Vital Statistics
Robert Pinsent: 1678 – 1707 GRO1778
Elizabeth Voisey: xxxx – xxxx
Married: 1703: Hennock
Children by Elizabeth Voisey:
Robert Pinsent: 1703 – 1711
John Pinsent: 1706 – 1706
Family Branch: Devonport
PinsentID: GRO1778
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Robert Pinsent was the firstborn and the only surviving son of Robert Pinsent “junior” of Huxbeare by his wife Mary (née Hamlyn). He was eight years old when his father died in 1686 and fourteen when his mother remarried. Mary Hart (as she became) seems to have held Huxbeare “in trust” for him until he grew of age. Her son, “Mr.” Robert Pinsent married “Mrs.” Elizabeth Voisey in Hennock in 1703. In this case, the terms “Mr.” and “Mrs.” (as above) probably refer to both social and marital status.
“Mr.” Robert had two sons, Robert Pinsent and John Pinsent by Elizabeth before he died, aged 28 years, in 1707. John had died pretty well at birth in 1706 and Robert’s widow faced the same problem that her mother-in-law had in 1686. His sole remaining heir, yet another Robert, was still a child.
Elizabeth married John Harris the year after her husband died and they tried to keep the farm for her son. However, the parish records mournfully record that Robert Pinsent “ye fourth of Huxbeare” died in 1711, so the Pinsent tenure at Huxbeare came to an end.
The mortality rate in Hennock and the surrounding area was extremely high in the early 1700s and it affected other branches of the Pinsent family as well. Why they died is uncertain; however, there were several exceptionally cold winters in Britain in the mid 1690s and early 1700s (The Project Gutenberg ebook. A History of Epidemics in Britain: Vol II (of 2) by Charles Creighton, 2013) although the “Little Ice-Age” was, at last, coming to an end. The influenza virus was, nevertheless, starting to make its presence felt. Perhaps these were contributing factors. The farm at Huxbeare may have passed to Robert Pinsent’s aunt (Robert and Mary’s daughter) Mary Collings (née Pinsent), as it seems to have been in the Collings family in the 1730’s.
The Pinsent connection with Huxbeare had lasted for 200 years or more, as had its connection with Knighton – which, according to the parish records, also came to an end in the early 1700s. The DEVONPORT line transitioned through Kelly to Devonport, and the HENNOCK branch passed through Slade to Pitt (see elsewhere).
Family Tree
Grandparents
Grandfather: Thomas Pinsent: 1597 – 1649
Grandmother: Julian Sidstone: xxxx – 1663
Parents
Father: Robert Pinsent: 1654 – 1686
Mother: Mary Hamlyn: xxxx – xxxx
Father’s Siblings (Aunts, Uncles)
Julian Pinsent: 1651 – xxxx
Robert Pinsent: 1654 – 1686 ✔️
Elizabeth Pinsent: 1658 – xxxx
Marie Pinsent: 1660 – xxxx
Thomas Pinsent: 1663 – xxxx
Ellen Pinsent: 1667 – xxxx
Male Siblings (Brothers)
Robert Pinsent: 1678 – 1707 ✔️
Thomas Pinsent: 1685 – 1694
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