Vital Statistics
John Pinsent: 1852 – 1917 GRO0494 (Agricultural, clay-pit and district road worker, Bovey Tracey and Chudleigh)
Ann Paddon: 1849 – 1922
Married: 1874: Newton Abbot, Devon
Children by Ann Paddon:
Laura Ann Pinsent*: 1874 – 1940 (Married Charles Heath, Newton Abbot, Devon, 1900)
Wallace Pinsent: 1877 – 1955 (Married Emily Caroline Redstone, Bovey Tracey, Devon, 1899)
Ada Pinsent**: 1880 – 1959
Albert John Pinsent: 1882 – 1928 (Married Hilda Maude Brimblecombe, Newton Abbot, Devon, 1912)
Florence Annie Pinsent: 1885 – 1918
Lily Blanche Pinsent***: 1887 – 1949 (Married John Henry Pettyjohn, Newton Abbot, Devon, 1911)
Beatrice May Pinsent: 1894 – 1894
* Laura’s illegitimate children:
Sydney John Pinsent: 1891 – 1968 (Married Beatrice Mary Drew, Tiverton, Devon, 1919)
Reginald Pinsent: 1894 – 1894
Ernest Reginald Pinsent: 1895 – 1896
William Leonard Pinsent: 1897 – 1898
** Ada’s illegitimate child: William Henry Pinsent: 1900 – 1965 (Married Olive May Perry, Totnes, Devon, 1928).
*** Lily’s illegitimate child: Albert George Pinsent: 1907 – 1976 (Married Bessie Edith Froom, Newton Abbot, Devon, 1927).
Family Branch: Bristol
PinsentID: GRO0494
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John Pinsent was the eldest son of John Pinsent of Ilsington, by his wife Elizabeth Loveys. He was born in Bovey Tracey and grew up there with two (surviving) sisters (Elizabeth Pinsent and Anne Pinsent) and one surviving brother (William Pinsent). His father was an “agricultural labourer” at a time during the industrial revolution when cheap agricultural imports were readily available and farm work was hard to find. Like many of his contemporaries he morphed into a thief, a “general labourer” and a “clay pit worker,” or more specifically a “clay-cutter”.
The 1861 census records shows that John Pinsent “junior” (as he was) was a “scholar” living with his mother and his siblings in Berry Pomeroy, while his father who was still nominally an “agricultural labourer” was lodging with a “potter” in Bovey Tracey. Presumably he learnt about work in the local coal and clay pits while living there. Where John “junior” was a decade later (1871), I do not know; however, he remained in the area and married Ann Paddon, in Newton Abbot in 1874.
Their first two children, Laura and Wallace, were born in Bovey Tracey in 1874 and 1877 respectively but their next, his daughter Ada, was born in Lancashire in 1880. John and Ann must have moved up there looking for work. The following year’s census shows that he was a “labourer” living on “Bawdlands Road” in Clitheroe (Burnley) in Lancashire, and that is where she was born. How long the family stayed up north I do not know, but the family was back in Bovey Tracey for the birth (or at least baptism) of John and Ann’s next child, Albert, in 1882. John was an (undefined) “labourer” when his daughter Florence was born in Bickington, in Devon in 1885 and also when his daughter Lily Blanche arrived in Ilsington in 1887. They got around.
John Pinsent was lodging with Samuel Doddridge, the keeper of the “Star Inn” in Ilsington when the 1891 census was taken. His wife, Ann, and her children Laura, Wallace, Ada, Albert, Florence and Blanche were, meanwhile, living at “Coldeast” in Ilsington. There was a brick and pottery-clay works there and Laura (17) and Wallace (14) had already been put to work there. Their younger siblings were for the most part still “scholars”. John had fallen foul of the magistrates at “Ashburton Petty Sessions” the previous year. They had fined “John Pinsent, miner, (10s) for being drunk at Coldeast” (Western Times: Saturday 18th October 1890. He pleaded guilty for a change (Exeter and Plymouth Gazette: Friday 24th October 1890).
It was not the only trouble the family had while living at “Coldeast”. In November 1901, Sydney Doddridge (14), one of the sons of the “publican” at the “Star Inn” where John had lodged, was remanded at “Ashburton Police Court” with an “attempted offense under the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1885, on Ada Pinsent, 11 years of age.” Several people, including Ada’s mother and the local doctor gave evidence and Sydney was committed for trial at the ensuing “quarter sessions” (Western Times: Friday 6th November 1901). The case was heard in December. Needless to say, the prisoner denied the charge and produced witnesses to prove that he was nowhere near the site of the alleged incident when it occurred. Somewhat bizarrely, Ada’s father argued for and not against Sydney. He was a friend of the prisoner’s father! The jury returned a verdict of “Not Guilty” (Western Times: Monday 7th December 1891. One has to wonder what was going on in the family in those days. Whatever it was, John and Ann did get back together again.
Beatrice Mary was born in Bovey Tracey in 1894. “Willie” Pinsent, the supposed “brother” of Wallace, who was one of the chief mourners when their sister Florence died in 1918 (Western Times: Friday 22nd March 1918) is a bit of an enigma. However, my best guess is that he was Ada’s illegitimate son, William Henry Pinsent. If so, he would have been one of Florence’s nephews – not one of her brothers although he would have been brought up as one.
Ann and John were living at “#16 South View” in Bovey Tracey with some of their children and grandchildren when the census-takers came round in 1901. John was, by then, unquestionably a “brick-works labourer” and his son Albert was a “labourer, coal-slacker.” In other words, he separated clay waste from the coal fines they used to fire the kilns. Interestingly, the household also included two of John’s grandsons, Sydney Pinsent, aged 9 and William Pinsent who was 1 year old. They were illegitimate sons of John’s daughters Laura and Ada, respectively.
John seems to have developed an interest in showing birds – in imitation of Mr. William Swain Pinsent – of the DEVONPORT Branch of the family – the head of the local brewery who was so successful in this endeavour (see elsewhere). John received his share of attention, albeit at more local shows – such as the “Bovey Tracey Fanciers” show in December 1903, when he came in second for his “cock, any other variety” and third for his “ditto hen or pullet” (Western Times: Tuesday 29th December 1903).
The census data shows that John and Ann were living on Woodway Street in Chudleigh in 1911. They claimed to have been married for forty years and had nine children – of which eight were still living. John and his son Albert were then both “district council road-workers” and Florence “(Florrie”) and Blanche were in “domestic service.” Once again, the household included two grandsons; this time they were (“Willie”) William Pinsent (mentioned above) and George Pinsent, the son of John’s daughter, Lily Blanche. Their lives are discussed elsewhere. John died in the “Workhouse Infirmary” in Chudleigh in 1917 and his funeral at the Congregational Church was well attended by his extended family (South Devon Weekly Express: Friday 23rd March 1917)!
His widow, Ann stayed on in Woodway Street in Chudleigh and was still living there when the census takers returned in 1921. She was living with her daughter Ada, and with her daughter Lily Blanche’s son, Albert George Pinsent. He was nearly fourteen years sold and still at school. Ann died on Woodway Street in 1922 and her funeral was also well attended (South Devon Weekly Express: Friday 31st March 1922).
The lives of John and Ann’s sons Wallace and Albert are described elsewhere. However, the life of their likely spurious third “son” William is less certain unless he is, in fact, William Henry Pinsent. If so, his life is discussed elsewhere! John and Ann had five daughters and all but one, Beatrice May Pinsent, lived to maturity. They either worked in the potteries or “in service”.
There must have been a steady influx of single young men and women into the potteries in those days – with somewhat inevitable results. Three of John’s four daughters had a total of six illegitimate children between 1891 and 1907! They were fortunate in having their own home to go to. The vicar Bovey Tracey, The Rev. C. L. Courtenay, and three Sisters of the Anglican “Order of St. John the Baptist, Clewer” had opened a home for “fallen women” known as the Devon “House of Mercy” in Bovey Tracey in 1861 (boveytraceyhistory.org.uk). It was an acknowledgement of the social disruption caused by the rapid development of the clay industry in and around Bovey Tracey in the nineteenth century, and a feature of the local landscape through to the late 1930s. None of John’s daughters landed up there, as well they might.
John and Ann’s eldest daughter, Laura Ann Pinsent had no less than four illegitimate sons! She was a “lathe-treader” at one of the potteries in “Coldeast” in Ilsington when she had her first, Sydney John Pinsent, in 1891. He grew up and married and his life is discussed elsewhere. Laura had her second child, Reginald Pinsent in February 1894; however, he died less than one month later. Laura claimed to have been assaulted (grabbed by the throat) by Thomas Brearley a “labourer” during an altercation that occurred in the street on Boxing day that year. He claimed he had just bumped into Laura “a young charwoman” in the dark but the magistrates at Newton Petty Sessions were not convinced, and he was fined 15 shillings (Western Daily Mercury: Wednesday 9th January 1895). Laura’s third son, Ernest Reginald Pinsent arrived in August but again died young – in May 1896. Her youngest child, William Leonard Pinsent, was born in April 1897 and died in May 1898. How well Laura knew any of the fathers, and whether Reginald and Ernest Reginald shared a common father, I do not know.
In January 1896, Laura applied to the “Parish Guardians” in Bovey Tracey for coffin and funeral expenses for her third illegitimate child. (Exeter Flying Post: Saturday 16th May 1896). The parish elders were, needless to say, not impressed. When the “Guardians” looked into it, they discovered that “there was no destitution in the Pinsent household, the total income of which was L 100 and her statements about Dr. Steward were quite untrue”. Laura was back at work as an “earthenware pottery worker” and several of her siblings were by then working, but it seems unlikely that the household income at “#16 Southview” came anywhere near to that amount. The “Rev. T. Hale said the family formerly lived at Ilsington, and they were notoriously given to telling lies. The woman showed signs of imbecility Mr. Clemas: There is not a particle of imbecility about her now: Mr. W. H. Heath: If she’s an imbecile there are a lot of others about (laughter)” (East and South Devon Advertiser: Saturday 16th May 1896.
Mr. W. H. Heath may have had cause to regret that remark as Laura eventually settled down and married Charles Heath, a local “labourer,” in the Newton Abbot “Registry Office” in June 1900. Perhaps the vicar of Bovey Tracey was not too keen on them having a church wedding. Charles was the son of Mr. Francis Heath. How he was related (if at all) to Mr. W. H. Heath, I do not know.
Laura’s son, Sydney John was brought up by Mr. Heath as his son. The Census records show that the family was living in Chudleigh Knighton in 1911. They also show that Charles and Laura had been married for eleven years and had had six children in addition to Sydney. Charles and Sydney were both “brickyard labourers”. Sydney John Pinsent was Laura’s only surviving illegitimate child. He went on to marry and his life is discussed elsewhere.
Laura’s younger sister Ada presumably recovered from the “attempted assault” on her person in 1891. She went on to work at one or other of the potteries and had an illegitimate son of her own (William Henry Pinsent) in 1900. She was a “cutter and brusher” at the time. When the Census takers called at “#16 South View” in 1901, they found that John and Ann Pinsent were living with their son Albert, their daughters Ada, Florence (“Flora”) and Blanche and their illegitimate grandsons Sydney and William. They made no effort to sort out who actually belonged to whom. Why Sydney was living with his grandfather not his mother and his newly acquired stepfather, I do not know. William went on to marry and have children. His life is discussed elsewhere.
Ada never married. She was a “general domestic servant” working for a George Harvey, a farmer at Thorn in Moretonhampstead in 1911. However, she was probably back in Chudleigh in the late teens and twenties. “Mrs. Pinsent and Ada” sent a floral tribute when one of their neighbours on Woodway Street died in 1920 (South Devon Weekly Express: Friday 15th October 1920) and she seems to have been home looking after her mother and her sister Lily’s son Albert George when the census was taken the following year. Ada was one of roughly 130 inmates of a care-home at “Beech House” in South Molton when the England and Wales wartime Register was compiled in 1939. She died there of influenza in April 1959.
The 1911 Census also shows that Ada’s younger sister Florence Annie Pinsent was at home with her father and mother, her brother Albert and sister Blanche, and two of her illegitimate nephews William (“Willie”) who was eleven and George who was four years old. They lived in a four-room house on Woodway Street in Chudleigh. Florence (“Florrie”) and Blanche were both “in domestic service”. Florence died in March 1918 without having married. Among those in attendance were her purported brothers Wallace and “Willie” (likely her illegitimate nephew), her sister Ada and her two sister’s in law. She was buried at the Congregation Church in Chudleigh (Western Times: March 22nd 1918).
Lily Blanche was the youngest of John and Ann’s surviving children. She was born in 1887 when her elder sister Laura would have been thirteen years old. She went in “domestic service” on leaving school and had her own illegitimate son, Albert George Pinsent, while living with her parents in 1907. Albert George grew up with his grandparents and eventually married Bessie Edith Froom in Newton Abbot in 1927. His life is described elsewhere. Lily Blanche was a “domestic servant” at Upton House on Fore Street in Chudleigh when the census takers made their rounds in 1911. However, she was still living with her parents on Woodway Street. She married John Henry Pettyjohn, an “agricultural labourer”, in December 1911.
John and Anne (née Paddon’s) daughters had six illegitimate sons between them. Three of them (Sydney John, William Henry Pinsent and Albert George Pinsent) married and had children of their own. Their lives are discussed elsewhere. Note that their “Y” chromosomes will differ markedly from those of their Pinsent forbears and their modern-day descendants will come with a very mixed genetic profile.
Family Tree
GRANDPARENTS
Grandfather: John Pinsent: 1782 – 1849
Grandmother: Mary Follett: 1782 – 1859
PARENTS
Father: John Pinsent: 1823 – 1902
Mother: Elizabeth Loveys: 1817 – 1884
FATHER’S SIBLINGS (AUNTS, UNCLES)
Ann Pinson: 1809 – 1862
William Pinsent: 1811 – 1879
Elizabeth Pinson: 1814 – xxxx
John Pinsent: 1817 – 1819
Joseph Pinson: 1819 – 1881
Sarah Pinson: 1821 – 1886
James Pinsent: 1825 – 1886
Samuel Pinson: 1828 – 1833
Thomas Pinson: 1830 – 1832
MALE SIBLINGS (BROTHERS)
William Pinsent: 1860 – 1936
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