Please use the above links to explore this branch of the family tree. The default “Next” and “Previous” links below may lead to other unrelated branches.
Please use the above links to explore this branch of the family tree. The default “Next” and “Previous” links below may lead to other unrelated branches.
Please use the above links to explore this branch of the family tree. The default “Next” and “Previous” links below may lead to other unrelated branches.
Please use the above links to explore this branch of the family tree. The default “Next” and “Previous” links below may lead to other unrelated branches.
Please use the above links to explore this branch of the family tree. The default “Next” and “Previous” links below may lead to other unrelated branches.
Henry James Pinsent was the only son of Henry Pinsent by his wife, Mary (née Langmead). He took over the tenancy of the family farm at “Whitstone,” in Bovey Tracey, in 1894, when his father died. Henry James married Kate Hewett, a farmer’s daughter from Seale, near Farnham, in Surrey, on 17th April 1900 and they had a son, Henry Hewett Pinsent, at “Whitstone” the following January. His parents moved to “Lode Farm”, at Kingsley, Alton, in Hampshire shortly afterwards and they were there by the time their second child, Marion Pinsent, was born in 1904. Henry Hewett was technically a Devonian but he never really knew the place.
Henry James Pinsent’s injury appears in the Exeter and Plymouth Gazette, February 11, 1892.
Henry James had grown up on a mixed farm and he was a known to be an effective farmer, despite his having injured his arm through the poor handling of a gun in 1892. He had placed a loaded gun against a hurdle while tending a sheep and it had discharged as he grabbed the barrel to pick it up. In the process, he badly damaged his right hand and forearm (Exeter and Plymouth Gazette: Thursday 11th February 1892). Nevertheless, he seems to have functioned reasonably well and he even played billiards for the local team in 1895 (Western Times: Saturday 7th December 1895)!
Henry James Pinsent in the 1891 census.
Henry James, like his father before him, had some level of success in local agricultural competitions. For instance, his entry “Perfection” fetched 21 guineas at an “Exhibition and Sale of South Devon Cattle” held in Totnes in March 1899 (Western Times: Wednesday 22nd March 1899) and his collection of “six roots of each kind” (mangolds, swedes and turnips) came first at the “Newton Abbot Fat Stock (and vegetable) Show” in December that year. Henry was asked to judge the sheep in 1899 (Western Times: Thursday 7th December 1899) and was, thus, unable to compete in that particular category. The following year, he did well in the “Judge the Weight” of a bullock competition at the “Totnes Fat Stock Show”. His estimate of 6 cwt. 3 qrts 6 lbs came in fifth, being only two pounds short (Western Times: Tuesday 11th December 1900)!
Map of Bovey Tracey.
One of Henry’s horses, a roan mare, got loose in Kenn in September 1900 and he advertised for its return (Western Times: Monday 3rd September 1900). Whether he got it back or not, is not recorded.
Henry purchased a bull in 1901 (Totnes Weekly Times: Saturday 23rd March 1901). Why, I am not sure as he was planning to move before long. In the meantime, he had a farm to run and accidents will happen. Later that year, Henry was called to give evidence at the inquest of a five year old boy, Edwin Winsor, who had fallen from a wagon-load of timber. The boy’s abdominal injuries proved to be fatal. The Jury placed no blame on the wagoner and returned a verdict of “Accidental Death” and (Western Morning News: Friday 28th June 1901).
In 1903, Rendell and Symons (the “auctioneers”) were called upon to find a new tenant to take over at “Whitstone” as of Lady Day (25th March 1903). The farm, which was owned Mr. W. R. A. Hole, J.P., C.C., was said to consisted of 247 acres, 1 rude and 10 perches; including 71 acres of pasture and 11 of orchard, with a superior farmhouse, buildings and three cottages (Western Times: Friday 4th July 1902).
Report of the fire in the Western Times, July 18, 1902.
Unfortunately one of the cottages caught fire two weeks later! There was considerable damage but no loss of life. The occupant, Mr. Tremlett, who was one of Henry’s farm hands, was out at the time but his wife and five children were at home and they were, understandably, extremely shaken and upset. They were taken to “Whitstone”, where they were looked-after by Mr. and Mrs. Pinsent (Western Times: Friday 18th July 1902). The Bovey fire engines did what they could to extinguish the fire but most of the building and its contents were destroyed. The building was insured but the furnishings were not. The episode must have cast a shadow over the community, particularly as it came just after the presentation of a “silver loving cup” to Mr. William Gerald Hole the previous day. It was a gift made by the tenants of Parke Estate (including Henry James) to honour his coming of age (Western Times: Friday 18th July 1902).
Messrs. Rendell and Symons (“auctioneers”) sold off Henry James’s horses, pigs, fowls, implements of husbandry and furnishings the following February (Western Times: Friday 13th February 1903). Presumably, they had already disposed of his sheep and cattle. The family left “Whitstone” at the end of March and moved to “Lode Farm”, at Kingsley, near Alton in Hampshire. “Lode Farm,” which had been built around an old Royal (Tudor) hunting lodge was painted by Vincent Lines in 1942 and there are lithographic prints available on-line. Henry James’s uncles (John and Gilbert Pinsent) and Kate’s father seem to have persuaded him to leave Devon and move east into Hampshire. The previous occupant of his new farm – a Mr. J. W. Mitchell – had been a “prominent and successful agriculturalist” and well regarded breeder of cattle who had retired from farming in October 1902 (Hampshire Chronicle: Saturday 21st January 1905).
Notice of the sale appears in the Hampshire Observer and Basingstoke News, February 4, 1905.
Henry James and Kate moved into “Lode farm” sometime after Ladyday, 1903 and their daughter, Marion Pinsent, was born there the following year. Henry James built up a considerable inventory of life-stock and machinery on arrival – as one would have expected if he planned run the farm for several years; however, it was not to be. Their tenancy was to be short lived. We find that he instructed Messrs. James Harris and Son (“auctioneers”) to sell his 61 head of cattle and his farm equipment on 10th February 1905 (Hampshire Chronicle: Saturday 4th February 1905). At the same time, he instructed them to sell off all his household furniture, including carpets, mahogany and other furniture, an eight-day clock, a 7-octave cottage pianoforte and miscellaneous other items three days later (Hampshire Observer and Basingstoke News: Saturday 4th February 1906). The usual practice was to sell off the life-stock the autumn before leaving, which suggests the decision to leave was a hurried one. Why they left, I do not know.
The R.M.S. Ionian via NorwayHeritage.com
Henry James went out to Canada and his wife, Kate, took the the children out a few months later. The family settled in British Columbia. Their son, Henry Hewett’s (much later) application for U.S. Citizenship submitted to the “U.S. Department of Labour” noted that he (a.k.a “Harry”) had arrived in Montreal on the “S.S. Ionian” with his mother and sister in May 1906. He would have been five years old. Presumably his father had already acquired a farm in Vernon, British Columbia. The 1921 Canadian Census shows that Henry James and Kate (nee Hewett), and their daughter, Marion, were still farming at Mabel Lake, near Vernon in the 1920s. Marion married there, three years later.
The family is recorded in the 1921 Canadian census.
Henry H. Pinsent leaves on the S. S. Sherman from San Francisco, California on April 5, 1920.
Marion’s brother, Henry Hewett Pinsent forsook the farm and took to the sea. He was a single, 18 years old, “deckhand”, when he first arrived in Seattle on the “S.S. Princess” in 1919 and applied for entry into the United States (Seattle Passenger and Crew Lists). This was granted and he enlisted in the U.S. Army the following year. Henry Hewett was a “Private” attached to 104th Company (C.A.C) when it left San Francisco for the Philippines on 5th April 1920 (U.S. Army Transport Service Passenger List: 1910 – 1939: Ancestry.com) and a “Sergeant” when it went out to Honolulu in February 1923. Three years was enough, and he was honourably discharged from the army in April that year.
Henry Hewett Pinsent petitions for naturalization.
Service in the U.S. Army was an excellent route to Naturalization and he had no difficulty when he applied. According to his papers, Henry Hewett moved to Los Angeles and applied for Citizenship at the U.S. District Court for the Southern California, and duly renouncing his British Citizenship and swore his oath of allegiance to the United States on 17th June 1927. He was described as being 5ft 3.5in high, with brown hair and grey eyes.
Henry Hewett Pinsent settled in Los Angeles (California Voter Registrations) and returned to the merchant marine. He was a “cok(er)” in 1928, an “able seaman” in 1934 and a “seaman” in 1938. He took what he could get between ships and the United States 1930 Census tells us that he was an English born “dishwasher in a restaurant”. They were tough times! In September 1934, Henry applied for a “U.S. Seaman’s Protection Certificate” – essentially an identity card that proved his citizenship and stated that his last position had been as an “able seaman” on the “S.S. Nevadan.” The application provides a similar description to the one given when he applied for citizenship; however, it is endorsed by his photograph and thumb print!
Henry completes his application for seaman’s protection certificate.
There is no indication that he ever married. Henry Hewett Pinsent of #606 Front Street, San Francisco, California, U.S.A., died 2nd January 1938. Limited Administration was granted to Francis Mapleton Iremonger Watts, attorney for Kate Pinsent. This was probably his mother and not an, as yet unidentified, wife. His effects in England were valued at £97 18s (England and Wales: National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills & Administrations) 1858 – 1995).
Henry James Pinsent was thirty-four years old when he emigrated to Canada and started farming in British Columbia. He could have had more children; however, I am not aware of any. His daughter Marion married William Isaac Withrow in Vernon in 1924 and Henry James died three years later, in April 1927. He died in New Westminster, British Columbia at the age of fifty-four years (British Columbia Death Index: 1872-1979: Ancestry.com). His widow Kate, lived to be 94 years old. She probably became deaf in old age as she was an active member of the Vancouver area “Hard-of-Hearing league” in the 1940s (Vancouver Daily Province: 27th October 1942). She died in Burnaby, near Vancouver, British Columbia in March 1961.
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Ellen Anne Pinsent: 1871 – 1958 (Married George Tapper, 1890, Bovey Tracey, Devon) Henry James Pinsent: 1872 – 1927 (Married Kate Hewett, 1900, Farnham, Surrey) Mary Louise Pinsent: 1874 – 1904 (Married John Stevens Neck, 1901, Totnes, Devon)
Henry was the fourth son of John Pinsent by his wife Ann (née Brock). He was born at “Aller Barton” in Abbotskerswell in 1844 and was brought up with his elder brothers John Pinsent, Gilbert Pinsent and James Pinsent at “Ware Barton”, a farm in Kingsteington. By the time their father died, in 1858, John had already left home and it fell to Gilbert to take over the running of the farm with the help of his brothers James and Henry. James eventually emigrated to Australia. Their lives are discussed elsewhere.
Henry was fourteen years old when his father died. He lived at “Ware Barton” in the 1860s with his mother and brothers and the young men attended local events together. John, Gilbert and Henry heard a talk on “Middle Class Education” sponsored by the Devon “Central Chamber of Agriculture” and given by the local Member of Parliament in September 1869 (Western Times: Friday 10th September 1869). Henry seems to have been listening. He was later to be involved in local education.
Town Barton, Doddiscombsleigh.
Henry married Mary Langmead, a farmer’s daughter from Bovey Tracey, in Bovey Tracey, in 1870 and they moved into “Town Barton” farm in Doddiscombsleigh, which is a small parish just to the north of Ashton.
According to the census taken the following year, they farmed 215 acres with the help of five labourers and two domestic servants. They probably needed the latter as they had a three-month old daughter, Ellen Anne Pinsent by then. Their other children, Henry James and Mary Louise Pinsent arrived soon after.
Henry Pinsent appears in the 1871 census.
Henry is recognized for his work with a handsome tea and coffee service.
According to White’s Directory, the family was still living at “Town Barton” in 1878 and he must have been there two years later when he was appointed Clerk of the “Christow and Doddiscombleigh School Board”. Henry handled the paper work when the board went looking for a new schoolmistress, and when it changed its bylaws in 1880 (Western Times: Friday 27th February 1880; Exeter and Plymouth Gazette: Friday 17th December 1880).
When he left the district two years later, the School Board presented “their late honourary clerk” with a handsome tea and coffee service for his four years of service (Exeter and Plymouth Gazette: Friday 21st July 1882). The School Board had been formed in 1875 and the school built in 1879 (White’s History, Gazetteer and Directory, 1878), so it would have been a busy time for them.
Henry also represented Doddiscombsleigh, and Christow, on the “Wonford Highway Board”, which monitored the activities of the region’s Surveyor and allocated money to improve the region’s roads and bridges. The “Surveyor reported that the bridge over College Lane Brook in the parish of Ide had recently fallen in or been thrown down” (Western Times: Saturday 4th December 1880). There was a lot to be done there as well.
The auction is announced in the local paper. Western Times, March 3, 1882.
I cannot find any mention of Henry and his family in the 1881 Census records; however, he must have been living at “Town Barton.” That was the year that he was one of three farmers from outside the Chudleigh District chosen to judge “farms and roots” at its annual show and ploughing competition (Western Times: Thursday 27th October 1881). Henry was shortly to leave Doddiscombsleigh and move his family to “Whitstone Farm” in Bovey Tracey – which was in the Chudleigh District! In March 1882, he arranged for the firm of Rendell and Symons, to sell his 40 “wether hoggets” (young males) 12 steers and heifers, 4 pigs a gelding and, most important, “10 hogsheads prime cider fit for bottling” – and much else besides – at auction at “Town Barton” on 9th March, 1882. He also sold the grass or grazing on 100 acres of land through to the following 25th March, Ladyday (Western Times Friday 3rd March 1882). He
Map of Bovey Tracey that shows Whitstone farm.
Interestingly, we find that a Mr. Wm. Langmead, of “Whitstone Farm” sold his stock, which included a very highly regarded flock of sheep, at much the same time (Western Times: Thursday 14th April 1881). He was leaving the county and he sold off his residual stock, implements of trade and furniture early in March the following year (Western Times: Friday 10th March 1882). Presumably, William Langmead was one of Mary’s relations and his vacating the property allowed Henry and his family to take over what was probably a larger and more productive farm. It is probably not a coincidence that the “wether hoggets” that Henry had sold had been bred from “Mr. W. Langmead’s ram.”
Henry next turns up at a dinner that was given by the Vicar of Bovey Tracey to acknowledge the half-yearly “tithe audit” – payment of parish dues (Exeter Flying Post: Wednesday 9th August 1882). It was an annual event and, from this year on, Henry becomes a regular attendee.
As a new arrival in Bovey Tracey, Henry offered up two of his fields for the “Chudleigh District Agricultural Society” annual ploughing competition in 1882. The contest was carried out in thick mud on a particularly rainy day in October. Nevertheless, Mr. Pinsent of Bovey was warded third prize for “best general green crop” and for “best crop of common turnips, not less than three acres” (Exeter Flying Post: Wednesday 25th October 1882). Whether Henry or Mr. Langmead, his predecessor, should have had the credit I am not sure. However, his green crops and his swedes came in second the following year (Exeter and Plymouth Gazette; Friday 19th October 1883) and he deserved full credit for that. He did better still in 1884, coming first in both categories. He was a strong supporter of the “Agricultural Society” and involved in it in some for or other for several years (Teignmouth Post and Gazette: Friday 11th November 1887).
Henry Pinsent lends his fields for use during a ploughing competition. Western Times, October 8, 1886.
One of Henry’s bulls came in third in its particular category in 1884 and his heifers and his rams and ewes did well too. While this was happening, Henry and two other farmers were busy judging the thatching and hedging events (Exeter Flying Post: Wednesday 5th October 1884). Henry was in demand! The “Dawlish Agricultural Association” asked him to serve on its panel of judges later that month (Exeter Flying Post: Wednesday 24th October 1884). In later years, Henry appears to have concentrated on sheep breeding and he regularly won awards. He seems to have focused on long-wool sheep (East and South Devon Advertiser: Saturday 21st May 1887). He volunteered to host the ploughing competition for a second time in October 1886 (Western Times: Friday 8th October 1886).
Henry Pinsent is listed as a governor of the Bovey Tracey Grammar School. Western Times, May 2, 1890.
Henry was elected to the Newton Abbot “Board of Guardians” in 1883, and assigned to the “School Attendance Committee” to fill a vacancy created by the death of the previous representative from Bovey Tracey (Exeter and Plymouth Gazette: Friday 20th April 1883). He was re-elected to the “Board of Guardians” annually throughout the 1880s. Admittedly, the seats were rarely contested (Exeter and Plymouth Gazette: Saturday 30th March 1889). Henry was on the Board of Governors of “Bovey Tracey Grammar School” in 1890 (Western Times: Friday 2nd May 1890), so clearly kept up his early interest in Education.
Henry Pinsent was assigned another civic duty. He was appointed to the Grand Jury at the Devon Quarter Sessions when they were held in Exeter in July 1883 (Exeter Flying Post: Wednesday 11th July 1883). Henry seems to have been a good neighbour himself. When he found a stray, Dartmoor breed, “wether hog” (i.e. castrated male ram) that had inadvertently strayed onto his land. He resisted the temptation to make mutton stew and advertised the fact in the local press (Western Times: Friday 9th May 1884). It was a fairly common occurrence for stock to wander and most of the farmers thereabouts knew better than to keep waifs and strays.
Politically, Henry was a Conservative who supported the formation of a “Conservative Association in Bovey Tracey”. He believed that English farmers needed protection “when wheat went below 6s a bushel the land could not be properly cultivated for want of sufficient means to employ ample labour upon it” (Exeter and Plymouth Gazette: Friday 13th March 1885). His concerns showed through at a Vestry meeting held in April 1885. Some parishioners thought that the “Assistant Overseer”, who collected the rates, should receive a pay raise. However, Henry thought not, as it was inconsistent with the then downward tendency of wage rates. It was eventually agreed that the parish council should look into the payments made in neighbouring parishes (Exeter and Plymouth Gazette Daily Telegrams: Tuesday 14th April 1885) and report back before any decision was made. At the same meeting Henry was appointed a “way-warden” – which saw him returning to road management. Later that year, he supported Mr. W. J. Harris’s run for of parliament in the “Mid-Devon” Division in. He was one of his “Assessors” (East and South Devon Advertiser: Saturday 28th November 1885).
Presumably his wife, Mary (née Langmead) supported his Conservatism. In May 1886, we find Henry attending a meeting of the “Bovey Tracey Habitation of the Primrose League”. The league was a vehicle for women to become involved in the Conservative movement (Exeter and Plymouth Gazette: Friday 21st May 1886). Henry was still attending political meetings in November 1891 (East and South Devon Advertiser: Saturday 7th November 1891).
Henry Pinsent’s father and his brother Gilbert Pinsent, who was then farming at “Ware Barton” in Kingsteignton, were “non-conformists,” and Henry’s sisters had all been married at the Independent Chapel in Newton Abbot. However, Henry seems to have been less committed to the chapel than they were. Nevertheless, he contributed £15 3s 6d to a special collection made by the local “dissidents” to pay off the final tranche of the cost of building their own Wesleyan Chapel in Bovey Tracey (Western Times: Friday 7th October 1887).
Henry was an important member of both the town and the parish of Bovey Tracey, and a prominent member of the Vestry; however, he was reluctant to spend money on the parish church (Western Times: Tuesday 21st April 1885). In the spring of 1885, there were several meeting to discuss the restoration of the chancel. In the end, an anonymous donor agreed to pay for some of it and the incumbent, the Hon. and Rev. C. L. Courtenay was willing to pay for the rest. The plan was to remove the old-fashioned box pews and the replace the rood screen. At least the screen seems to have survived. The box pews had been assigned to local families for generations and their location bestowed status. Mr. W. R. Hole (President of the “Bovey Tracey Conservative Association”), who was a large contributor to the tithes in the parish, refused to give up his box (Exeter and Plymouth Gazette: Friday 1st May 1885). There was an acrimonious vote on the proposal on 22nd April 1885 (Exeter Flying Post: Wednesday 6th May 1885). Henry complained that there had been unauthorized canvassing: “(he) regretted to say he had been canvassed for his vote by two or three. — Mr. Westwood challenged him name the party. He knew he had not done so. Mr. Pinsent declined to give the information asked. Mr. Baker said one person had mentioned that two oz. of “baccy” had been offered him to vote for the vicar.” (East and South Devon Advertiser: Saturday 9th May 1885). The plan was approved but went ahead in the face of opposition.
Henry Pinsent’s letter is printed in the Western Morning News, December 23, 1886.
Tithes were an all too frequent cause of friction in the community as there were times when the economics of the agricultural economy favoured the farmer and times when it favoured the clergy. Henry answered one farmer’s complaint in the Western Morning News by saying: “For my own part I have never asked for, nor do I ever intend to sign a requisition to my clergyman for reduction of tithe as I consider it would be unreasonable having my farm subject to such charges. If a farm is too dear the proper person for me to make a complaint to is my landlord” (Western Morning News: Thursday 23rd December 1886).
Bovey Tracey was a large parish and the Churchyard and the Baptist burial ground were just about full. The Vestry reassembled in March 1889 to discuss the problem and a committee was formed … (Exeter Flying Post: Saturday 30th March 1889). Several parishioners favoured buying ground immediately adjacent to the Churchyard regardless of cost; however a new, presumably cheaper, site was eventually selected and purchased (Totnes Weekly Times: Saturday 28th September 1889).
The newly renovated parish church was back in action in May 1889 when Mr. J. L. Joll (the manager of the “Dolphin Hotel”) married Mrs. Ellen Shaddon (presumably née Langmead). She was given away by her brother-in-law, Mr. Henry Pinsent. His two daughters, Ellen and Mary, were bridesmaids. After the ceremony, sixty people sat down for a, doubtless very impressive, wedding breakfast at the “Dolphin Hotel” (Totnes Weekly Times: Saturday 25th May 1889). Ellen Anne (Nellie) Pinsent married George Tapper of “Twinyeo Farm” in Chudleigh Knighton, in Hennock, in April 1890 (Western Times: Friday 11th April 1890).
When the Mayor of Bovey Tracey, Mr. Thomas Crocker, entertained the borough freeholds to a dinner at the said same “Dolphin Hotel” in May 1887, it fell to Henry to respond to the customary toast to “The Army, Navy and Auxiliary Forces.” Evidently, he did so with humour and stated that: “He had never been connected (he said) with the Army, but had been a member of the Yeomanry Cavalry for eight years, and he always felt when called up for duty, ready to fight – (cheers, and laughter). At the same time; he believed it was the ambition of the branch he had the honour of belonging to, to do their best to maintain peace and good will with all nations” (East and South Devon Advertiser: Saturday 14th May 1887).
By 1891, Henry and his wife Mary (née Langmead) and their other two children, Henry James Pinsent, who was also described in the Census as being a “farmer”, and Mary Louise Pinsent (a.k.a. “Minnie”) were living at “Whitstone” with two farm servants, and a domestic servant. I imagine he also used day labourers on and around the farm as well.
Newspaper account of Henry James Pinsent’s gun accident. Exeter and Plymouth Gazette, February 11, 1892.
Henry’s son, Henry James Pinsent was, sadly, badly injured working on the farm in February 1892. He placed a loaded gun against a hurdle while tending to a sheep and the gun discharged as he grabbed the barrel to pick it up. He badly damaged his right hand and forearm (Exeter and Plymouth Gazette: Thursday 11th February 1892). He was fortunate that that was all.
Henry and Mary Pinsent’s gravestone via FindAGrave.com.
The pre-Christmas market at Newton Abbot was always very competitive and the best livestock received the best prices. In December 1893, one of Henry’s heifers came in second in its category (Western Times: Thursday 7th December 1893). Henry and his son Henry James had considerable success with their sheep and cattle over the years; however, this was to be Henry’s last award. Henry died at “Whitstone Farm” in 1894, aged 49 years, and his gravestone can still be seen in the cemetery at Bovey Tracey. His widow, Mary, probated his will and his effects were, according to the Calendar of Grants of Probate and Letters of Administration, valued at £2,131 4s 9d.
Henry’s son, Henry James Pinsent took over the running of the farm. He married, Kate Hewett, a farmer’s daughter from Farnham in Surrey in 1900 and they had a son of their own born in Bovey Tracey the following year. His life is discussed elsewhere.
Whitstone Farm, Bovey Tracey.
According to Kelly’s Directory, Mary (née Langmead) lived at “Whitstone” until 1897. However, I suspect that she was there for quite sometime after that. Mary and her son Henry James Pinsent were visiting a young Langmead relative in Sussex at the time of the 1901 Census. Henry James’s wife Kate, was, meanwhile, at “Whitstone” looking after her newborn son. Mary’s younger daughter Mary Louise Pinsent was staying with an uncle, John Lamble Joll (a Hotel Proprietor) in Hennock.
I do not know very much about Mary Louise; however, there is a head-shot photograph of her on the Lambert Website (Ancestry.com). She was likely the Mary L. Pinsent who was awarded “first class excellent” certificates for freehand and model drawing at the Newton Abbot Science and Art Class in 1889 (Express and Echo: Thursday 18th July 1889). She probably had a good singing voice too. On one occasion, “Miss Pinsent (daughter of the late Mr. H. Pinsent of Whitstone) who not only has a very sweet voice but used it with much artistic skill” sang a song entitled “Mona” (East and South Devon Advertiser: Saturday 28th April 1894) at a social event in Teignmouth. She was not alone on stage as William Henry Pinsent (from the DEVONPORT branch of the family) – who was just starting his own career as a banjo player and musical comedian – was also performing. Similarly, she was probably the Miss Pinsent whose pretty song “Whisper and I shall hear” entranced everyone at Miss C. E. Linter’s amateur concert for the benefit of the poor in Teignmouth at Christmas in 1894 (Teignmouth Post and Gazette: Friday 14th December 1894). Miss Pinsent was a bridesmaid when Sarah Hewett of White Lake Farm, Searle, married William Herbert Langmead, of Todhurst, Warbleton, Sussex (Aldershot Military Gazette: 14th November 1896). She, herself, married John Stevens Neck, a “gentleman” from Moretonhampstead, in Totnes, in 1901.
Henry’s widow, Mary Pinsent, (née Langmead) died in in Paignton, in October, 1909 and her son-in-law, George Tapper, a retired farmer, took probate of her will. She was buried with her husband. Her effects were valued at £376.
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Please use the above links to explore this branch of the family tree. The default “Next” and “Previous” links below may lead to other unrelated branches.
Please use the above links to explore this branch of the family tree. The default “Next” and “Previous” links below may lead to other unrelated branches.
Please use the above links to explore this branch of the family tree. The default “Next” and “Previous” links below may lead to other unrelated branches.
