Notes
Note N325
Index
Notes
Note N329
Index
NICHOLAS NEWBERRY M.1.
1682 (?) - 1750
Our family can be traced with certainty to the 9th October 1721 when my 5 -times great-grandfather William Newberry (The Elder) L2 was baptised a t Chardstock church, Devon. William's parents were Nicholas and Agnes N ewberry, and here the story ends - or does it?
The reason the story stops here is because the Chardstock parish regist ers show no record of a marriage between Nicholas Newberry and Agnes (? ). Further, there is no birth of a Nicholas Newberry in Chardstock. P rior to 17321 there are precious few birth, death and marriage entries f or Newberry and one is left with the distinct thought that Newberry or N ewberrys moved into the parish sometime at the beginning of the 18th ce ntury. Indeed, the Hearth Tax return (more on this later) for 1664 for C hardstock lists no Newberrys.
Two entries before 1721 are quite intriguing however. One is a burial a nd reads - "Armonell, wife of Nicholas Nubery 28th Mar 1706". The othe r is a christening for Armonell, Daughter of Nicholas Nubery and is the s ame date. The obvious conclusion is that the mother died in childbirth , but of course the question is whether Nicholas Nubery is our Nicholas ( M1). A number of clues suggest a strong possibility. William (the Eld er),L2 born 1721 only appears to have had two sisters. In an age of la rge families this is somewhat strange. I think there is every reason t o believe that Nicholas Nubery, widowed in 1704, remarried in later lif e. Common-law marriage was very common at this time; which would expla in the missing second marriage. Another clue is that the Chardstock bu rial register only lists the death of one Nicholas (in 1750). Assuming t he above is correct the next step is to look for a possible marriage be tween Nicholas and Armonell. There is nothing before 1704 so the obvio us next move is to search the adjacent parish registers. The bordering p arishes of Membury and Stockland were especially interesting and had Ne wberry entries in amazing numbers. There seems little doubt this is th e epicentre of the Newberry surname. One entry for Membury requires fu rther thought - Nicholas Newbery of Dalwood and Elinor Bond, married 24 th April 1704. Is Elinor, Armonell? The writing of both registers is h ard to read and in an age of illiteracy and strong country accents, the re is a possibility. Certainly the date fits.
If we accept the Nicholas of Dalwood as ours this creates a major probl em. The parish registers of Dalwood do not exist for the period 1655 t o 1710, neither do the bishops transcripts at Salisbury. In the absenc e of these vital documents I have studied as many alternative sources f or Dalwood in this period as I can. Most of these are wills and letter s of administration. Indeed such has been the extent of these document s that I have been able to put a framework together of a Yeoman Farmer N ewberry family in the parish. However, there is no mention of a Nichol as and none of the name patterns seem to fit ours. I am left with the d istinct impression that this is not our immediate family.
I have another theory for the absence of the Dalwood Parish registers o ther than that they were loSt. Dalwood is a sub-parish of Stockland. T he reason there are no bishops transcripts is because there were of cou rse no bishops for much of this period immediately following the Englis h Civil War. Because of this upheaval I believe there may not have bee n a vicar in this very rural parish and all matters were dealt with by t he mother church of Stockland.
Various British governments have at times shown great originality in ra ising new revenue. One of these was the Hearth Tax of the second half o t he 17th century. This was based on the simple premise that the more he arth/fireplaces you had, the richer you were and could pay more tax. W e are fortunate that the 1664 Hearth Tax name list for Stockland parish s till exists. It is interesting to note there is no mention of Dalwood w hich was included in Stockland.
The reason I have gone into this in such detail is that Stockland Paris h shows the birth of a Nicholas Newberry in 1682. Of all the many pari shes I have searched this remains the only entry that fits the required t ime period. Even if all the marriage details about Membury and Dalwood a re incorrect I have grown increasingly certain this is our Nicholas.
I am the first to admit that I have written is circumstantial evidence a nd that I am guilty of bending things to fit. If reading history has t aught me one thing in life it is that history never follows a neat patt ern. I continue to search for the elusive Nicholas but until further i nformation is forthcoming, I present the story of Nicholas Newberry bas ed upon the above arguments and conclusions.
On the 14th February 1682 Nicholas Newberry was baptised in Stockland C hurch. His father's name was Will. This is probably the same Will New berry that married Mary Hanne in Stockland on the 6th May 1678.
When he was aged 3, the village became embroiled in the Monmouth rebell ion. On the 11th June the Duke of Monmouth landed with a small invadin g force at Lyme Regis. Proceeding north up the Axminster Chard road th e small army recruited from nearby villages, including Stockland and Me mbury. Following the defeat of the Duke of Monmouth at Sedgemoor, the C rown took severe measures against the insurgents. At least one Newberr y from Stockland is known from court documents to have suffered punishm ent from Judge Jeffries Bloody Assizes. It is almost certain he would h ave been a close relative of Nicholas, perhaps an uncle.
The family home appears to have been in the south of Stockland parish, i n or near the hamlet of Dalwood. We do not know Nicholas's trade but h e was probably a basket maker and agricultural labourer which is what h is son later become.
When he was aged 22 he married Eleanor (or Armonell) Bond in Membury Ch urch on the 24th April 1704. Membury was the next village to Stockland . They set up home in nearby Chardstock, probably in the hamlet of Sma llridge. The town of Axminster is less than an hour's walk from Smallr idge which probably provided a market for his baskets.
Tragically, his wife died on the 28th March 1706 giving birth to their f irst child, named after the mother. For some years he lived as a widow er but then he lived with a woman called Agnes in common-law marriage. T hey appear to have had two daughters and one son William, my 5-times gr eat-grandfather. William was baptised on Chardstock Church on 9th Octo ber 1721.
Nicholas appears to have spent his remaining years inn Chardstock and d ied aged 68 in July 1750. He was buried in Chardstock churchyard on th e 29th July 1750. His second wife Agnes died six years later and was a lso buried in Chardstock churchyard on the 7th November 1756.
July 1995
REBELS IN MONMOUTH'S ARMY WITH THE SURNAME NEWBURY OR NEWBERRY.
NEWBERRY
John, of Stockland, suspected to have been in the late Rebellion (Const ables' Presentment).
John, yeoman, of Membury, wanting from his habitation during the Rebell ion of James Scott (CP); presented at Exeter but at large (Jeffrey's' R eport to King James).
John (another) of Membury, wanting (CP).
John, yeoman, of Yarcombe, wanting (CP), presented at Exeter but at lar ge (JR).
One John Newberry was presented in March 1686, but pardoned and dismiss ed. (Gaol Delivery Book).
Joseph, yeoman, of Yarcombe, wanting (CP); presented at Exeter but at l arge; tried at Taunton; to be transported for Sir William Booth (JR); o n Booth's receipt, but neither shipped nor sold. He died in prison and w as buried at St.Mary's, Taunton, on Nov.20 1685.
Samuel, yeoman, of Membury, wanting (CP), presented at Exeter but at la rge; presented at Taunton; certificate of having laid down his arms was a llowed. (JR).
Samuel, yeoman, of Yarcombe, wanting (CP); seen in Monmouth's camp by J ohn Beales (Lyme Regis Misdemeanour Book); presented at Exeter but at l arge (JR); pardoned, March 26, 1686 (Calendar of State Papers Domestic, p ara.351).
NICHOLAS NEWBERRY M.1.
1682 (?) - 1750
Our family can be traced with certainty to the 9th October 1721 when my 5 -times great-grandfather William Newberry (The Elder) L2 was baptised a t Chardstock church, Devon. William's parents were Nicholas and Agnes N ewberry, and here the story ends - or does it?
The reason the story stops here is because the Chardstock parish regist ers show no record of a marriage between Nicholas Newberry and Agnes (? ). Further, there is no birth of a Nicholas Newberry in Chardstock. P rior to 17321 there are precious few birth, death and marriage entries f or Newberry and one is left with the distinct thought that Newberry or N ewberrys moved into the parish sometime at the beginning of the 18th ce ntury. Indeed, the Hearth Tax return (more on this later) for 1664 for C hardstock lists no Newberrys.
Two entries before 1721 are quite intriguing however. One is a burial a nd reads - "Armonell, wife of Nicholas Nubery 28th Mar 1706". The othe r is a christening for Armonell, Daughter of Nicholas Nubery and is the s ame date. The obvious conclusion is that the mother died in childbirth , but of course the question is whether Nicholas Nubery is our Nicholas ( M1). A number of clues suggest a strong possibility. William (the Eld er),L2 born 1721 only appears to have had two sisters. In an age of la rge families this is somewhat strange. I think there is every reason t o believe that Nicholas Nubery, widowed in 1704, remarried in later lif e. Common-law marriage was very common at this time; which would expla in the missing second marriage. Another clue is that the Chardstock bu rial register only lists the death of one Nicholas (in 1750). Assuming t he above is correct the next step is to look for a possible marriage be tween Nicholas and Armonell. There is nothing before 1704 so the obvio us next move is to search the adjacent parish registers. The bordering p arishes of Membury and Stockland were especially interesting and had Ne wberry entries in amazing numbers. There seems little doubt this is th e epicentre of the Newberry surname. One entry for Membury requires fu rther thought - Nicholas Newbery of Dalwood and Elinor Bond, married 24 th April 1704. Is Elinor, Armonell? The writing of both registers is h ard to read and in an age of illiteracy and strong country accents, the re is a possibility. Certainly the date fits.
If we accept the Nicholas of Dalwood as ours this creates a major probl em. The parish registers of Dalwood do not exist for the period 1655 t o 1710, neither do the bishops transcripts at Salisbury. In the absenc e of these vital documents I have studied as many alternative sources f or Dalwood in this period as I can. Most of these are wills and letter s of administration. Indeed such has been the extent of these document s that I have been able to put a framework together of a Yeoman Farmer N ewberry family in the parish. However, there is no mention of a Nichol as and none of the name patterns seem to fit ours. I am left with the d istinct impression that this is not our immediate family.
I have another theory for the absence of the Dalwood Parish registers o ther than that they were loSt. Dalwood is a sub-parish of Stockland. T he reason there are no bishops transcripts is because there were of cou rse no bishops for much of this period immediately following the Englis h Civil War. Because of this upheaval I believe there may not have bee n a vicar in this very rural parish and all matters were dealt with by t he mother church of Stockland.
Various British governments have at times shown great originality in ra ising new revenue. One of these was the Hearth Tax of the second half o t he 17th century. This was based on the simple premise that the more he arth/fireplaces you had, the richer you were and could pay more tax. W e are fortunate that the 1664 Hearth Tax name list for Stockland parish s till exists. It is interesting to note there is no mention of Dalwood w hich was included in Stockland.
The reason I have gone into this in such detail is that Stockland Paris h shows the birth of a Nicholas Newberry in 1682. Of all the many pari shes I have searched this remains the only entry that fits the required t ime period. Even if all the marriage details about Membury and Dalwood a re incorrect I have grown increasingly certain this is our Nicholas.
I am the first to admit that I have written is circumstantial evidence a nd that I am guilty of bending things to fit. If reading history has t aught me one thing in life it is that history never follows a neat patt ern. I continue to search for the elusive Nicholas but until further i nformation is forthcoming, I present the story of Nicholas Newberry bas ed upon the above arguments and conclusions.
On the 14th February 1682 Nicholas Newberry was baptised in Stockland C hurch. His father's name was Will. This is probably the same Will New berry that married Mary Hanne in Stockland on the 6th May 1678.
When he was aged 3, the village became embroiled in the Monmouth rebell ion. On the 11th June the Duke of Monmouth landed with a small invadin g force at Lyme Regis. Proceeding north up the Axminster Chard road th e small army recruited from nearby villages, including Stockland and Me mbury. Following the defeat of the Duke of Monmouth at Sedgemoor, the C rown took severe measures against the insurgents. At least one Newberr y from Stockland is known from court documents to have suffered punishm ent from Judge Jeffries Bloody Assizes. It is almost certain he would h ave been a close relative of Nicholas, perhaps an uncle.
The family home appears to have been in the south of Stockland parish, i n or near the hamlet of Dalwood. We do not know Nicholas's trade but h e was probably a basket maker and agricultural labourer which is what h is son later become.
When he was aged 22 he married Eleanor (or Armonell) Bond in Membury Ch urch on the 24th April 1704. Membury was the next village to Stockland . They set up home in nearby Chardstock, probably in the hamlet of Sma llridge. The town of Axminster is less than an hour's walk from Smallr idge which probably provided a market for his baskets.
Tragically, his wife died on the 28th March 1706 giving birth to their f irst child, named after the mother. For some years he lived as a widow er but then he lived with a woman called Agnes in common-law marriage. T hey appear to have had two daughters and one son William, my 5-times gr eat-grandfather. William was baptised on Chardstock Church on 9th Octo ber 1721.
Nicholas appears to have spent his remaining years inn Chardstock and d ied aged 68 in July 1750. He was buried in Chardstock churchyard on th e 29th July 1750. His second wife Agnes died six years later and was a lso buried in Chardstock churchyard on the 7th November 1756.
July 1995
REBELS IN MONMOUTH'S ARMY WITH THE SURNAME NEWBURY OR NEWBERRY.
NEWBERRY
John, of Stockland, suspected to have been in the late Rebellion (Const ables' Presentment).
John, yeoman, of Membury, wanting from his habitation during the Rebell ion of James Scott (CP); presented at Exeter but at large (Jeffrey's' R eport to King James).
John (another) of Membury, wanting (CP).
John, yeoman, of Yarcombe, wanting (CP), presented at Exeter but at lar ge (JR).
One John Newberry was presented in March 1686, but pardoned and dismiss ed. (Gaol Delivery Book).
Joseph, yeoman, of Yarcombe, wanting (CP); presented at Exeter but at l arge; tried at Taunton; to be transported for Sir William Booth (JR); o n Booth's receipt, but neither shipped nor sold. He died in prison and w as buried at St.Mary's, Taunton, on Nov.20 1685.
Samuel, yeoman, of Membury, wanting (CP), presented at Exeter but at la rge; presented at Taunton; certificate of having laid down his arms was a llowed. (JR).
Samuel, yeoman, of Yarcombe, wanting (CP); seen in Monmouth's camp by J ohn Beales (Lyme Regis Misdemeanour Book); presented at Exeter but at l arge (JR); pardoned, March 26, 1686 (Calendar of State Papers Domestic, p ara.351).