parish (to 1837).

 

July: H.M.S. Orion broken up. (Robert Branscombe served, 1793-99)

 

9 August, Topsham: Grace Branscombe marries labourer George Herring. Both of this parish.[127] [George signed Hearing. cf: 1805 Grace Trout marries Robert Branscombe, Topsham Also cf: 1816 double entry for this marriage in IGI?]

 

12 August, St. John the Baptist, St. John's, Newfoundland: George Buckingham, son of merchant William Brandscomb and Elizabeth, baptised.[128] [poss William m. 1799, Elizabeth Barnes? Poss siblings: Richard (1801), Leanora Sophia (bp. 1812), John Arthur (1816), Sydney (1818)?]

 

19 August, St.George the Martyr, Southwark: Louisa Maria, daughter of John & Mary Branscomb, baptised. (IGI) [poss John & Mary Ann (Lambeth - m. 1803 London)? Poss children baptised in Southwark: Eleanor Ann (1804), William Samuel (1805), Emily Sophia (1807), John Stephen (1809), Clara Elizabeth & Eliza Sarah (1812), Maria Mary (b. 1814, bp. 1829 Blackfriars). Maria marries Rusk 1841?]

 

11 September, Morchard Bishop: Mary Branscomb marries Henry Cheriton. Witnesses are Roger Cheriton, John Challice and Peter Comyns Tucker [who witnesses most marriages at this time].[129]

 

6 November, Venn Ottery: Henry Hayman Branscombe, son of Mary Ann Branscombe, christened. (IGI) [No husband listed. Henry d. 1816, buried Withycombe Raleigh. cf: 1796 Withycombe Raleigh, Mary Ann, daughter of William Branscombe & Sarah (Haymen - m. 1793 Withycombe), baptised. Sibling: John (1794). Mary Ann marries Beavis in 1827, is mother to William Branscombe, tinsmith of Mudgee? [130] 3rd great-grandmother of Robin Holmes of High Wycombe? Also cf: 1807 Elizabeth Branscombe m. West Teignmouth, Robert Hayman]

 

The Van Diemen's Land Gazette is first published.

 

Volcanic eruption of Tamboura. May have led to atmospheric conditions over England recorded in Turner paintings.

 

`Lysons notes that 7/12 of the property [of Branscombe villageEdge Barton] belongs to the Earl of  Ilchester by inheritance, and 5/12 to  B.J. Stuckey-Bertlett [Bartlett?][131], whose ancestor, John Stuckey, had purchased the moiety from the Hon. Percy Wyndham. As far as it is known, the house was occupied by tenant farmers from 1618 until 1933.'[132]

 

Gas becomes the primary lighting medium for .[133]

 

`Joanna Southcott was a native of Devonshire, and was born about the middle of the [eighteenth century]. In her youth, she lived as a domestic servant, chiefly in Exeter, and having joined the ts, became acquainted with a man named Sanderson, who laid claim to the spirit of prophesy, a pretension in which she herself ultimately indulged. In 1792, she declared herself to be the woman driven into the wilderness, the subject of the prophesy in the twelfth chapter of the Book of Revelation. She gave forth predictions in prose and doggerel rhyme, in which she related the denunciation of judgements on the surrounding nations, and promised a speedy approach of the Millennium. In the course of her "mission", as she called it, she employed a boy, who pretended to see visions, and attempted, instead of writing, to adjust them on the walls of her chapel, "the House of God." A schism took place among her followers, one of whom, named Carpenter, took possession of the place, and wrote against her: not denying her mission, but asserting that she had exceeded it. Altough very illiterate, she wrote numerous letters and pamphlets, which were published, and found many purchasers. One of her productions was called The Book of Wonders. She also issued to her followers sealed papers, which she termed her "seals", and which, she assured them, would protect them from the judgements of God, both in this and the other world, assuring them final salvation. Strange as it may seem, thousands of persons received these with implicit confidence, and among them were a few men and women of good education and respectable position in society. In course of time, Joanna is said to have imagined herself to have the usual symptoms of pregnancy, and announced that she was to give birth, at midnight of the 19th of October, 1814, to a second "Shiloh", or Prince of Peace, miraculously conceived, she being then more than sixty years of age. The infatuation of her followers was such that they received this announcement with devout reverence, prepared an expensive cradle, and spent considerable sums, in order that all might be suitable for so great and interesting occasion. The expected birth did not take place, but on 27 December, 1814, the woman died at her house in Manchester Street. On a post-mortem examination, it was found that the appearance of pregnancy which had deceived others and perhaps herself, was due to dropsy. Her followers, however, were not to be undeceived, and for some time continued to believe that she would rise again from her "trance", and appear, as the mother of the promised Shiloh.'[134] [at her death, according to a contemporary quoted in Walford, she had 50,000 followers]

 

While through all thy wondrous days,
Heaven and earth enraptured gazed;
While vain sages think they know
Secrets thou alone can show;
Time alone will tell what hour
Thou'lt appear to `greater' power

inscription on Joanna Southcott's
tombestone,

 

 

James, Lord de Saumerez, promoted from Vice-Admiral to Admiral. [to 1836]

 

George Stephenson's first locomotive runs at Killingworth Colliery.

 

`Oddly enough, [The Times] was involved in a `new technology' dispute in 1814 (as in the 1980s) when John Walter II introduced the steam printing press, and rolled up his sleeves to get the paper out himself when his men struck.'[135]

 

St.Thomas: Approximate year of birth of (Hanna?) Branscombe Davy, wife of Henry Davy in 1851 census and niece of Honour Branscombe (Leigh - m. William Branscombe 1799 Dartmouth).

 

Bristol: Approximate year of birth of Eliza(beth?) -?, future wife of Henry Branscombe of Barnstaple, haulier in Bath. They marry in Bristol in 1844 or 1845. She died in Newport, 1866. [cf: 1861 census]

 

LONDON POST OFFICE DIRECTORY 1814

Branscomb's Lottery Office
1 Holborn Bars, near Middle row

 

@1815

26 February, Topsham: Frances, daughter of Charles Pearce, mariner of Topsham, & Elizabeth, baptised.[136]

 

18 April, St.Leonard's, Shoreditch: Sarah Branscomb marries Samuel Williams. (IGI)

 

16 September, St.David's, Exeter: William Chenneour, born in Lanteglos, Cornwall, marries Mary Southcombe, born in Tavistock, by banns. Both are of the parish. They both sign their names, as does the witness, John Keen.[137] [parents of Mary Ann Chenneour (bp. 1822 Exeter), who marries Edward Branscombe in Coventry, 1847. Therefore they are our third great-grandparents. cf: 1841 census for Bartholomew Street, Exeter]

 

24 September, St.Botolph-without-Aldgate, London: George William, fourth and last child of William Tucker Branscombe & Elizabeth (Lake - m. 1809 Exeter), baptised.[138] [cf: 1840 or poss 1843 marriage to Amelia J ? Children include Effie Julia (1846), (Louisa/Francis? c1854?), Clara (c1856?). 1851 census - George is a Lay Vicar at Exeter Cathedral & "professor of music" in Exeter. George’s siblings: Henry Lake/Harry Luke (1809-1810), Helen (1811), William George (1813)]

 

30 November, Brunswick County, Virginia: Benjamin Branscomb marries Tabitha Seward.[139]

 

24 December, Brailsford, Derbyshire: Anne, daughter of James & Anne Branscombe, baptised. (IGI)

 

Chillington, nr.Kingsbridge: Approximate year of birth of Grace (Neyle?), who married carpenter William Branscombe of Kingsbridge in about 1834. By the 1851 census, they had four children - (Elizabeth?) Eunice (b. about 1835), Frederick (b. about 1837), Frocham/Fracham (b. about 1839) & Dorcas/Dorchas (Garland? b. about 1841), all in Kingsbridge. In the 1841 census, Grace and the children are registered without William, in Dodsbrook.

 

`In about 1815 the death rate stopped falling and, in fact, it increased slightly. It did not start to fall again until after 1870. Obviously something had gone wrong, and we can get some idea as to what it was if we look not only at the increase of the population, but also at changes in its distribution. Between 1801 and 1841 the population of the whole country rose by about 60%, but the large towns grew by nearly 140%. Individual towns grew even faster than this, as we can see from Manchester and Bradford. In the sixty years before 1831, Manchester increased its size six times. Bradford grew by 50% every ten years between 1811 and 1851, and by that time only half the people living in the town had been born there. Before the Industrial Revolution, most people of England and Wales lived in the countryside; by 1851 half of them were town dwellers. From being a farming country we had become the first nation in the world to be mainly industrial. This was one of the most important developments in our history, but it brought its problems.'[140]

 

LONDON POST OFFICE DIRECTORY 1815

Branscomb's Lottery Office
1 Holborn Bars, near Middle row

 

Topsham: The brig Flora is launched, owners in 1839/40 are Cockings, when its home port is Torquay, and it is engaged on the Teignmouth-Swansea run, and the master is W. Pearce.[141]

 

The Battle of battlesWaterloo.

 

Davy, Sir Humphry Davy invents his safety lamp for miners.

 

The will of Warren of Bishopsteignton, is proved.[142] [poss. m. 1782 Elizabeth Branscombe, sister of Robert?]

 

`During the Napoleonic Wars, Britain had enjoyed considerable prosperity, but in the years that followed - from 1815 almost to the accession of Queen Victoria - there was a long period of deflation. Lord Ernle saw this as `one of the blackest periods of English farming', although historians now consider that the distress was precipitated by plummeting wheat prices, and was largely confined to arable farming in the South and East.'[143]

 

The Statute of Artificers (or Apprentices), in force since 1563, is repealed. Although it had long ceased to be put completely into practice, it had largely controlled the development of the British industrial economy for 250 years.[144]

 

`The city ... was still essentially the Exeter of the Tudors, enclosed within the old city walls. The Chenneours would have witnessed the bustle and jostling of the street traders which caused considerable congestion in the High Street, a daily re-enactment of the scene going back to medieval times. Within the walls there remained much of the old city, its narrow alleys and packed slums interspersed with the open spaces formed by gardens and the courts that had once belonged to the wealthier merchants and industrialists. Exeter was no longer one of the wealthiest and largest cities of the kingdom as it had been in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries when the wool trade was supreme. Water was still obtained from private wells, an ancient conduit, cisterns and a few public pumps. Through the narrow cobbled streets, open gutters provided the only means for the disposal of sewage and household slops.'[145]

 

St. John's, Newfoundland: William Branscombe serves on the Grand Jury during this period.[146]

 

@1816

3 March, Withycombe Raleigh: Henry Hayman Branscombe, aged 16 months, buried.[147] [cf: 1814 Henry Hayman bp., Venn Ottery, son of Mary Ann Branscombe, daughter of William Branscombe & Sarah (Haymen - m. 1793 Withycombe). Mary Ann marries Beavis in 1827, is mother to William Branscombe, tinsmith of Mudgee? [148] 3rd great-grandmother of Robin Holmes of High Wycombe?]

 

1 May 1816: W. Branscombe, Junr, Plymouth, Tanner, May 4, 18 and Jun 11 at Guildhall. [149]

 

2 May, Plymouth: W. Branscombe junior bankrupt.[150] [cf: 13 March 1828 - W. Branscombe senior. 1807 William Branscombe marries Elizabeth Steer in Stoke Damerel. 1848 Agnes Branscombe, widow of William Branscombe junior of Kingsbridge, dies]

 

3 June, St.Sidwell's, Exeter: John Branscombe, carpenter,  marries Elizabeth Seward.[151] [Both sojourners in St.Sidwell? Poss. son of William & Sarah, b.Withycombe Raleigh 1794? cf: 1854 Sept Q Exeter, Elijah Seward Branscombe's death registered. Also cf: 1818 Heavitree, John Branscombe, joiner & sub-postmaster]

 

2 July, Ashburton: Richard Branscombe, tanner of Newton Bushel, marries Mary Edwards (of Ashburton?), by licence.[152] [possibly bp. 1793 Highweek, third child of John & Mary (Mountstephen - m. 1787 Wolborough)? If so, he is brother of John the draper & Elizabeth (Beard). cf: 1817 for the birth of their first child, Richard, who becomes a carpenter, and then a licenced victualler in Hertfordshire and London. When Richard junior married Eliza Lovelace in Paddington, 1840, Richard senior was said to be a baker. Poss second son Frank? b. 1824/5 Newton Bushel? An apprentice wood-turner in Shoreditch in the 1841 census. Poss m. 1856 Chelsea, Ann Bartlett. If so, his father Richard is described as a clerk, while Frank himself is an engraver. By 1881, he is a wood-turner in Berkhampstead. He poss d. 1907 Christchurch district?]

 

14 July, St. John the Baptist, St. John's, Newfoundland: John Arthur, son of merchant William Brandscomb and Elizabeth, baptised.[153] [poss William m. 1799, Elizabeth Barnes? Poss siblings: Richard (1801), Leanora Sophia (bp. 1812), George Buckingham (1814), Sydney (1818)?]

 

8 August, Topsham: Grace Branscombe marries herring, George Herring. (IGI) [cf: 1814 - double entry in IGI for this marriage?]

 

15 September, Morchard Bishop: Henry, son of Joseph; Branscomb & Frances (Fanny Horwell - m. 1812 Morchard), christened. (IGI) [d. 1818. Second child of weaver Joseph, of Lower Town & his second wife. Henry's sister Sophia bp. 1813. Marjorie Thomas' transcript of parish register [154] says Joseph's wife is Anne]

 

13 November, Greensville County, Virginia: Polly Branscomb marries Thomas Hill.[155]

 

The Hobart Town Gazette is first published.

 

The first immigrant ship to Hobart, the Adamant, arrives.

 

`In Kelmscott House, Hammersmith, lived William Morris, whose influence on the artistic development of printing and in many other directions is well known. On a small outer building adjacent is a tablet stating that in this house Sir Francis Ronalds, F.R.S., made the first electric telegraph, eight miles long, in 1816.'[156]

 

`The Year Without a Summer', in Britain. Grain prices at record levels. `There were ... big variations in the price of bread, the staple food of working class families.'[157]

 

Mary Shelley writes Frankenstein.

 

Exmouth: Approximate year of birth of Joseph Perriam, future husband of Susanna Mary Branscombe, b. 1821 Topsham to Robert & Amelia (Clare). [cf: 1851 census]

 

Henrie County, Virginia: Joseph Edmond Branscome born, son of Benjamin & (Southwood). According to a letter written by Joseph’s son, Benjamin Franklin Branscombe, in 1903, Benjamin senior arrived in America from Scotland with his two brothers, one of unknown name and the other, Edmond, shortly after the conclusion of the Revolutionary War (1775-1783). Joseph Edmond moved to Ohio and married Dianah Pierce, a second cousin of Franklin Pierce, 14th president of the US (1853-1857). They moved to Knox County, Illinois, settling on the Spoon River in 1838. Joseph went to California in 1853 and returned in 1855, when the family moved to Iowa. They moved again, in the following year, to Maysville, Missouri, where he became Sheriff. In July 1865, he was shot and killed by a Mr Stoffel.[158]

 

@1817

January: Five acres of Dawlish Warren washed away.

 

`The passage from the Dawlish side to Exmouth was a ferry for a very long time. It is mentioned in our earliest Dawlish records simply as "passage". There was a passage house on the Exmouth side, with a bell to recall the ferryman, but no house or bell seems to have been provided on the Dawlish side.'[159]

 

23 February, Ashburton: Richard Brandcombe, son of Richard & Mary (Edwards), baptised. (IGI) [m. 1840 Eliza Lovelace, St.James Paddington. His father, Richard was then a baker, while Richard junior was a carpenter, living in Dudley Grove. By the time of his death in 1872, Richard junior was a licenced victualler]

 

27 March, Withycombe Raleigh: Mary Anne Branscombe marries John Basten. Both of this parish.[160] [Marjorie Thomas transcribes this as John Barker.[161] Robin Holmes transcribes it as Baslen.[162] This could be John Bastin, father of John Branscombe Basten/Bastin, born in Littleham circa 1818. The 1851 census for Withycombe Raleigh includes an aunt, Elizabeth Branscombe, aged 53, born in Payhembury, in his household]

 

8 April, St.Clement's, Townstal, Dartmouth: Bachelor Edward Branscombe, painter [& glazier] of Dawlish, marries Ann Starling of Townstal [direct ancestors]. Witnesses are Mary Fox and Henry Tuckerman.[163] Ann Starling's great-aunt Mary Merrygame married a Thomas Fox. Ann & Edward's fourth child, born in 1823, is called Thomas Fox Branscombe.

 

10 May, St.David's, Exeter: William Branscombe [d. 1859] marries Eliza Dacie. [164] [cf: 5 October - double entry? William d. 1859 Paddington]

 

8 June, Topsham: Samuel George Pearce, son of labourer John of Topsham, & Mary, is baptised.[165]

 

13 July, Tonbridge Independent Chapel: Martha, daughter of shoemaker Edward & Mary Crouch, is baptised. Born Penshurst, Kent. Becomes third wife of William Branscombe, shoe-maker of Torquay, in 1865, and dies at Eton in 1901. [sibling: Mary (about 1814), married Bird - a widow living with Martha in 1881 census]

 

18 July, Newport Pagnell, Buckinghamshire: John, son of Thomas & Alice Branscomb, baptised. (IGI) [cf: 1886 Emily Mary J Branscomb born, Newport Pagnell]

 

21 July, St.Mary's, Newington, Surrey: Thomas Branscombe marries Mary Elizabeth Roxby. (IGI) [Possibly Thomas Branscomb, labourer/warehouseman, & Mary Elizabeth? If so, their son Henry (bp. 1825) marries Jane (Waterlow - m. 1849 Stepney). They run a hatters in Cambridge Road, Mile End. cf: 1824 Thomas Branscombe, china glass & earthenware dealer, 34 High Street, Mile End]

 

1 August, Withycombe Raleigh: Henry, son of John Branscombe, joiner, & Elizabeth (Seward - m. 1816 Exeter?), born.[166]  [bap. 9 Aug., m. 1836 Exeter, Mary Ann Horn. cf: 1851 census. Died 1876, Victoria, Australia]

 

9 August, Withycombe Raleigh: Henry, son of John Branscombe, joiner, & Elizabeth, baptised.[167] [b. 1 Aug. cf: 1818 John Branscombe, joiner & sub-postmaster of Heavitree]

_______________________________________________________________________
Exeter Flying Post

Thursday 21 August 1817

 

Whereas I, William Branscombe, of Exmouth, Boat-master, was on Monday 11th. instant, hired by Charles Gifford Esq. to take him in my boat to Teignmouth, where I grossly insulted him, from which he commenced a prosecution against me, but has condescended to withdraw it, on my paying one pound seven shillings to the Humane Society, in Exeter, and publicly acknowledging my fault: I hereby express my contrition for my offence, and my humble thanks for his foregiveness.

 

The Mark of William Branscombe
Witness Henry Southcott

 

[Charles Gifford, brother of Lord Gifford, resided permanently at Exmouth in what was known as "Brimstone House", Prospect Place, demolished before 1885. The Giffords owned considerable property in the area. cf: 1726 Sandford: Mary S. Brownscombe (d. 1778) & Robert Southcott, marry. Also cf: 1841 & 1851 censuses]

______________________________________________________________________

 

5 October, St.David's, Exeter: William Branscombe, Gentleman of Holy Trinity, Exeter [accomptant/common carrier/gentleman of St.Sidwell's], marries Eliza Dacie of St.David's, by licence.[168] [cf: 10 May - double entry? Children: Louisa (1819), William Dacie (1821), Selina (1823), John Austwick (1825), Frederick (1827), Rev. George Henry Dacie (1831), Eliza Austwick (1834)]

 

5 November, Morchard Bishop: Elizabeth Branscombe of Morchard Bishop marries William Holmes, husbandman and resident, by banns. Witnesses are Jas Branscombe, Roger Cheriton, William Oxnam. [a regular witness][169] [ancestor of Robin Holmes?]

 

Hobart is said to be `no more than a collection of huts'. Church services are held in the King's store. Convict women lack shelter at night, and `depravity' is widespread. Wives are bought and sold. Government officers keep concubines.

 

Captain William Bligh buried at St. Mary, Lambeth.

 

John Nash builds the villa of Stonelands, Dawlish, which became the home of Sir John Rennie, eminent architect and engineer.[170] [cf: 1804]

 

Hastings: According to the Merchant Navy records in the P.R.O. Kew,[171] this is the year of birth of Samuel (James) Henry Branscomb, master mariner (1851 Newcastle), ship-owner & miner of Sunderland, Newcastle-upon-Tyne & Australia. Married Mary Doubleday in Monkwearmouth, 1844. Living in St.Lawrence Row, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, in the 1851 census. Their children probably include: Mary (1845-1845), Mary (1846), Henry Samuel (1848), Charles (1850) & Isabella (1853), all born in Newcastle or the Tyne area. Samuel went to Australia in about 1853 and probably never returned. He married for the second time, bigamously, in 1866 in Ararat, Victoria, Annie Elizabeth Vibarr. They had no children. He died 1870 in Ballarat. [Victoria Pioneers Index gives his mother as Mary (U?)]

 

Devonshire: Mary Branscome born. Married John Cameron of Inverness, in London. Children: John (b1856 Prahran, Victoria, Australia).[172] [poss m.1837 Dec , St Mary Newington as Mary Branscomb?]

 

@1818

19 April, St. John's, Newfoundland: Sydney, (son/daughter?) of merchant William Brandscomb and Elizabeth, born. Baptised St. John the Baptist, St. John's, 24 July 1819.[173] [poss d. 1885 Barbados? William m. 1799, Elizabeth Barnes? Poss siblings: Richard (1801), Leanora Sophia (bp. 1812), George Buckingham (1814), John Arthur (1816)?]

 

30 April, Dawlish: Joanna Branscombe, aged 5 years, dies.[174]

 

23 July, St.Gregory's, Dawlish: Anne Starling, daughter of Edward Branscombe, [painter &] glazier, & Anne (Starling - m. 1817, Dartmouth), baptised.[175] [IGI says 22 Feb this year]

 

10 September: Thomas Bowden of Topsham, shipwright, marries Frances Hannaford.[176]

 

1 October: Article of agreement of co-partnership between Anthony Gibbs, George Henry Gibbs & William Branscombe. Trade carried on in Cadiz in the commission line. Resident in Cadiz - William Branscombe. Witnessed by M.O. Osborne, Attorney, Bristol, and Thomas Goddard, merchant, Cadiz.[177] [cf: 1808. Agreement lasted seven years? Corporation of London Records Office has correspondence in relation to this partnership 1818-25][178]

 

11 December, Greensville County, Virginia: Lucy Branscomb marries Herbert Harris.[179] [cf: 1793 Greensville Co., Frances Branscomb m. William Harris]

 

14 December, Morchard Bishop: Burial of Henry Branscombe of Lower Town, aged 2.[180] [b. 1816 son of Joseph, weaver of Lower Town & Anne (or Fanny?)]

 

Correspondence between William Branscombe [m.Honour Leigh Dartmouth 1799?] at 4 Longbrook Street, Exeter, and Henry Gibbs concerning the administration of the late Captain Philip Leigh's estate.[181] The beneficiaries listed are:

 

            Sarah Burrell                £35.00

            Honor Branscombe      £34.19

            W. Branscombe                       £ 3.10

            Mary Berry                  £ 3.10

            Wm. Burrell                  £ 1.15

            Sarah Richardson         £ 1.15

            Elizabeth Chorley          £ 1.15

 

Ring and Dump coins first introduced into Van Diemen's Land.

 

British forces defeat Marathas, and effectively become rulers of India.

 

John Sims Reeves, famous English tenor vocalist and later teacher of Edward George Branscombe [George Edward Salmon], is born. [d. 1900][182]

 

`In 1818 some Stockport strikers seized a number of girls who were going to work, and held them under the pump ... there was an attack on a Stockport mill and troops had to come in to defend it.'[183]

 

Nathaniel & Henry Branscombe, sons of Arthur and Rachel of Grand Lake, move from New Brunswick, where they were born, to Hallowell, western Canada. Nathaniel married Sarah Miller, while Henry married Lydia Miller, who may have been her sister. Their brother Arthur [d. 1875], who stayed behind in New Brunswick, also married a Miller - Martha.[184]

 

Littleham: Approximate year of birth of John Branscombe Bastin, possibly the son of Mary Anne Branscombe and John Bastin/Basten, m. 1817 in Withycombe Raleigh. In the 1851 census, John junior's aunt, Elizabeth Branscombe, is shown living in his household. [cf: also 1841 census for Littleham]

 

Approximate year of birth of Emma Branscomb, bap.3 Jan 1831, St.Sepulchre, London [also known as Holy Sepulchre without Newgate], daughter of John (deceased in 1831) & Mary of 8 West Street, Smithfield (1831). Said to be thirteen years of age at baptism.[185] [cf: 1828 Finsbury, Hellen bapt., d. of John & Mary, 1846 Greenwich marriage of Emma Branscomb. Poss John & Mary Hexter, m. 1811 Old Church, St.Pancras?]

 

Approximate year of birth, in Middlesex, of John Branscombe, son of mercantile clerk John, who becomes a wood turner and marries Emma Scales, in 1840. [cf: 1841 census - Shoreditch. Could John senior be the John mentioned above, husband of Mary, father of Emma & possibly Hellen & John? Children of John & Emma Scales: Thomas (1845), Mary (1848), John (1852), William (1853), Edwin (1856), Emma (1861), William Mortlock (1863), Ernest (1865), Alice M. (1869)]

 

Joseph Grimaldi (1778-1837), clown, lived in Exmouth Market, London, from 1818 to 1828.

 

John Branscombe, joiner and sub-postmaster, lives at Fore Street, Heavitree. [directory listing.[186] cf: 1817 John Branscombe of Withycombe, joiner, & Elizabeth (Seward - m. 1816 Exeter?). Also cf: 1824 Mrs Branscombe registered in Heavitree]

 

1818 TENNESSEE CENSUS [187]

Joseph Branscomb

 

@1819

February-September: Series of letters sent to William Branscombe in Cadiz from Gibb & Sons Ltd., merchant & foreign bankers of London, and from his wife.[188] [William d. 1819 November, of yellow fever]

 

7 February, St.George The Martyr, Southwark: William Edward Butler Branscombe, son of Richard & Mary Ann Branscombe, baptised.[189] [Richard senior poss third child of John Branscombe & Ann (? - m?), bp. 1772 Plymouth. Poss siblings: Ann (1764), Elizabeth (1767)? Poss m. 1798 East Stonehouse, Mary Ann Jury? Richard & Mary Ann may have moved to Southwark and baptised: Richard Thomas (1803), Amelia Elizabeth (1805), John Ould James (1807), William Edward Butler (1819?). Emma (Bigwood), married William Branscombe, poss 1860 in Bristol? They had two sons. William Harcourt was born in Bristol in 1873. He went to Cambridge and rowed for his college. Working as a mining engineer, he was visiting what is now Ghana when he was attacked by natives and killed, in 1901. John Ernest Mackay was born in Barton district in 1879. He was a sculptor with studios in London. He died in Maidstone in 1956. Emma died in Herne Bay, in 1927. Her executor was Mary Elizabeth Branscombe, a spinster. cf: 1807 brother John Ould baptised?]

 

8 February, Dawlish: George Beard marries Mary Hoare. (IGI) [possibly George Beard, builder, father of Mary, who marries William Waymouth Branscombe 29 Nov 1854?]

 

19 April, Littleham: John Bishop of Littleham marries Alice Branscombe of Littleham. Witnesses Mary Ann Bastin and John Blackmore.[190] [cf: 1817 Mary Anne Branscombe m. John Bastin, Withycombe Raleigh. Also cf: 1813 - John Bishop m. Jane Mary Branscombe]

 

24 July, St. John the Baptist, St. John's, Newfoundland: Sydney, (son/daughter?) of merchant William Brandscomb and Elizabeth, baptised. Born St. John's, 19 April, 1818.[191] [poss d. 1885 Barbados? Poss William m. 1799, Elizabeth Barnes? Poss siblings: Richard (1801), Leanora Sophia (bp. 1812), George Buckingham (1814), John Arthur (1816)?]

 

5 August, Withycombe Raleigh: Charles Branscombe son of John, carpenter, & Elizabeth, born [bap. 22 Aug].[192]

 

8 August, St.David's, Exeter: Louisa Branscombe, first child of William & Eliza (Dacie - m. 1817, Exeter), baptised. (IGI) [William, gentleman of St.David's Hill.[193] siblings: William Dacie (1821), Selina (1823), John Austwick (1825), Frederick (1827), Rev. George Henry Dacie (1831), Eliza Austwick (1834)]

 

Approximate year of Louisa Branscombe's birth. (Somerset?) She arrives in Adelaide, in 1849, as a spinster emigrant.

 

15 August, Dawlish: Susanna, daughter of Edward Branscombe, baptised.[194] [Edward, painter & glazier, & Ann(e) (Starling - m. 1817, Dartmouth). cf: 1841 census Littleham]

 

`In 1819, [the Dawlish Poor House] was removed from the Strand to a site near the present school in Old Town Street ... there were five separate poorhouses here, and they remained in use as a home for poor old people until 1850.'[195]

 

22 August, Withycombe Raleigh: Charles Branscombe, son of John, carpenter, & Elizabeth, baptised.[196] [b.5 Aug. Becomes a mason - cf: 1851 census]

 

25 August, Bratton Fleming: The will of William Brownscombe is proved in the Court of the Archdeaconry of Barnstaple.[197]

 

29 September, Topsham: Harriett Branscombe marries cordwainer Thomas Garlick. Both of this parish.[198] [poss bp. 1793 Topsham, third child of mariner William Branscombe & Jane (Pain - m. 1781 Topsham)? cf: 1821 marriage of Robert Branscombe & Amelia Clare. Also cf: 1834]

 

November (Cadiz?): William Branscombe dies of yellow fever.[199]

 

3 November, Withycombe Raleigh?: George Branscombe, son of Mary Ann Branscombe, spinster, born. [bap. 1827][200]

 

19 December, St.Andrew's, Holborn: Mary Ann Cross Branscumb, daughter of cooper George and Mary Ann, of Grays Inn Lane, baptised. Born 28 November.[201] [cf: 1801]

 

Approximate start of the reign of `Governor Wally' (Henry Wallen), on Kangaroo Island. (to 1836)

 

John Branscombe of Morchard Bishop - testamentary cause.[202] [John, son of Abraham and Frances (Southcott), bp. 1764?]

 

Approximate year Ann(e) (Bowden/Waymouth/Webber/Smith?) marries William Branscombe, shoe-maker, possibly in Torquay.

 

`Shoemakers had a reputation for radical politics, hard drinking, a fondness for pets, especially songbirds, and ideas above their station. The radical tradition was of long standing. The patron saints of the trade are Crispin and Crispinian and legend says that they were both martyred at Soissons in 285 AD for preaching the then heretical new religion of Christianity [they were both shoemakers] ... The shoe-making trade encompassed many different tasks, of varying skill and status. Though some shoemakers bought and cut their own leather and did all the work in their own establishments, most were employed in a "putting out" system. Under this arrangement the leather was cut to size in a "factory" or "college" (proper mechanised "manufactories" did not appear until around 1860) ... The man who did this was the clicker and had the highest income and status. His skill in cutting hides could make or break a business. In fact, many became merchants in their own right. The strange name comes either from the sound their knives made as they cut the leather, or from the Old French claquer to shout. In olden days, clickers had to advertise their merchant's goods by shouting for trade. Leftovers from the hides would be cut into pieces by a "rough-stuff cutter" and the pieces used for filling heels. The strips of leather were passed out to shoemakers proper, who assembled the shoes. The upper leathers were sewn into shape on a last, which was a wooden or iron foot-shaped template. This relatively light work could be done by women, children or old men, the "hand-binders" or "boot-binders" of census returns. Fit young men sewed the uppers onto the soles, a hard task because of the tough leather. The heels would be sewn on, then the new shoes would be given eyeholes for laces, if necessary, and buffed, polished and generally "finished". Once completed, the footware went back to the "college". The merchant paid his fees and organised the transport and sale of the finished shoes. The merchants were involved at the beginning and end of the system, putting out the raw materials and selling the finished goods. The shoemakers were "labour only" sub-contractors, supplying their skil