Devonshire Archives

Maunder Thursday

Some time ago, I wrote about my ancestor William Wreford’s second wife, Ann Maunder (see post: Good Tithings). I had long thought that Maunder was her maiden name but discovered she was likely born Ann Anstey, and married a man named George Maunder. Today I stumbled on more evidence to support this theory.

William and Ann had a daughter named Elizabeth Ann Wreford born in Tiverton, Devon. While ’rounding out’ her story, I found her in the 1851 census in London. Elizabeth was in the home of ‘Aeneas B. Reid’ and his wife ‘Anne Maunder Reid’, recorded as a sister-in-law. Obviously the name Maunder jumped out at me. Mrs Reid’s age also tied in with the details for Ann and George Maunder’s daughter Ann (her baptism record can be seen in the earlier post).

1851 census image showing Elizabeth Ann Wreford in the home of her half-sibling Ann Maunder

Luckily, I could access the image of the marriage Ann Maunder (jr) to Aeneas Barkley Reid a couple years earlier in 1849. It confirmed her father’s name was George Maunder and also held the signatures of two witnesses: William Wreford and Mary Wreford.

1849 marriage of Ann Maunder to Aeneas Barkley Reid with Wreford witnesses

(I believe these witnesses are likely to be Ann’s step sibling (son of William Wreford to his first wife) and his wife, who also lived in London at the time.)

After this discovery, everything has started tumbling into place. Another half sibling, Mary Anna, who I was previously unable to pin down, shows up in the census record with the Reids in 1861.

1861 census showing Mary Anna Wreford with her half-sibling Ann Maunder

She also appears to have been buried in the family plot of Elizabeth Ann, who had married Alexander Small in 1853.

1863 Tower Hamlets Cemetery burial record of Mary Anna Wreford, showing she was buried in the ‘Smalls’s Grave’

Mary Anna and Aeneas Barkley Reid also show up as witnesses to that marriage,

1853 marriage of Elizabeth Ann Wreford to Alexander Small (note witnesses)

and the Small’s son is recorded with Elizabeth Ann’s brother Willliam in the 1861 census.

1861 census showing Elizabeth Ann’s son Alexander with her half-brother William

What tops it off for me, is seeing that my direct ancestor William Wreford was also buried in the Small family plot (4029).

1866 Tower Hamlets Cemetery burial record of William Wreford, showing he was also buried in the ‘Smalls’ Grave’

All of this ‘coming together’ is very satisfying, and gives me an insight into how much the siblings lives were entwined with each other.

And of course, I’m now pretty confident William Wreford’s wife Ann Maunder was born Ann Anstey.

A tree to help make sense of all this (click to enlarge)

Alfred Wreford

Just outside the entrance to St Mary’s church in Morchard Bishop, Devon, is a solitary grave.

The grave stone is so worn, only the name ‘Alfred Wreford’ can be made out.

Fortunately, there was a list of burials inside the church which quickly gave me Alfred’s death date and the fact he was only 8 years old when he died.

Of course, I wanted to know more. I was unable to find any mention of Alfred’s death in the newspaper, which indicates he was likely to have died from some kind of illness rather than a tragic accident. To know for sure, I’d have to order his death certificate. But if I ordered every certificate that took my fancy, I wouldn’t have enough money to eat, so that will have to remain a mystery for now.

But I’ve still been able to find some details about Alfred’s life.

Alfred was baptised at Morchard Bishop on 25 May 1863, the son of agricultural labourer Matthew Wreford and his wife, Mary Drew. This was the second marriage for both his parents, and although Alfred would be the only child his parents would have together, he had 7 older half-siblings combined. At the time of his baptism, the family were residing on The Street in Morchard Bishop.

In the 1871 census, Alfred can be found with his parents and 14-year-old half sister, living at ‘Sidbury’ (or Sidborough) which is part of the village of Oldborough (just south of Morchard Bishop).

I was able to find photographs of the house but it looks a lot grander today than it would have done in the 1870s. (Historic England states it was formerly a small farmhouse and adjoining cottage.)

Alfred would die only a few months after the census was taken, and be buried next to the church building, where I would discover him 153 years later.

But since I have a theory that I am related to every Wreford buried in Morchard Bishop, I wanted to find out how this boy was related to me.

Turns out, Alfred was my fourth cousin, once removed, and two sets of his 3rd great grandparents were also my 7th great grandparents:

Set one – William Wreford (1717-1763) and Thomasin Manley (1719 – 1794)
Set two – Matthew Wreford (1712-1752) and Sarah James (1717 – 1763)

William and Matthew were brothers – the children of Matthew Wreford (1682 – 1763) and Elizabeth Manley (1684 – 1757) – and two of Matthew’s children grew up to marry two of William’s children.

Nice to have ‘met’ you, cousin Alfred.

Good Tithings

In the 1841 census, William Wreford was recorded at ‘Withley Goodman‘, near Tiverton, with his second wife Ann, and their four children. He was recorded simply as ‘Farmer’.

part of the 1841 census page showing the Wreford family at 'Withley Good Man' — William Wreford in the 1841 census

I’d already found the location of the farm, but now, using the 1841 tithe maps and apportionments on the Devon County Council website, I’ve been able to establish the exact land that William farmed!

Tithes were a kind of tax where one tenth of all agricultural produce was paid annually to support the local church and clergy. The Tithe Commutation Act was passed in 1836 to convert this to monetary payments. A tithe survey was carried out in each parish to value the land, discover what tithes were payable and calculate each landowner’s liability.

In the survey conducted in 1841, William was recorded as the occupier of Withleigh Goodman in the Priors district of the parish of Tiverton. At this time, the farm consisted of 21 plots, which came to a total of 54 acres, 3 roods, and 12 perches. This works out to 221, 879 square metres (about 22 hectares).

Plots occupied by William Wreford in 1841 (shown on a c1905 map)

William did not own the land he farmed. In 1841, the landowner of Withleigh Goodman was Richard Morrish ‘as Trustee for George Brook Maunder’.

These tithe records have triggered a new set of questions.

What was the Maunder link?
Who was George Brook Maunder? And why did he need a trustee?
Who was Robert Morrish?

What was the Maunder link?

Maunder was the previous surname of William’s wife, Ann. It was also the surname of two other inhabitants of the house, Ann Maunder (20, female servant) and George Maunder (15, apprentice).

I’d long thought of Maunder as being Ann’s maiden name but it’s possible that Maunder was a married name, and the young Maunders are actually Ann’s children. William and Ann’s marital status was not noted on their marriage record, but I know William was widowed so Ann could have been too. 1841 census ages are ‘iffy’, but other records show Ann was actually about 45 years old – old enough to be the mother of children aged 20 and 15.

Who was George Brook Maunder?

The only records for George Brook Maunder that I could find, suggest he was baptised in 1825 at Puddington (about 5 miles from Withleigh). He was the son of a George and Ann, who resided at Coombe.

Baptism of George Brook Maunder at Puddington on 2 Jan 1825

This couple also had a daughter named Ann, baptised in 1820.

Baptism of Ann Maunder at Puddington on 6 Nov 1820

This ties in with the ages of the George and Ann Maunder at Withleigh Goodman in 1841.

Why would George Brook Maunder need a trustee?

George Maunder, a yeoman of Coombe, died in 1826. It appears that he bequeathed the land to his eldest (and only living) son, George Brook Maunder. A trustee would have been appointed since his son was not of age. The will should be consulted to prove this theory.

Although not proven, it’s looking a lot like William’s wife, Ann, was the widow of George Maunder. This would mean that the Maunders recorded on the 1841 census were her children from this previous marriage, and her son George was the legal owner of the property that William Wreford was farming.

Next Steps:

obtain a copy of George Maunder’s 1826 will

Double Death Developments

In the post, Double Death, I said:

The death certificate records Grace’s cause of death as ‘Valvular disease of the Heart – Bronchitis’. Obviously, the son’s certificate will need to be viewed next if I’m to solve this mystery.

The son, Edward STYLING’s death certificate has now been viewed but has only heightened the mystery – he ALSO died of ‘Valvular disease of the Heart – Bronchitis’!

What can I see?

Same date, place and cause of death.
Edward’s death was recorded in the register (#85) before Grace (#86).
The same informant (Ann Maunder) and registrar.

I find this incredibly strange…

A mother and son, 24 years apart in age, living in the same house (Ashley Cottage), die of the same disease on the same day!

And no one seemed to find this odd!

It’s possible there was some kind of epidemic in the area at the time but in what circumstances might death like this happen?

I guess it could be a coincidence but it’s all a bit suspicious to me…

Ashley Cottage (2009) via Google Street View

Wonder No Maunder

Turns out the Ann Maunder who was present at Grace STILING’s death is not the family member I suspected and apparently no relation at all (Read related post HERE).

c1903 map showing the proximity of Broad Lane to Ashley Cottage, Tiverton

For some reason, bad transcription I guess, I was unable to find Ann on the 1871 census through name & town alone. Using the find my past address search function, I was able to finally locate Broad Lane on 1871 census and there she was – married to a James Maunder and nearly 50 years younger than the Ann Maunder I expected/hoped her to be.

Ann Maunder of Broad Lane on 1871 census

Ann’s maiden name was Bowden and she married James in 1851.

Ann Maunder/Bowden’s marriage record, 1851

At least I’ve cleared that up for myself. In other news, I’ve ordered Grace’s son, Edward STILING’s death certificate. Will Ann Maunder appear as witness there too?