It is unclear when the property entered Wreford hands but the estate was mentioned in the Domesday Book as ‘Schipebroc’ (Sheepbrook), and apparently even earlier in a charter of 930 AD.

The estate passed from Matthew Wreford (1712-1752) to his eldest son Matthew (1741-1821) and (it seems) subsequently to his son John (1765-1845).

Matthew (junior) had to wait until he turned 24 before inheriting – he was only 11 when his father died. (Matthew senior died at the age 40, and eleven years before his own father Matthew Wreford ‘of Middlecott’ (1682-1763).

In 1822, Lower Shobrooke was put up for auction “to be SOLD for the Life of the Owner, Mr. JOHN WREFORD, now aged about 56 years…”

However, it is unclear whether the property sold as his wife, Betty (nee Hosegood), was described as ‘of Lower Shobrooke’ when she was buried in 1829.

In the 1841 census, three families were living at ‘Shobrook’, including the family of John Wreford (1817-1892). (He was the great grandson of Matthew Sr’s brother William Wreford (1717-1763). This John Wreford was recorded at ‘Higher Shobrooke’ in the 1851 census.

In the 1851 census, two families were recorded at ‘Lower Shobrooke’, named Mann and Warren. The heads were recorded as agricultural labourers so would not have owned the property.

My ancestry

Matthew Wreford (1712-1752) was my 7th great-grandfather.

Links related to Lower Shobrooke:

Location on modern map

Location on c1904 map

Location on c1886 map

Location on c1809 map

Shobrooke Farmstead on Heritage Gateway (Devon & Dartmoore HER)

Real estate catalogue

Lower Shobrooke, Wreford Name Study wikitree category – lists profiles of Wrefords connected with the property

The post Lower Shobrooke appeared first on Geneageek.

Before Harriotte STILING married George WREFORD, she was living in Tiverton with Thomas & Sarah LEAMAN.  As she was recorded in the 1841 census as a female servant (‘F.S.’), I presumed she was the LEAMAN’s live-in maid.  This may still be true but somehow suspected there was more to this relationship.

(I can’t remember exactly how this suspicion came about but I recently rediscovered a note on my ancestry ‘TO DO’ list to investigate the relationship.)

It turns out that Mrs LEAMAN was actually Harriotte’s sister, Sarah STILING who married the widower, Thomas LEAMAN, Esquire (!) in 1840.

My reasons for accepting this:

1. John Stiling, yeoman is recorded as father (same as Harriotte’s marriage certificate in 1845)
2. Edward & Charlotte STILING are witnesses at the marriage – her siblings’ names
3. A Sarah Stiling was born to John & Grace of West Barton in Tiverton, yeoman (West Barton was Stiling residence for 60 years)

Sadly, the marriage was very short – Thomas died only 3 years later.  I was unable to find the couple on the 1851 census but instead came across a mention in The Gentleman’s Magazine that Thomas died June 15, 1843 and had also been the mayor of Tiverton!

Strangely, I have not yet found any other information about this man, other than a note in the next volume of The Gentleman’s Magazine that his sister’s son would change his name as heir of Thomas’ apparent fortune:

I had learnt via the works of Jane Austen that women usually didn’t inherit from their husbands – but it still seemed a little harsh for this young bride.  Sarah managed to get back on her feet with a later marriage to Richard BRANSCOMBE in 1849 and was visiting her mother and brother on the night of the 1871 census (retired farmer’s wife). It’s always nice to find evidence that families stayed in each other’s lives.

Next Steps: 

• Find out more about Mayor Thomas Leaman and his premature death

The post Mayoral Connections appeared first on Geneageek.