The Atkins lineage originates in Cornwall; indeed generations of James Atkins’s can be traced back to 1675 where in the parish of Constantine – an area approximately 8 miles southwest of Falmouth - our forefather’s christening [1] was registered. He was the youngest of four children born to Isaac “Isack” [sic] Atkins and an unknown mother. More than likely the family descended from the Celts, a race of people who had crossed the English Channel from North Western Europe bringing with them the Iron Age.
Cornwall (c 1900). Image courtesy of A Vision of Britain Through Time.
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Constantine and St Keverne, Cornwall
Constantine (called Lanngostentin in Cornish) was named after a 6th century saint and was mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Saint Constantin [2]. It can be found on the map centrally located in the Kerrier Hundred. By the middle of the 18th century the village had three main industries [3]; agriculture, the mining of tin, copper and iron and granite quarrying.
St Keverne (called Lannaghevran in Cornish) is geographically the largest parish [4] in Cornwall located on the map close to Falmouth Bay in the Helston Hundred. It is predominantly an agricultural area. |
| The Generations of James’ James (1675 – 1756) James married a local girl named Grace about 1698 and subsequently had eight children; four girls, Mary born 1699 [5], Grace (b 1702), Margaret (b 1705) and Ursella (b 1716) and four boys, Isaac (b 1704), Richard (b 1708), James (b 1711) and Robert (b 1714). Their life, probably as farmers, can be reasonably accurately traced to the parish of St Keverne. Mary their first child died [6] there at the age of 11. Two of their four boys, Isaac and Robert died in their early thirties at St Keverne. By the early 1740’s the surviving boys, Richard and James had already departed the family estate and this may well have been the trigger for James and Grace to return to Constantine. Moreover their youngest daughter Ursella, who married a local [7], resided there. Their retirement was brief as they died in 1750 and 1756 respectively [6]. |
| ST KEVERNE, CORNWALL TO HAWKCHURCH, DORSET James (1711 – 1796) By the age of 23, James had moved eastwards, finding himself in Axminster, Devon – probably employed as an itinerant labourer. Here he met his future wife Mary Michell, a 25 year old Devonshire girl from Ottery Saint Mary. They married [8] on the 13th April 1737 in the tiny neighbouring Dorset hamlet of Hawkchurch located on the Devon county boundary. The event was registered [9] in Allington, a more significant Dorset community. It is unknown where this family’s life unfolded, be it Axminster or Hawkchurch, but it is reasonably certain that James, their firstborn son, was raised on various properties within a ten square mile area bordering the counties of Dorset and Devon. It is not known if they had any other children. Eventually the family removed to Luppitt, in Devon, where the parish register [10] records father James and mother Mary’s deaths. |
| HAWKCHURCH, DORSET TO LUPPITT, DEVON James (1738 - 1814) Little is known of James’ early years but it is feasible that they were spent in Hawkchurch. Statistics [11] regarding the village, taken nearly one hundred years after James was born, mention a population of 886 inhabitants, so in our forefather's time the Atkins family could probably be numbered amongst a handful of others. As a family of itinerant farmers, James and his parents worked many properties in the Devon border region finally settling in the Blackdown Hills parish of Luppitt. The next stage of James’ life begins in 1769 when on June 6th he marries 28 year old Hope “Hopey” [sic] Dunscombe. The marriage [12] takes place in the neighbouring Devonshire parish of Membury. It can be assumed that James had been resident in this parish for a period of time and that his wife is a local as on the 18th March the following year their first child is christened [13] there. Once again the family tradition continued when their firstborn son was named James. A year later father, mother and the new baby returned to Luppitt to be reunited with the grandparents. In 1771 the couple welcomed their second son Abraham closely followed by daughter Mary (b 1773). Both the births and baptisms of James’ siblings were recorded in the parish register [10] of St Mary’s Church. James (1770 - 1838) James farmed Luppitt pasture all his life. He married Mary Goff [10] and their firstborn son was named [10] James (1791 – 1866). LUPPITT, DEVON TO BROADWAY, SOMERSET James’ only brother Abraham married [14] Joan Trott and farmed in Broadway, Somerset. They also named [15] their firstborn son James (1813 – 1892). |
James Chard’s Maternal Lineage
Constantine, Cornwall to Luppitt, Devon
(1675 – 1773)
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Legend The thick red line is James Chard’s maternal blood line. * Born in Constantine, Cornwall. † Died in Constantine, Cornwall. # Born in Hawkchurch, Dorset. @ Born in Membury, Devon. $ Born in Luppitt, Devon. ^ Died in Luppitt, Devon. †† Died in Broadway, Somerset. |
| The Atkins’ of Gulleylane JAMES CHARD’S GRANDMOTHER Mary (1773 – 1843) Mary was born on June 4th 1773 and grew to adulthood in a community of less than 600 (a quarter of a century later the population was 675 [16]). It is not known which farm her family worked in the parish, but three consecutive census [17] , [18] , [19] reveal that her nephew James (1791 – 1866) spent his entire life in Luppitt on Ararat farm. It is highly likely that this was Mary’s birthplace. |
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The Luppitt – Dunkeswell Parish Boundary
The map on the left is Donn's 1765 survey map [20] of Luppitt and the surrounding parishes. It has been digitally modified to display the area (red dot) where the Atkins families settled. The village of Luppitt is little more than a hamlet but sizeable enough to be mentioned in the 1086 Domesday Book. The parish encompasses an area of 4730 acres and in White's Devonshire Directory published in 1850 supported a population of 782 souls - predominately dairy farmers. The principal town centre and St Mary’s church is situated four miles northeast of Honiton, two miles southeast of Dunkeswell and just under five miles southwest of Churchstanton. The sketch on the right, courtesy of the Luppitt History Group, is a magnified section of the recreation of the 1842 tithe map for Luppitt. The area highlighted in blue is Ararat farm whilst that highlighted in yellow is Gulleyhayes. |
Photographer: Alfred Newton (c 1896). Courtesy of English Heritage, National Monuments Record.
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Luppitt Parish These images provide a snapshot of the Luppitt lifestyle in the late 19th century. On the left women, squatting on stools, milk the cows. All the dairy products would have been produced by hand at this point in time. On the right quarry stone is used in the dry walls of this village chapel. |
Courtesy of The Luppitt History Group
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Section of the original 1842 tithe map for Luppitt showing the handwritten notation for Ararat Cottage and farm located in Gullylane. |
| For the first eighteen years of her life, Mary and her family managed a sustainable agricultural lifestyle. There were happy times, especially in 1791, when eldest brother James married a local girl, Mary Goff; an occasion witnessed by brother Abraham [10]. Mary, an impressionable 18 year old, became an aunt the same year; to yet another James. Five years later Mary’s 85 year-old grandfather died [10]. With her father nearing 60 and her brother Abraham having moved to the neighbouring Upottery parish, the burden of running the farm fell squarely on her brother James’ shoulders. |
 Luppitt Church (c 1896).Photographed by Alfred Newton. Courtesy English Heritage Monuments. |
St Mary’s Church, Luppitt
St Mary’s is a typical Norman church constructed in the 14th century. According to English Heritage and National Monument records, the building underwent restorations in 1885 and 1923. Quite possibly the Atkins and Chard ancestors worshiped in this church from the last quarter of the 18th century through the first quarter of the 19th century. |
| By now Mary is an aunt four times over and in the early months of 1801 the twenty eight year old fell pregnant to a local farmer named George Warren. The child, a base born girl, was baptised on January 5th the following year in St Mary’s Parish Church and registered [10] under the name Mary Warren Atkins. The father, George Warren was entered on Luppitt's list [21] of Bastardry Orders [22] in 1802. OF MARY’S SUITOR .... George Warren (1773 – 1854) Following his brief liaison with Mary in 1800, this Luppitt born farmer married in the Upottery parish 10 years later. His wife Lydia bore six children. He died in Upottery at the age of 81 - a landed property man. George's remains – those of James Chard’s grandfather – are interred in Luppitt’s church graveyard [10]. UNWED MOTHERHOOD The new century proved to be particularly hard for farming communities as England was preoccupied with war in France. Mary and her namesake sister-in-law have many young mouths to feed on Luppitt’s Ararat farm and life for the family is saddened when matriarch Hope dies [10] in 1810. 1812 is a significant year for Mary as it heralds her brother Abraham’s marriage [14] to Joan Trott in Upottery [23]. Although it is only 4 miles away, Mary does not attend the ceremony as she is heavily pregnant. The father of this illegitimate child is a well-to-do farmer named Edward Burrough from the neighbouring 63 acre property Gulleyhayes. A sister to Mary Warren, Elizabeth Burrough, is baptised in St Mary’s Parish Church and also registered with her mother’s surname [10]. Clearly, bearing children out of wedlock was common for this generation of the Atkins family as not only did Mary produce two base-born girls but both brothers sired their firstborn similarly. |
| The Next Generation at Gulleyhayes Farm OF MARY’S SUBSEQUENT MARRIAGE AND CHILDREN .... |
Parish Boundaries (prior to 1850), courtesy of the Colchester, Essex History Data Service.
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The Atkins / Burroughs of Gullyhayes farm (highlighted) resided on the boundary of five Devon parishes. |
| Although no evidence can be discovered to support the fact it would seem that Mary and Edward did indeed marry in Dunkeswell after the birth of Elizabeth. Their son James (1813 -1871) appears on the 1841 census records as a “Burrough” born in Dunkeswell. Further boys, Joseph (1814 – 1855) and John (1816 – 1901) followed for the Dunkeswell Burrough family. The 30th of January 1814 was a sad day for Mary and her young children as it marked the death of her beloved brother James [10]. The cause is not known but at 45 his life ended far earlier than most of his farming peers. His wife Mary survived him by 13 years. During the next few years Mary and Edward farmed a Luppitt property called Gulleyhayes, but Edward was soon to depart to work - as a farm labourer - at Dunkeswell Abbey. It is not clear whether Mary has been abandoned, but the England census of 1841 shows a 30 year old James Burrough together with Mary farming Gulleyhayes, whilst Edward is registered at Dunkeswell. So it is, in the early 1820’s, that we find Mary supported by her Atkins clan living next door at Ararat with nephew James clearly being her favourite. This is evident when, at the age of 30, he married [10] a Buckland Saint Mary’s girl named Mary Ann North, with Mary and her two daughters as proud witnesses. It could well be that the eldest daughter - 20 year old Mary Warren, dressed in her best finery for her cousin’s wedding - may have caught the eye of fellow parishioner, Thomas Chard – a young farmer from Chards Orchard. Mother Mary continued farming in Luppitt until she died [24] in 1843, aged 70. It is likely that she was buried at Dunkeswell Abbey. Edward survived her by 13 years, dying [24] in Dunkeswell at the age of 75. |
Dunkeswell Parish
In his 1850 Devonshire Directory the notable gazetteer William White described Dunkeswell as a "small village in a narrow picturesque valley near the source of a rivulet - a tributary of the Culm river. The parish is boldly diversified with hill and dale, and comprises 536 souls, and about 4000 acres of land, including an open turf moor of about 100 acres." The majority of the land during the time of our ancestors was owned by the Simcoe family. Historically the parish is a rural deanery and part of the Hemyock hundred. Central to the community of the time was Dunkeswell Abbey, built in 1842 by landlady Simcoe. Part of the Abbey structure still stands but worship is held today in the Holy Trinity Church (pictured). The graveyard where Edward and Mary Atkins are buried can be seen in the foreground. |
 Dunkeswell Abbey (c 2001). Photographed by Nigel Batty-Smith. |
| JAMES CHARD’S MOTHER Mary Warren Atkins (1801 – 1870) Born in November 1801, probably at Ararat farm on the most north eastern perimeter of Luppitt parish, James Chard’s mother was illegitimate and most likely never knew her father, George Warren. He was obviously a man of considerable means as his name appears on Luppitt’s Bastardry Orders list the year after Mary’s birth. Although many children were born illegitimately in these times few men had sufficient wealth to support the level of family maintenance demanded by the laws of the land with the result that only a handful of fathers actually made it to the Bastardry roster. Mary Warren was one of the lucky ones as she and her mother possibly received financial support until Mary was 18 (or 21, depending on the specific imposition of the court). Given that Saint Marys Church in Luppitt retained a record of this event, it is fair to assume that the church paid periodical sums of money to its young ward and, because of this, Mary would have remained in the parish until the early 1820’s. Although there is no evidence, Mary's illegitimacy quite possibly caused her to be an outcast in her mother’s world.  Certainly the first ten years would have been difficult as her mother laboured on the Burrough owned property Gulleyhayes. Life for a growing farmer’s daughter would have been spent in a typical Devon “longhouse” like that pictured opposite. Without doubt, during this time, her greatest male influence would have been her uncle James and it would have been a sad occasion for the 13 year old when he died [10] in 1814. The other close male relative at this time was her cousin James. Ten years her senior, James was probably protector and confidante. His paternal influence would also have impacted on the latest addition to the family circle; a new step-sister. |
| THE AUNTS AND UNCLES OF DUNKESWELL Elizabeth Burrough Atkins (1812 – 1886) Like Mary, Elizabeth was born illegitimately [10], her father being a Dunkeswell farmer named Edward Burrough. Her baptism was recorded at Saint Marys Parish Church under her mother’s surname. At the time of her birth the Burrough family owned the freehold [25] to a 63 acre plot of land next to Ararat farm called Gulleyhayes. The Atkins’ and Burroughs’ were neighbours but Elizabeth, in her growing years, probably spent more time with her sister at Ararat than with her mother at Gullyhayes, primarily because her mother was frequently pregnant. Due to their similar circumstances a strong bond may well have formed between the two sisters and when Mary Warren departed Luppitt for Churchstanton it is possible that Elizabeth accompanied her. This is supported by the fact that Elizabeth Burrough married 43 year old William Wyatt [26] in Churchstanton in 1834, a marriage that bore one son - James Atkins Wyatt. Widowed [24] eight years later, she remarried [27] Clayhidon farmer William Westlake Blackmore in 1844. By 1851, the Blackmores had relocated [18] to the port city of Bristol in Gloucestershire. James Burrough (1813 – 1871) Born in Dunkeswell, James was closer to his mother than his father. By 1841, father Edward has departed the family estate at Gulleyhayes leaving its management to son James and wife Mary. When his mother died two years later, James stayed on at Gulleyhayes and it is not until 1861 that the census records his retirement to a Dunkeswell “town house”. Unmarried, James died in 1871. Joseph Burrough (1814 – 1885) It is more difficult tracing Joseph’s life. Even though he was born in Dunkeswell there is a possibility that he moved to Hemyock at an early age. Certainly he married a Hemyock girl named Betsy Warren, and they had five children, all born in that parish. In the late 1840’s, after their youngest was born, the family moved to the Tiverton / Uffculme area to a property called Raggs Moor. Wife Betsy worked as a “straw milliner” whilst Thomas laboured in the fields. After the death of his wife 1864, Thomas married a 56 year old widow named Anne Pursey and remained on his farm up until his death. John Burrough (1816 – 1901) John spent his entire life in Dunkeswell, tending to 12 acres of farmland called Civills Cross - land assigned to the Holy Trinity Church. In 1840 he married Ann Morgan Cload and they had two girls. |
James Chard’s Maternal Lineage
Luppitt and Dunkeswell
to Churchstanton, Broadway and Bristol
(1770 – 1870)
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Legend The thick red line is James Chard’s maternal blood line. @ Born in Membury, DEV. & Born in Dunkeswell, DEV. # Died in Dunkeswell, DEV. * Born in Luppitt, DEV. † Died in Luppitt, DEV. †† Died in Broadway, SOM. % Died in Upottery, DEV. £ Born in Churchstanton, DEV. Ω Died in Churchstanton, DEV. |
| CHURCHSTANTON COUSINS |
| Both illegitimate Atkins sisters had first-born sons named “James Atkins” (named after their grandfather on their mother’s side). The cousins were both born in Churchstanton and from the humblest of beginnings, each overcame unbelievable obstacles to become skilled and successful citizens – albeit 12,000 km apart. James Atkins Chard (b 1830) After an ignominious beginning he eventually established himself as a squire and highly respected animal husbandman in Victoria, Australia. He fathered 11 children, and died at the age of 94. whilst, James Atkins Wyatt (b 1835) After initially being forsaken by his mother, James gravitated to the busy city port of Bristol, Gloucestershire where he became a master cooper. Not content with being an artisan he acquired expertise as an assurance agent from his step-father and at the age of 36 moved to Guernsey. For the next twenty years he was a Commission Agent for the Channel Islands based in Guernsey’s St Peter Port. Married twice, he sired 8 children. He was last heard of in 1891, paralysed and in hospital. |
References
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