The Wheatons

The Wheatons

This family is huge!
There are Wheatons everywhere!  In Newton Poppleford,  Aylesbeare, Colaton Raleigh,  Sidmouth,  Southerton,  Ottery St Mary and Venn Ottery.
There are Wheatons connected to the Silk works in Newton Poppleford.  This was in Millmoor Road ( Factory Lane), but has long since been demolished.  Lace making was also a prevalent occupation of the ladies living in the area.
James Wheaton, baptised in Venn Ottery in 1808, marries and starts a family but gets himself into trouble by breaking and entering a cobbler's.  He is sentenced to 10 years hard labour, and is shipped out to Tasmania, leaving his family behind. Harsh times for the family he leaves behind having to cope with out him. He doesn't return as he stays onto live in Tasmania and make a new family there.
James half brother George Wheaton born in 1832, grew up in Venn Ottery. His trade is a carpenter/journeyman, so I guess he travels to find work when needed. He marries Thirza ( Theresa Gigg) in 1855 and they have many children before she sadly dies in 1877 ( she is buried in Venn Ottery churchyard). Not long after he marries again to Emma ( Dyer) and together they bring up all 11 children.
At age 55 his occupation changes to sawyer and is living in Brownings farm and by 66 he has become a market gardener. Many of his children work locally,  the boys mainly as farm labourers (  whilst working at Elliott's farm his son Henry finds Thomas Burgoin who committed suicide in the barns). The girls mainly work as domestic servants in the locality or laceworkers.
One of his daughters Emily, takes a job as a domestic at the rectory in Combe Raleigh, whilst here she appears to fall in love with the local post man, Robert Channon.  They marry in 1892 and the following year they have a son,  Harry. .  Sadly at the age only 36 Robert dies and Emily and Harry move back to Venn Ottery -  I imagine to have the support of her family. In the 1901 census she is working from home as a Honiton lace maker and Harry goes onto be a farm labourer.
 The first World War is looming and Harry joins the 8 th battalion,  the Devonshire Regiment, but as was the case for many, Harry unfortunaly didn't return to his mother. He was killed in action and is buried in Zonnebeke,  Belgium.  From the date of his death,  5th October 1917 and where he is buried I believe he was at the battle of Broodsiende.  This battle was fought in atrocious conditions exacerbated by the awful weather conditions and there were many casualties.  There is a memorial to the brave Harry on the wall inside the church at Venn Ottery
How sad for Emily, she lost her mother Thirza, her husband Robert and her only son Harry, all taken before their time.
Other men from the village played their parts in the great war but Harry and Emilys story, I thought,  is really touching.

Pictured is Brownings Farm Southerton, home of George Wheaton.