James Barrett; Barratt, Barnet. INFORMATION PLEASE

Swan and Cygnet - Topsham Museum

 Topsham Museum

The Cygnet - star exhibit at Topsham Museum

Hello – To Whom It May Concern

I was advised by the Churchwarden, Tim Miles to contact the Starcross Local History Group in order to see if anyone there can offer any advice or help me in my quest to locate the last resting places of my Great great grandparents, particularly, James Barratt.

James and Susanna Barratt [name variations can include Barrett, Barnet etc] were married in Starcross in 1837 and proceeded to have a typical large family. They lived for a half century in various cottages in Church Street and New Road. James identified himself as a waterman or boatman in various census returns across the years.

While a number of their children remained in the area due to work or marriage, my Great grandmother, Elizabeth Gibbin[g]s went to London when her Exmouth husband joined the Guards in Exeter in the late 1870s [although you may be interested that I did find her returning to reside at No 7 New Road with a sister and her family in the 1939 ‘war’ census which you celebrate on your web site].

However, as a consequence of my researches at the Exeter Heritage Centre last week,  I discovered that both James and Susanna had sad and tragic ends to their lives. Susanna was the subject of a Devon Coroner inquest in 1895 when it was reported that she fell down the stairs of No. 9 New Road and broke her neck [she had been a lace maker and had lost her sight]. James, who family folklore claimed he sailed the boat that was in the form of a ‘cygnet’, was admitted to the Exminster Asylum and died within a few days in 1904 aged 89 years.

James bequeathed his name to three successive generations of our family and in view of his residence and work in the village for so many years I believe he must have been well known while alive. Despite help and advice from the Devon Archivist, the Starcross Churchwarden and various Parish Burial Records [Starcross, Kenton, Powerham and the Exminster Asylum burial records], contact with Teignbridge Council regarding the Dawlish and Teignmouth Civic Cemeteries, I am still finding James last resting place elusive [I know Susanna is buried somewhere in St. Paul’s in an unmarked grave].

Is there any advice or help that your group may give me to enable me to achieve my goal? Similarly, I did wonder if amongst any photos of ‘Old Starcross’ it might b possible to identify James on the river etc or his family in the village as no such picture is in the family’s possession.

Best Regards,

Les Gibbings

n.b.

I have been a member of the Devon Family History Society since the 1980s. My maternal Aunt & Uncle lived in Venn Bridge Farm until the early part of this century.
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Hi

I've put your request on the Starcross History web

Topsham Museum might have some info. They have all sorts of papers about Starcross.

Then of course there's the wonderful British Newspaper Archive

which is free to access at lots of public libraries and at the Devon Heritage Centre

- another place well worth a visit

regards

Monica Lang