William Elliott
of
Abbotskerswell, Devon
and his
Descendants

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Abbotskerswell, the village

Abbotskerswell (or Carswell) is a village and parish in the Newton Abbot union in the deanery of Ipplepen, archdeaconry of Totnes, diocese of Exeter, hundred of Haytor, East Devonshire, 2 miles south from Newton Abbot, 6 miles north west from Torquay and 18 miles south from Exeter, near the main road from there to Totnes.
Aller, a small hamlet about 2 miles East of Abbotskerswell, forms a part of this parish.
Both Abbotskerswell & Aller are mentioned in the Doomsday Survey of 1086 when the population of Abbotskerswell was less than 100 & was called Carsuelle.
In 1086 the manor belonged to the Abbot of Horton.
Abbotskerswell was settled by farmers of the Bronze & Iron Ages in about c1500BC and first became a parish in the 10th century.
St Mary's Church. A church has been on the present site since the 10th century, with some parts of the present building dating back to the 13th century. The latest renovations were done in the 1880's.
St Augustines Priory. Formed by English nuns from the community of St Ursula, Louvain in 1861 after they had been driven out of France during the French Revolution.

For more information about Abbotskerswell see The Devon Gazetteer

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Online Parish Clerk

The concept of an OPC involves a volunteer acting as a focus for gathering together transcriptions and name indexes related to the parish they adopt.

The OPC then provides a lookup service.

The term OPC as used here, refers to a repositor of genealogical related materials such as (but not limited to) church register transcripts, land tax assessments and census information, and the OPC should in no way be confused with the Parish Council appointed Parish Clerks. All OPC's are unpaid volunteers who are willing to assist others in their genealogical research.

For more information about the OPC Project see Devon Online Parish Clerks

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Resources

# Parish Records from 1607 to 1837 (Baptisms, Marriages & Burials)

# Index of Heads of Households 1780 - 1831

# Abbotskerswell, Devon by John Somers Cocks (1995)
which includes
* Those paying the Poor Rate in 1613
* Tenants of Demesne & Manor c.1700
* Names from Harrods Directory 1878

# Abbotskerswell Cricket Club Centenary 1898 - 1998

# A Short History of Abbotskerswell by Abbotskerswell W.I.(1978)
describes the village, the farms, Court Grange, the school, the Priory & local industry together with many names of interest.

# St Mary the Virgin, Abbotskerswell by J.V.S.C.(1989)
contains a historical sketch of the church & points of interest with some names of donors etc.

For further enquiries write to

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Other Pages on this Website

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The Elliott Family

The earliest known ancestor of the ELLIOTT FAMILY, William ELLIOTT married Catherine BURT 1740 in Abbotskerswell.
For more information see the Elliott Family

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John Henry George LEE
grandson of
Elizabeth ELLIOTT of Abbotskerswell

In 1821 Elizabeth ELLIOTT married William BEGBY, they had 3 children.
By 1831 William & his 3 children had disappeared & the "widow" Elizabeth BEGBY (nee ELLIOTT) was to marry John LEE from Ipplepen.

Two generations later one of her grandsons was to become the infamous John Babbacombe LEE - "the man they could not hang"

For more of the story see The Lee Family

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The Last Farewell

Devon Convicts Transported to Australia 1782-1821

author - Jack Walton

Family historians who have a Devon convict ancestor who was convicted and transported to Australia in the period 1782-1821 will find this a valuable addition to their library, including those with a general interest in convicts and the convict system.
For a list of the 574 convicts see Appendix A
For the complete index to the book see The Full Index

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Thomas Webber - Convict

Thomas Webber according to one reference was born about 1799 in Abbotskerswell. He was convicted at the Devon Assizes in 1821 and sentenced to transportation for life to Australia.
For further history see Thomas Webber

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