Tom the Viking

Here, with a nod toward the Burtons who trace their lineage to Normandy and the Vikings, is me in my Teutonic raiment.

This morning I've reached the 21-day mark on my count-down to retirement. Twenty-one days! It's almost impossible to grasp the enormity of it. After twenty-five years of state government, and over forty some odd years of showing up somewhere every morning at 7:00 or 8:00 a.m., I'll have nowhere I must be every day. I'll actually be able to read the morning paper in the morning! What a concept.

Plans for the trip to the UK continue unabated though Delta playfully continues to tinker with our flight numbers and, at times, intermediate stops. I think the only area of the country they don't have us stopping is Alaska, which I'm sure they've at least considered.

Yesterday I emailed the rental agent for the mini we're going to be driving asking that he send me a .jpg of the car so I can post it here. I hoping for a red one so everyone can avoid me when I make traffic mistakes. They drive on the "wrong" side of the road, you know. In 1973 when I lived on the island of Malta in the Mediterranean for several months I found that everyone drove on the left side. I actually made the switch rather easily. We were riding motorbikes most of the time, but I even successfully drove a big Ford station wagon on malta's tiny roads without incident.

This week I made another incursion into heretofore avoided areas of technology and loaded up a gift IPod with several hundred jazz, classical, and folk tunes to listen to on the airplane should their in-house music prove wanting. On our recent trip to Florida, the airliner's canned music was awful. The IPod doesn't take up much room and I was taking the "noise-cancelling" headphones anyway.

Right now I'm listening to Celtic music, which reminds me of a book I recently finished. It's called Saxons, Vikings, and Celts: The Genetic Roots of Britain and Ireland.It's available through Amazon for as little as $8.50. The book is a great read if you're interested in learning about your British ancestors. The author, Bryan Sykes, uses DNA testing to determine just what impact various immigrants and invaders have had on British genetic makeup. When I had the National Geographic genetic test done, I learned that my ancestors spent the last big ice age holed up in Spain. Sykes says that later, a coastal contingent of these Spaniards sailed north to the British Isles and became what we consider to be the Celts. The most surprising thing I learned from Saxons, Vikings, and Celts was the relatively small impact the various late-comers -- the Vikings, the Angles, the Jutes, the Saxons, and the Normans -- have had on the genetic makeup of the islands. I won't spoil it for you. You'll have to read the book, something I heartily recommend.

The Burton Family Boys

Since I've been studying genealogy, I've become acutely aware of how tenuous a thing it is for a family name to survive from generation to generation. In earlier times everyone had large families, what with child mortality from sanitary conditions and epidemics being so high. Lots of kids helped insure that at least one boy would survive in each generation to carry on the family name.

My great great great grandfather, Joseph Burton, had five sons: James, John, Henry, William, and Thomas. Of these five, Henry and William had no children, and John had only a single girl child. Only James and the youngest son, Thomas, my great great grandfather, had boys.

James had three sons: Frederick in 1851, Thomas in 1858, and Henry in 1862.
Thomas had two sons: Joseph in 1850 and Albin in 1868

I looked up James' son Thomas and found that he was still living in Wiltshire in 1901, as was his brother, Henry. Frederick had moved to Andover, Hampshire, but was also still in England by the time of the 1901 census. I suspect none of these brothers immigrated to America.

Turning to Thomas, my gg-grandfather's sons, Joseph and Albin, we find that Albin, the younger son, was still living in England in 1901. Older brother, Joseph was the only Burton boy to immigrate to America, which he did in late 1879 or early 1880 after having a son, Thomas, in 1879. It was in America, in the state of Pennsylvania, that my Grandmother, Gwendolain Burton, was born around 1887. While not important for survival of the Burton name, it sure was an important event for me.

It will be interesting to research further to find out if Joseph's son, Thomas (or a later son, Alexander) produced sons to carry on the Burton name in America. In England, the descendants of James' sons, Thomas and Frederick (son Henry evidently had no children), whose names were Ashton, Edwin, Frederick, Henry, and Arthur, almost certainly produced a son between the five of them, and Thomas' son, Albin had two boys, Reginald and George, who could have produced a boy or two between them. If so, my Burton ancestors in Wiltshire and Hampshire probably number in the dozens, if not hundreds. Maybe I'll run into one or two on our upcoming trip.

More on Tisbury, Wiltshire, England

Here's a bit more history on the village of Tisbury, Wiltshire, that I gleaned from a Wiltshire government site:

"Tisbury is slightly unusual for a large Wiltshire parish, with early settlement, in that no main road crosses the parish, and no road in it was turnpiked. The only road through the village is that from Chilmark to Fovant, which is joined by a minor road from the west at Tisbury. Historically the modern civil parishes of West Tisbury and East Tisbury were one and much of the early history below relates to this whole area, which includes Wardour and Hatch. The later history, and histories of churches and schools, is concerned only with the modern parish of Tisbury, formerly East Tisbury, which contains the nucleated village and Wardour.

The first known settlement of the village site of Tisbury came in Saxon times. This was probably a defensive site, the name indicates this, and it is possible that it was part of King Alfred’s Burghal Hidage, providing one of the fortresses prepared for defence against the Danes. Tisbury was certainly occupied by the West Saxons who, by 759, named it Tissebiri – Tysse’s Burh. A monastery was here by 700 and may have been established by 674. An early, if not the first, abbot was Wintra who is mentioned in land documents. In 705 the Synod of the Nadder was held here, which was attended by a young monk named Winfrith, who is better known, particularly in continental Europe, as St. Boniface. The fact that Tisbury hosted this synod is a good indication as to the importance of the monastery here. The monastery was probably one large building, with a separate church and outbuildings. It was razed to the ground in the 19th century during the early Norse raids and the monks were slain.

When King Alfred founded Shaftesbury Abbey, c.880, the lands of Tisbury were given to the Abbey. It is at this time that the village is first mentioned although it is likely to have already existed for 150-200 years. It is most likely that the village had a stone church, probably on the site of the present one. In 984 King Ethelred confirmed the grant of the Tisbury estate to the Abbess of Shaftesbury. The grange, or administrative headquarters, of the estate was at Place Farm, where the medieval buildings of Shaftesbury’s farming operations can still be seen.

By the time of the Norman Conquest Tisbury was a reasonable sized village and the Domesday Book (1086) gives us some idea of this although the population is for the whole estate, not just the village. Using modern interpretation of Domesday figures it would seem that over 300 people lived on the estate and interestingly there were no serfs listed. The village itself is likely to have been in the lower part of the present High Street and around the church. There was a Saxon routeway between Ebbesbourne Wake and Warminster and this was on solid bedrock in Tisbury and so did not deviate when bad weather caused deep mud elsewhere. The upper part of the High Street follows this line and so you may still walk where Saxon traders travelled. By the late 11th century there were four mills, meadowland, pastureland and woodland on the estate, which had land for 40 plough teams.

Cloth production is evidenced by mention of a fulling mill in the early 14th century and weavers are mentioned from 1372 to 1762. By 1334 this was a wealthy and populous parish, which including Hatch, was given the fifth highest assessment for wealth in the county. It seems that Tisbury suffered badly in the Black Death of 1348-9, which cut the population drastically and caused much land to remain uncultivated. It was especially bad in Hatch, in West Tisbury. In 1349 about 75 deaths of customary tenants, and doubtless their families, were recorded by Shaftesbury Abbey. However the village and estate seems to have recovered well as by 1377 there were 433 poll tax payers, making this one of the most populous parishes in the county.

During the 15th century the village had expanded. The main village street was the upper part of the High Street while North Street (Hindon Lane today) had houses and homesteads along it by 1444. Quarrying was still taking place throughout the parish and weaving was a local industry. By c.1500 all the arable land had been enclosed enabling more efficient farming to be carried out. This was part of a modernization program by Shaftesbury Abbey, whose grange at Place Farm had two larder houses, stables, houses for oxen, hay sheds, charcoal sheds and a fishpond within its walls, and the present great barn and three fish ponds without.

In 1825 a short lived industrial venture began with the building of a cloth factory at the southern end of Fonthill Lake. There was a 6-storey block, a 5-storey factory with 3 water wheels, a drying house and a dyehouse. The buildings were erected by the eccentric Mr Farquhar, a retired gunpowder maker, and completed by 1827 with a house and 24 cottages. The idea was to weave a superfine woollen cloth and 200 people, mainly from Gloucestershire, were employed. Despite an abundant supply of water the venture failed, probably as this was a remote area, with poor communications and a factory could not compete with the steam powered ones of western Wiltshire that were sited near canals. The machinery was sold in 1830 and the buildings demolished between 1838 and 1886.

Tisbury was divided into three parishes in 1835 – East Tisbury (Tisbury village), West Tisbury and Wardour. By 1846 there were 40 stone quarries, although not all were in use. They were mainly used for local buildings as, in the first part of the 19th century, Tisbury stone was expensive in London as there was no local canal or railway for transport. After the opening of the railway line the situation changed and there was a stone yard at the railway station in the latter part of the 19th century. The Salisbury and Yeovil Railway opened this line in 1859 and Tisbury Station was built to the south of the village. At first this was a single line, it was doubled by 1870 but in 1967 it was reduced to a single line across the parish again. After the coming of the railway Tisbury began to take on the appearance of a small town."

Thanks to Stefan Slatter and picturesofengland.com for the nice sunset photo of Tisbury.

Tisbury, Wiltshire, England

My Burton ancestors came, at least in the 19th century, from the tiny village of Tisbury, Wiltshire. I found a short history of Tisbury, which unfortunately doesn't mention my estemed ancestors, at the local historical society site:

BRIEF HISTORY OF TISBURY

Tisbury is the most prominent of the Nadder Valley villages. It is situated on the steep northern slopes of the valley underlaid by the light grey Portland stone used for the two Salisbury Cathedrals and many other local buildings. Quarrying, therefore, would have been an important local industry from very early times.

Because of the marshy nature of the river, the original inhabitants of the area may well have lived east of the Nadder at the hilltop fortification known as Castle Ditches. It was the Saxons who first descended to the valley sometime between the 6th and 8th Centuries to create a series of settlements one of which became known as Tysse’s Burgh, ‘the stronghold of Tysse’s people’. An Anglo-Saxon monastery of some importance also developed here and continued until the creation of King Alfred’s new abbey at Shaftesbury in the mid-880s.

By the late l2th Century, the little community along the Nadder had become sufficiently prosperous to replace its earlier wooden Saxon church with the prominent parish church of St John the Baptist. The requirements of an increasing population led to many changes resulting in the fine cruciform building we now see today. This included the raising of the roof in the mid-l5th Century to allow the new clerestory to flood the church with light. The earlier 60 foot spire, too, was discarded in l762 after lightning strikes had brought it tumbling into the north aisle for the second time in twenty years!

East of the church lie the graves of John Lockwood and Alice Kipling, the parents of the author Rudyard Kipling. After a long and distinguished artistic career in India, the Kiplings retired to a residence along Hindon Lane which they renamed ‘The Gables’. Their famous son visited them here and, whilst working on his novel ‘Kim’, used one of the pupils from Tisbury Boys’ School as the model for the main character.

The construction of the London to Exeter Railway in l859 transformed the tiny village of Tisbury, allowing it to develop a much larger commercial and light industrial base. But this would not have been possible without the foresight of the speculator, Archibald Beckett. He constructed a new road, the current High Street, through the village replacing the narrow causeway which can still be seen winding between houses to the east. Beckett also built the red brick Victorian shops and houses which fringe the road and an inn, the Benett Arms and finally the brewery in Church Street which has been converted into apartments. Beckett’s initiative was complemented by other new roads straddling the developing community and constructed by the Arundell and Morrison families from Wardour Castle and Fonthill Park. Thus arose the framework for the Tisbury we see today.

The Burtons in English History

One of the most interesting aspects of genealogy for me is knowing the history of the various family names. Here's a little history of the Burton family name I found on the web:

"The surname Burton is a habitational name from a place name that is very common in central and northern England. The derivation in most cases is from Old English burh ‘fort’ (see Burke) + tun ‘enclosure’, ‘settlement’. There are at least twenty-nine parishes in England so called. Local surnames, by far the largest group, derived from a place name where the man held land or from the place from which he had come, or where he actually lived. These local surnames were originally preceded by a preposition such as "de", "atte", "by" or "in". The names may derive from a manor held, from working in a religious dwelling or from literally living by a wood or marsh or by a stream. Following the Crusades in Europe a need was felt for a family name. This was recognized by those of noble blood, who realized the prestige and practical advantage it would add to their status. Early records of the name mention Richard de Burton, 1273 Yorkshire and John de Burtone appears County Somerset, during the reign of Edward III (1327-1377). Willelmus de Burton of Yorkshire was listed in the Yorkshire Poll Tax of 1379. Giles Burton married Hannah Abberley, St. George's Chapel, Mayfair in 1754. A Shropshire family of this name came originally from Burton, near Much Wenlock. They have held lands near Shrewsbury since the time of Edward IV. Richard Burton (1821-90) the explorer and orientalist, was a member of a cadet branch. The bulk of European surnames in countries such as England and France were formed in the 13th and 14th centuries. The process started earlier and continued in some places into the 19th century, but the norm is that in the 11th century people did not have surnames, whereas by the 15th century they did. The associated arms are recorded in Sir Bernard Burkes General Armory. Ulster King of Arms in 1884."

And from another source:
"The name Burton is said to have been derived from the residents of its first bearers in places of that name in England. [Burke's Encyclopedia of Heraldry and General Armory of England, Scotland and Ireland, a copy of which is in the State Historical Library University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, states that the Burtons of Falde Hall, county Stafford; Lindley and Bedwood county Leicester: and Dronfield, county Derby, all in England, descended from Ingenulfe de Burton, who came to England with the Conqueror.

William the Conqueror, or William of Normandy, formerly Duke of Normandy, came from Normandy, France, to England in 1066. Normandy is a duchy or state of northern France. Between 850 and 900 A.D. much of northern France was over-run, conquered and settled by Northmen, Norsemen from Scandinavia and Denmark; they were Teutonic people. In 911 King Charles the Simple, King of western France, ceded to Rolf, or Rollo, the Northman the duchy of Normandy, the people of which, then, would be a mixture of French and Teutons, or Norman French, and called Normans. Fifth in descent from Rolf, the Northman, was William, Duke of Normandy, or William of Normandy; subsequently William, the Conqueror, in Oct. 1066; and William I, King of England, crowned in Dec 1066. Ingenulfe de Burton came to England with the Conqueror, then, in 1066. Inge (Ing-gen) in the given name Ingenulfe, is still found in the Danish surname, Ingemann, and in the pleasing Norwegian given, or Christian name, Ingebor or Ingobar. Hence the given name Ingenulfe indicates that he was of Teutonic descent, either Danish or Scandinavian. The de in de Burton is French, meaning of or from. thus the surname is at least part French. The combination of the two, Teutonic and French, would make the name Norman French.

From the name and because he came with the Conqueror, who was Norman French and came from Normandy, it seems one can conclude with safety that Ingenulfe de Burton was Norman French and came from Normandy. Burton is probably a Normandy district, or township, or village, in which he or his ancestors, or both, had lived.

All of the Burtons in England, and there are many of them, are very probably descendants of Ingenulfe de Burton, even if the colony to which they belong is a sub-colony of the first Burton colony or colonies in England."

As you can see from the chart below, even in 1841 there were a lot of Burtons living in Britain. I found this chart on the "your-family-history.com" website that shows the frequency of the name "Burton" in the British census records. Left-click on it to make it larger. Use your browser's back-button to return to the blog:

Oddly enough, my Burton ancestors lived in Wiltshire county in the little village of Tisbury, not mentioned in the above accounts of pirmary Burton settlement areas. Not sure why this is at present, but it should be fun to research.

Great grandparents, Joseph and Eliza Burton

Here's a question: my great grandfather, Joseph Williams Burton, was living in Monkton Farleigh, Somerset, with his parents, Thomas and Martha Burton, for the census in 1861 and 1871. In 1874, he married Eliza Jane Jefferies (adopted name, Peacock) in Newport, across the Severn River in Wales, some 45 miles away. That strikes me as odd. Why not get married in the area where they were living and where all their relatives were living?

Here's one possible explanation: keeping in mind that Eliza was probably still working as a domestic when she met young Joseph, what if Thomas and Martha Burton didn't approve of their future daughter-in-law? The Burtons had long been landowners and tradesmen. Maybe they refused to give Joseph their consent to marry a girl from a lower rung on the economic ladder. Perhaps Joseph and Eliza had to elope and get married where no one knew them. Some place like Wales.

This scenario is believable since soon after their wedding, Joseph and Eliza packed up and moved 270+ miles away to the east coast of England where, in the second quarter of 1877, they had a baby girl, Beatrice, in the village of West Riding, Yorkshire.

Maybe the Burtons thought that things had cooled off, for they soon moved back to western England. We know because in 1879 they had had son named Thomas in the town of Bristol, very near their one-time homes.

But perhaps things still weren't okay, for shortly thereafter they show up in the census records for Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania where history records one more puzzling fact: Joseph and Eliza told the census worker in 1880 that their names were -- "William" and "Jane," which were actually their middle names. Now that is pretty darn intriguing. Wouldn't it be fun to know just what really went on with Joseph and Eliza in that brief period from the early 1870s to 1880?

Great great grandfather, Thomas Burton

In my efforts to find my great, great grandfather, Thomas Burton, who was living in the village of Rowde, Wiltshire when he died in 1902, I emailed the clerk of the closest cemetery in Devizes. I received the following respose:

Dear Mr Davis

I have checked the burial registers for the 1902 and cannot find any record of Thomas Burton in Devizes Cemetery. Because he lived in Sandy Lane and then Rowde, I suspect that he is more likely interred in the churchyard of one of the parish churches - I have included information on the two most likely. You will see that the registers of the Rowde Church are held in the record office which you can access online.

I wish you luck with your search and please do not hesitate to contact me

Kind regards
Sarah Todhunter (Mrs)

Church of Saint Nicholas, Sandy Lane, Calne

Without Modern settlement at Sandy Lane began in the 18th century and it is very much an estate village. Ecclesiastically it had come under Derry Hill, but in 1864 it was transferred to the new parish of Chittoe. The church of St. Nicholas was built in 1892 as a mission church, to the design of J.H. Hopkins. It is small and of an unusual timber construction with a steep thatched roof. The timbering is in an A form with 6 pairs of trusses resting on brick sleeper walls. The walls of the church consist of 2 timber sections with sawdust rammed between. All fittings are made of wood, except the 19th century brass oil lamps. In 1980 Chittoe church was declared redundant and Bromham and Chittoe parishes were united as a new parish of Bromham, Chittoe and Sandy Lane. Sandy Lane church became a chapel of ease in the new parish. In 1981 the church was rededicated with the present joint dedication.


Church of St. Matthew, Rowde

It would seem that there was a Saxon church in Rowde as a priest is recorded in the Domesday Book in 1086. What sort of church, wooden or stone, was here is unknown but by medieval times there was a stone church, from which the chancel, although altered, remains. A tower was built in the 15th century and still remains as the west tower of the church. Five bells were in the tower in 1553 and that number remained until 1870, although the bells were renewed before that date. In 1436 the vicar complained that the income from the living was insufficient. It was £4 a year and had been £8 in 1291. From the 17th century the oak altar rails and two stools remain, while a chest is dated 'M 1694'. Much of the church we see today dates from the 19th century. In 1833 the nave was rebuilt to the design of H.E. Goodridge, although 17th century plaques to the Webb family were reset in the walls. It is in cut stone with slate roofs and embattled parapets, and arcades and aisles were added in 1860.

The font, in the style of the 15th century, was given by Rowde born architect Sir Matthew Digby Wyatt in 1850. Six new church bells were cast from the old ring of five (two dated from 1639 and the others from 1654, 1709 and 1754) in 1870. The north porch was built in 1871 and an organ installed in the north chapel. It is probable that the chancel window was replaced in the same year. The pulpit of wood on a stone base was installed in 1872 in memory of the late Rev. A.B. Starkey, whose family were associated with various gifts to the village, while an oak screen was erected in 1887. In 1901 the chancel walls were raised and a new roof provided. It is possible that not a great deal of work or renovation was carried out for several centuries as the lord of the manor was often an absentee and the manor was leased to tenants. The registers from 1660, other than those in current use, are held in the Wiltshire and Swindon Record Office.

James Burton

James Burton, brother of my great, great Grandfather, Thomas, lists his vocation as "Sawyer" in the 1851 census. He's living in "Newton" in West Tisbury. Here's a overhead view courtesy Google Maps.


It looks like Newton is still mostly farmland. I doubt that it has changed much in the last 150 years.

The Burton Family of East Tisbury, Wiltshire

In 1841 the Josephy Burton family can be found living on Hindon Lane, East Tisbury, Wiltshire and working the land (in 1851 Joseph says 28 acres). I'm not sure how they decided what comprised east and west Tisbury back then, but here's an overhead view of the town courtesy Google Maps.

John Damrel mystery solved?

I've found another John Damrel mystery. As we've seen, in 1861 John was living in Poltimore, Devonshire County, 122 miles southwest of where his future wife, Emily Burton was living (see map). He's working as a stable groom.


Seven years later, in 1868, he married Emily, but she continued to live in Tisbury, Wiltshire County, with her father. The question is, in an age when travel outside of your local village was rare, how did these two young people meet? John worked as a horse groom, Emily kept house for her father. It seems unlikely they would have ever crossed paths.

But I found a description of a modern "horse groom" on the web which may be instructive. It says, "Horse Grooms work in a barn or stable and will be outdoors a good deal of the time, in hot, cold or rainy weather when necessary. Although most Horse Grooms work full time, they may not work regular hours as they travel with horses to shows and races on evenings, weekends and holidays."

So if John Damrel's employer raced horses, just 15 miles away from Tisbury where Emily lived is the Salisbury Racecourse, one of England's oldest. Racing has taken place at the picturesque course since the 16th century and certainly must have been operating in the 19th century. Maybe Emily had just traveled from Tisbury to the nearby big city for a day of shopping and ran into the handsome groom at the local tea shop. It could happen.

Perhaps the reason John is missing from the 1871 census is because John's employer does race horses. In 1871, the census was taken on April 2nd. If that date conincided with the opening of the racing season, or even pre-season practicing, John might be on the road, caring for horses at various racetracks, and be missed by the census takers. This would also explain why Emily was living with her father in 1871. In their three years of marriage, she and John simply had not yet established a permanent home yet.

More on John Damrel

John Damrel, Emily Burton's future husband, can be found living in the village of Poltimore in 1861. His address is listed simply as, "Poltimore Stables." After some reaserch, I decided that John was probably working at Poltimore Manor since I was unable to find any other historic reference to stables in the village. Keep in mind that the poplulation of Poltimore was only 250 persons in 1801 and had only increased to 298 by 1901. Ten of those persons, according to the 1861 census, were stud grooms like John. That's probably 4% of the population! Here's the history of Poltimore manor from the Poltimore.org web site:

Poltimore has a long history, starting with the Domesday Book (1086). The manor of Poltimore was gifted to an officer in William the Conqueror's army, one Haimerius de Arcis. It soon passed to the Poltimores who sold it in about 1280 to Simon Lord Montacute. Then on to William Pointington, a canon of Exeter, who gave the property to his pupil John Bampfylde in 1306.

In 1550, Richard Bampfylde started building his Tudor mansion. Part of the original remains. Successive generations built, rebuilt and added to the house. Large changes took place from 1720-1750, in the 1830's and again in 1908 when the ballroom was added.

John was created a baronet in 1641 by Charles I and George was raised to the peerage as the 1st Baron Poltimore in 1831.

In 1646 the Treaty of Exeter was negotiated and signed at Poltimore, so ending the Civil War in the southwest.

George was the fourth Bampfylde to sit as an MP for Exeter, going back to his great grandfather. As a new Whig peer he helped put the great Reform Bill through Parliament in 1832.

The estate was sold in 1921, ending 600 years of ownership by the Bampfyldes. It became a girls school - Poltimore College; then a home for the evacuated Dover College; in 1945 a change to a private hospital and then it became part of the National Health Service until 1975.

Post 1975, subsequent owners were not so careful. For the last 20 years the House has been allowed to decay. It has been vandalised, set alight, looted and pillaged.

The present grounds and many of the standing trees were probably laid out and planted by the famous Veitch nursery in the 1830s. The great Lime avenue may be earlier, planted to celebrate the accession of George I in 1714.

The Poltimore House Trust, formed in 2000, has taken over the ravaged estate and, with help from East Devon District Council and English Heritage, is now seeking end uses and grants to achieve the restoration of Poltimore to its former eminence.

The Friends of Poltimore House were formed in 2004. They help financially, actively and practically in the affairs of the House to achieve the objectives of the Trust.

The Groom

I've run across another mystery in the Burton family. My great, great, great grandfather, Joseph Burton had a son named John who was a mason. John's only child, Emily, married John Damrel (Damerel) in 1868, a man who lists his occupation, at least in 1881, as a "Groom."

Here's the strange part: when the census is taken in 1871, we find Emily and her two-year-old daughter, Tabitha, living with her father John Burton. No sign of Emily's husband. In fact, there's no sign of John Damrel anywhere in the census record for 1871. We see him living with his family in the 1881 census, but he's gone again in 1891. Emily by that time has a house-full of children aged 13 to 22.

So, where does John go? Into the military? On the road with race horses? If he's working as a groom, maybe he has to live on the estate where he works. That, of course, still wouldn't explain his absence in the census record.

The census actually lists John's employment as "Stud Groom, N.D." The "Studd" part was in incorrect transcription of the census data. The initials mean non-domestic. On the web I found that N.D. meant: "private stable yards and facilities where horses or ponies are regularly bought and sold, broken in, schooled, trained, for reward or profit, and/or are used in the course of a business by a professional/competitive rider."

Deciding I'd look further for John Damrel, I searched the census records for the County of Devon, village of Buckland Filleigh where he is recorded as having been born in 1842. To my surprise, in the 1841 census I found a family there, spelling their name "Damerel," who simply must be his family. I found one-month-old John, who seems to have been born in 1841 not 1842, four-year-old Lewis, a grandfather named Christopher, and John's mother Sarah.

Searching further, I pulled up the 1851 census for Buckland Filleigh and found that John's father, Lewis Sr. had appeared as well as his grandmother, Elizabeth (Betty). They'd been absent in 1841, which seems to be a stardard trait for the Damerel family.

In 1861, Both grandparents are present, but Lewis Sr. is missing again. John by now has moved out on his own and is living in Poltimore, Devon, and working as a stud groom.

Back in Buckland Filleigh in the 1871 census we find that the grandparents have passed away and John's younger brother, William, has also taken work as a groom.

I'm really sorry the Damerels are only distantly related to me as they appear to be a pretty interesting family. I still don't know where the various family members disappear to, but it will probably be fun trying to find out.

The Burtons of Tisbury, Wiltshire, England

Here's something interesting. The earliest Burton patriarch I know about, Joseph, had several sons -- John, James, Henry, William, and Thomas. Thomas was my great, great grandfather and the youngest. In the 1851 census, father Joseph claims to be "farming 28 acres" in the village of Tisbury, Wiltshire. Joseph passed away in 1859, at which time the farm was taken over by son William.

Normally, a farm is passed down to the oldest son. Not so in this case. John, the oldest son, became a mason. James, the next son became a carpenter. Next came Henry, who worked as a innkeeper for a time, then moved to the southern coast of England and worked the remainder of his life as a vegetable gardener and general laborer. It's not until we get to William Burton that we find a son willing to take on the family farm. In 1851 we find him working as a hired hand on a nearby farm. Then, in 1861, he we find him farming his father's 28 acres. Oddly, in 1871 he claims to be farming only six acres. No clue as to what happened to the remaining property.

By the time of the 1881 census, William had passed away, possibly without having any children. At that time the farm doesn't seem to have passed to the other sons as Henry and Thomas had moved away by then and James had died. And I found no evidence that John ever left his work as a mason and took up farming before his death in 1893.

Oddly enough, my great, great grandfather, Thomas Burton, continued to work in agriculture, but not in Tisbury where the family farm was located. By 1851 he had moved 30 miles to the north to the village of Monkton Farleigh where he found work first as an agricultural laborer, then a sheppard, and, by 1881, a farm baliff.

So, I wonder what became of the family farm on Hindon Lane after William died?

Great, great grandmother, Martha Burton

My great, great grandmother, Martha Burton seems to have died in Chippenham in 1913. At first I couldn't understand why she would move away from Rowde where her husband, Thomas was probably buried. But then I noticed that on the 1861 census, Martha mentions that she was born in Allington. Now there are five towns named Allington in England, but I was intrigued to see that there was one just 1.8 miles from Chippenham. See photo below.


So, the question is, did Martha move back to her home town at the close of her life to be buried with her own family? The only cemetery I've come across is called the "London Road Cemetery." I don't know Martha's maiden name, but I'll certainly have to pay London Road a visit and see if I can find my great, great grandmother's final resting place.

Thomas Burton moves to Sandy Lane

By 1891, my great, great grandfather, Thomas Burton was in his sixties and had moved 14 miles away from Monkton Farleigh to the village of Sandy Lane, Wiltshire, which has at various times been voted the prettiest village in Wiltshire. Its rows of stone-built, thatched cottages are the finest in the county. Click on the map below to see Sandy Lane's proximity to Monkton Farleigh



Here's a typical house in Sandy Lane


By 1901, Thomas and his wife Martha were in their seventies and had moved to the villiage of Rowde, some four miles southeast of Sandy Lane. Here, Thomas tells the census worker that year that he was a "retired farmer." I suspect that Thomas and Martha moved to Rowde because their son Albin was living there and farming. Here's a piece I found on the web about Rowde:

"Rowde seems to be one of those communities that have existed for over a thousand years but in many ways do not have a great deal of recorded history. Its name comes from a Saxon word meaning a reedy place and there was certainly a village here in late Saxon times. In fact there was a settlement to the north-east of the village, near Rowde Farm in Iron Age and Romano-British times and, although it is pure speculation to suggest it, there could have been continuous occupation from then through to the recorded settlement in the early 11th century."

Thomas Burton died in 1902, presumably in Rowde, so I hope to be able to find his headstone in a churchyard there. His wife Martha didn't die until 1913, but the district is listed as Chippenham, not Devizes as was true with Thomas. It will take more research to determine where my great, great grandmother Burton was buried.

Great, great grandfather, Thomas Burton

My great, great grandfather, Thomas Burton, lived in the village of Monkton Farleigh, Wiltshire, England for many years. On the 1881 census he lists his address as the Monkton Farleigh Church Farm where he was working as a "Farm Baliff." Recently, I found this picture of the Church Farm that is now functioning as a Bed and Breakfast. The converted barn is pictured.


Here's a bit of information on Monkton Farleigh from a Wiltshire government site:

The community was made up predominantly of farm labourers (like my great, great grandfather, Thomas Burton), although there were also clothiers, weavers, maltsters, tailors, shoemakers, carpenters, blacksmiths, grocers, thatchers etc. There are no registers of occupations until 1700. By the 19th century there was a very rapid growth of the industry of stone quarrying and by 1881 Hobhouse stated that nearly half of the labourers were quarrymen. Bath Stone was sent by rail all over the country. The population in 1801 was 264, and in 1851 was 359 (Thomas Burton moved to Monkton Farleigh some time before 1851).

The buildings of Monkton Farleigh are principally two storey buildings, constructed of rubble or of coursed stone (some maybe constructed by Thomas Burton's son, Joseph the mason). They generally display tall, Victorian type chimneys, with stone slate or tiled roofs. Other points of architectural interest include stone mullioned windows and gables. The King’s Arms retains an early 16th century doorway with a 17th century two storey porch, with original windows and a corresponding projection at the back with a circular stair. The Fox and Hounds Inn at Farleigh Wick has curious courtyard and entrance pillars.

The parish of Monkton Farleigh is situated in the extreme north western bend of an isolated chain of hills, at one end of which is Bradford on Avon and another Chippenham. The ground on which the village stands is from 6 to 700 feet in height (733 feet at the Tower on the Down). There is woodland in the south west corner of the parish, as well as small clumps of trees in other places. There is a park and avenue of elms adjoining the Manor House. The village is situated on high ground in the centre of the parish (four miles north west of Bradford on Avon and five and a half miles east of Bath). The village still commands some fine views, especially eastwards. There is sand and clay in the parish, but the soil is generally known as the stone brash. The quarries of freestone are a peculiar feature of the upper or west end of the parish. The A363 from Bradford on Avon to Bath passes through Farleigh Wick, a hamlet at the southern end of the parish. Sir Charles Hobhouse, in his history of the parish in 1881, stated that “probably in all Wiltshire there is no place where the combination of scenery – hill and valley, wood and stream, distance and home views is more varied and beautiful.”

Joseph W Burton & Eliza Jane (Jefferies) Peacock

I'm always interested to find out how my various ancestors managed to be in the right place at the right time to meet. As I researched Eliza Jane Peacock, I noticed that in 1871 she was working as a servant to the Williams family in Bathwick, Somerset. Then I looked up Joesph Burton and found that he was living in Monkton Farleigh, Wiltshire. Here's the map (compliments of MapQuest) that shows where they were each living. (Note, you can click on the map to see it bigger. Use your back button to return to this page).

As you can see, the two were living on either side of the town of Bathampton, just over five miles apart. Maybe they met in one of the local pubs or dance halls in Bathampton. Certainly they could have met on a local train or at the seashore. But Joseph Burton was a mason. He made things out of brick and stone. So, what if the family who employed Eliza Jane as a domestic also hired Joseph to do construction on their property in Bathwick. If so, was it love at first sight?

The Hunt for the Perfect Bed and Breakfast

Today I'm waiting on reponses from a number of B&Bs near Salisbury England as follows:

The Lodge Farmhouse in Salisbury
The Old Post House between Salisbury and Stonehenge
The Spire House in Salisbury
Hindon Inn, 3 miles from Tisbury (Tisbury is where my ancestors, the Burtons, lived)
Websters Guest House near Salisbury
Cathedral View in Salisbury
Dinton five miles from Tisbury (I like the looks of this one)
Little Hazels right in Tisbury. (Also looks neat)

What is the perfect B&B? Well, the place should have good reviews from other travelers. It should have some form of internet available, wireless preferred. It should be able to provide what's called in Europe an "en-suite" bathroom. We always look for a double bed rather than twins. From there we look at pictures of the outside and inside of the place. Beautiful gardens are a plus, of course. Homey, but not too frilly, accomodations please us more. Nobody allows smoking any more, thank goodness. But we also look for a "no pets" rule. Since I'm allergic to cats, we don't want to find out after we arrive that their favorite pet uses our bed for naps when no one is in residence. Lastly, we consider the price. This trip we set my goal to pay no more than 30 English Pounds per person per night, about $120.00 US, and have so far been pretty successful.

The dates I'm trying to line up are the 15th, 16th, and 17th of September. Our target area is Salisbury, about 100 miles from London. So far this morning I have received responses from two of the facilities. The Lodge offered to rent the desired room for only 25 pounds per night AND they have internet, though not wireless. Websters responded with an agreeement to rent for 30 pounds, but made no mention of the internet, not usually a good sign. Because my ancestors, the Burtons, lived in Tisbury (about thirteen miles from Salisbury), my preference is to stay in that town.

Ancestry.com tells me that the Burtons were farmers so I'm hoping to gain some knowledge as to where their farm might have been in the mid 1800s. My dad's mom, Gwendolyn Burton, was actually raised by the Peacock family when her own parents died at an early age. If I'm lucky, I hope to find the cemetery in Tisbury where her parents will be buried. Of course, the purpose of this trip is to locate all the towns where my various family members lived before immigrating to America. There were the Browns in Scotland, the Davis family in Wales, and the Burtons in England, as well as a host of matrilineal names, including Peacock, Rhydderch, Jeffry, and Owens.

At this point I have already lined up a B&B in Edinburgh for our first few nights. After that, we're going to drive south to the little town of Hexham, which lies a scant few miles from the town of Corbridge, Northumberland, where the Brown family lived in the 1850s. Corbridge lies very near Hadrian's Wall which, as you probably remember, was built by the Romans to keep the wild Scotsmen out of Roman territory. After Hexham/Corbridge we are driving in the direction of Liverpool to the town of Llanberis. No ancestors lived in this area, but the town is located in Northern Wales, reportedly a truly beautiful area. Also, it's about half way in between Northumbria and southern Wales, where the Davis family toiled as iron workers in the mid nineteenth century. We'll just be seeing the sights for a few days in Llanberis before driving south to continue our quest for ancestors. Once in southern Wales, we'll be staying near the town of Merthyr Tydfil, where my great, great grandfather Davis was born. And from there, we're off to Tisbury and the Burtons.

So that's it for now. Stay tuned for more on the upcoming Davis sojourn to the UK.