My
3rd great-grandparents, John and Anne (Symons) Shepheard, lived for
a number of years in Lutton Village, just up the hill from John’s parents (see
March 4, 2014 post here). John Shepheard and Ann Symons were married in
Cornwood Parish on June 16, 1826. All of their six children were born in
Lutton. John was a carpenter by trade.
On
the 1841 England Census, John was recorded as living in Lutton with four of
their children. Ann, and another daughter, Jane, were away in St. Andrew
Parish, Plymouth at that time, tending to John Shepheard’s brother-in-law, John
Short, and his infant daughter, while their wife and mother, Thomasin was ill. She
died a few weeks later.
The
family is shown on the 1851 England Census still living in Lutton with their
youngest daughter, Julia, and a border, Thomas Carpenter, who eventually
married another daughter, Mary. Also living with the family was John’s mother,
Jane Treby Shepheard, now a widow. A granddaughter, Mary Ann Parsons, was also
with them.
Their
house in Lutton was similar to many in the village, constructed mainly of stone
and likely originally with a thatched roof. Like many homes in the area, it has
been extensively renovated in recent years. Pictures of the building before and
after major work was done in the 1990s are included below. It is a typical
duplex building with the main fireplace on each end. The tithe map from 1841 (see
previous post) shows the building as much smaller, however. Only one side may
have existed then. A rear view of the building, with its stone walls, can be
seen on Google Street
View.
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Previous
home of John and Anne Shepheard in Lutton Village, prior to renovations in the
1990s
(photo courtesy of current owners, 2008)
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Previous
home of John and Anne Shepheard in Lutton Village, after renovations in the
1990s
(photo taken by Brenda Gregory, 2008)
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John
and Anne moved to Underwood Village, in Plympton St. Mary Parish prior to 1856.
All of their children had left home by the time the 1861 census was taken. Only
a granddaughter, Mary Ann Parsons, was living with them, the same girl who
stayed with them in Lutton in 1851. Another daughter, Julia Bray, and her
family lived just a few houses away.
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Previous
home of John and Anne Shepheard on Merafield Road in Underwood Village
(photo
taken by Alick Lavers, 2006)
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The
village of Underwood and several nearby towns were undergoing major expansion
in the mid-1800s and John certainly would have moved there in order to ply his
trade as a carpenter. The tithe map of the town shows the buildings that were
present in 1842. The streets are now entirely filled in, most of them built
during the mid- to late-1800s. Today the area is part of greater Plymouth with
many residents employed in the city, only a few minutes away.
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1842
tithe map showing Underwood village and location of the home of John and Anne
Shepheard after 1856
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Underwood
Road – just east of the former home of John and Anne Shepheard (photo taken by Wayne
Shepheard, 2004)
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John
died on November 14, 1870 at Underwood. He was buried in Cornwood Parish on
November 27th. Anne continued to live in Underwood after John’s
death, in the same residence. On both the 1871 and 1881 England Censuses she is
shown living next door to her daughter, Julia Bray, and her family. Also living
with Anne in 1871 was another granddaughter, 16 year-old Ellen Parsons,
probably there to help care for her grandmother.
Anne
died on February 26, 1882, in Underwood. She, too, was buried in Cornwood Parish,
on March 5th, in the same grave as her husband.
Gravestone Inscription:
IN
MEMORY OF
JOHN SHEPHEARD
WHO DIED 14TH NOVEMBER 1870
AGED 78 YEARS
BLESSED ARE THE MEEK
ALSO
ANN SHEPHEARD
WIFE OF THE ABOVE
WHO DIED 26TH FEBRUARY 1892
AGED 81 YEARS
NOT DEAD BUT SLEEPING
Wayne
Shepheard is a volunteer with the Online Parish Clerk program, handling four
parishes in Devon, England. He
serves as the Editor of Chinook, the quarterly
journal of the Alberta Family Histories Society. Wayne also
provides genealogical consulting services through his business, Family History Facilitated.
