(Today’s post is in response to an invitation
to a Genealogy Blog Party initiated by Elizabeth O’Neal on her blog, Little Bytes of Life. She suggested bloggers write about visiting an
ancestor accompanied by Time Lord Dr. Who in his time machine, TARDIS. The
visit would be to one individual who was notable in the family, at least to the
blogger. Links to all posts will be published on her blog at the end of April. I
found the idea of a visit intriguing and decided I wanted to meet a person of
some importance in my family in 18th century Devon, England. So I
interrupt my normal blog posts with this brief flash from the past as I visit Nicholas
Shepheard, born in 1716 in Cornwood Parish, Devon, England, who was my 5th
great-grandfather.)
I
wrote about Nicholas on 1 July 2014 when describing the Bells of St.
Michael’s.
As the Churchwarden at the time, he was instrumental in having the bells
manufactured and installed in the parish church in 1770. I think that was
likely a memorable event for the whole community, most especially for the
Shepheard family as Nicholas’ name was cast into the bells. That really impressed
me when I saw them first-hand in 2004. You can hear the bells being rung (with
a little wind noise unfortunately) on my Cornwood Online Parish Clerk webpage. I am
confident that each time the bells were rung before Nicholas died in 1786, he
must have smiled. I also described his home in Cornwood, East Rooke, in a blog post
of 25 February 2014.
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Part of one of the bells showing the name of Nicholas Shepheard
Churchwarden
Anyway,
here we go on our journey to Ye Olde Devon…
With
Dr. Who on the TARDIS, we touch down in the field next door to the East Rooke home
where Nicholas, his wife, Mary (nee Barrett) and his family live. The time is late
morning of an early summer Sunday in 1780. The sun is already high in the sky
and the weather is warm and inviting. The view from the house, overlooking the
Yealm River valley is spectacular!
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View
from East Rooke looking toward the Yealm River valley and the village of
Cornwood, Devon (on the left)
Nicholas
comes out to great us. He does not seem surprised that we have arrived for a
visit, at least not any more than I am to be there. He marvels at the unique
structure that is firmly settled in his front yard. The little box seems an
unlikely thing for two men to suddenly emerge from.
The
house is an imposing building, two floors with large windows facing south to
catch the natural light. Behind the
house are smaller buildings, constructed of stone that house some of the livestock
and where goods and implements are stored. All the buildings go back some
decades with many local workers having been employed to finish them, including
other members of the Shepheard family who were experienced tradesmen.
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Main
house at East Rooke farm as it looks today
Nicholas
is a dapper-looking man, already dressed in a wool suit with vest and leggings,
befitting the Squire that he is. He looked much like pictures I had seen before
in articles about late 18th century fashions. I can’t help but think
there is a resemblance to Shepheards of later years. His handshake is firm and
his look confident which give us the impression this is a man of strong
character and determination. His welcome is cordial and friendly indicating he
is kindly and a gentleman in every sense of the word.
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A
late 18th century gentlemen dressed in a wool suit meant for casual
wear
As
we stroll across the farmyard we happen to meet my 4th
great-grandmother, 10-year old Jane Treby Shepheard. She is just bringing a
basket of eggs to her mother, from the chicken coup in one of the out-buildings.
She smiles and curtsies to us, in the manner of well-brought up children of the
day. It is a bit strange knowing that, in just 11 years she will marry her
first cousin, John Shepheard.
Although
they have servants to help with the home and the fieldwork, Nicholas and Mary
have insisted their children be responsible and participate in the running of
the farmstead, including doing much of the work. They all later went on to
become hard-working and responsible members of the community. The couple had
eight children between 1761 and 1775. One daughter, Mary, had died as an infant
however the others appear to be thriving. We saw several of them going about
their chores while we walked and talked with Nicholas. All greeted us kindly
and with respect. My great-grandfather showed obvious pride in them.
While
alive, Nicholas never became a grandfather, so was denied that enormous
personal pleasure. He did not know that would be case when we visited him, of
course, which made me a bit sad. Four of his children would eventually marry,
the first not until seven years after his death, though. Only two would have
children of their own but they both have a long line of descendants, including
me. (I realized in typing this that I have not traced all of them down to
present day, so there is another project for me to tackle.)
I
have not found a will for Nicholas. He is certainly a man who one would expect
to have prepared such a document. Perhaps he died suddenly, before he had time
to compose one. Or maybe it is still buried in the archives waiting to be
discovered and indexed. In any event, all his property went automatically to
his wife and sons.
We
take a short tour of the farm to see how the crops were faring. Nicholas comments
the prices for corn (wheat and other grains) have climbed over the years since
he took over the farm in 1756, on the death of his father. The future looked
bright in that respect. The winter had been quite cold, as it was across
southern England but the spring and summer were warm, if a bit dry.
The
fields are divided by stone walls and hedges, the partitioning having taken
place likely centuries before, when the manor estates were created. The Rooke
lands had been owned by the Shepheard family since the early 1600s although
Nicholas could not say exactly when they had been acquired. Altogether the farm
totalled just 62 acres, in two segments called Middle Rooke and East Rooke.
Nicholas also owned another farm further south in the parish called Knotts or
Woodburn which was 45 acres in size. Alongside the East Rooke lands, to the
east lay a 20 acres group of parcels set aside as charity lands by Nicholas’
father and several other gentlemen of the parish in 1700, called Wakeham’s
Rooke. It was managed by Nicholas and his brother, Richard (who was also my 5th
great-grandfather and the father of John who I mentioned earlier – but that is
another story).
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Satellite
view of the lands around Rooke farm; the main house is located on the southwest
corner of the T-intersection on the lower-right side of the photo
Nicholas
is actively involved in the community, not just as Churchwarden, but as a tax
assessor and collector, and a trustee of the local charity that owns Wakeham’s
Rooke. He has other business interests in the area as well. He met and married his
wife, who is 20 years younger than he, in Ermington Parish where she lived. He
was then 44, quite successful but still single. He was surely ready then to
have a family to succeed him. I got the impression that, as a somewhat older
man, he smitten by this sweet young thing he met one of his business trips to
the area.
My
4th great-grandmother’s second name is Treby which may have been
given to her as a sign of the respect Nicholas had for an important family in
the area, possibly a business associate. Nicholas did not confirm this, but it
is interesting to speculate about it anyway. We do not get a chance to meet any
of his neighbours.
Let’s
not forget about Mary. She is also a strong and capable person something that
is in evidence when we meet her. She brought property in Ermington parish into
the family, lands one of their sons eventually was to own and operate. She
continued to manage the Cornwood parish lands after Nicholas’ death, with the
assistance of her sons and daughters, until her death, of influenza, in 1803 at
the age of 67. She did not leave a will, but there were specific instructions
from her as to the disposition of property and payments to be made to her
daughters indicating she cared a great deal for her children and their futures.
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East
Rooke far, on the left, looking from the steeple of St. Michael and All Angels
Church in Cornwood; buildings on Wakeham’s Rooke are on the right; the hills of
Dartmoor are in the distance
In
the distance we hear those church bells at St. Michael’s ring out. Nicholas
stops to listen and smiles. He says the family must get dressed and ready for
services and begs his leave of us. We walk back to the TARDIS and say goodbye.
It has been a memorable experience to meet him and see the farm up close. I
hope to do it again as there is so much more to see, not just on the homestead
but across the parish where my family lived for so many generations.
Wayne Shepheard is a volunteer with the Online Parish Clerk program in England, handling four
parishes in Devon, England. He has published a
number of articles about various aspects of genealogy and is the Editor of Relatively
Speaking, the quarterly journal of the Alberta Genealogical Society.
Wayne also provides genealogical consulting services through his business, Family History Facilitated.
