Anyone familar with "manor houses" close to Barnstaple

[melsm1957]

Hello Group,

I am trying to track down John Powe/Pow born circa 1823. My first definitive sighting on him is in 1841 in Barnstaple where he is an apprentice confectioner. From then I have I have him pretty well nailed down - he went to Llanelli, got married, settled in Swansea, with his wife and his mother (usually named Jane once Mary), raised a family and started a successful confectionery business.
Trying to find John's father and origins have proved elusive however. I've spent time and money following the trail of John's marriage cert which lists a father Thomas who was carpenter. I am quickly coming to the solution that Thomas is a fabrication and that John was in fact illegitimate. (It's not the first time I've found that fathers named on marriage certificates to be imaginary). Through a contact on a Glamorgan list, I've made indirect contact with another descendant of John Pow who gave some credence to my suspicions by letting me know that it was 'well known' within the family that "John was a bastard who was really the son of the local Lord's son and when the poor servant girl got pregnant she and child were sent away to Wales and the son was packed off to India" - Now part of this is patently untrue - John was still in Barnstaple in 1841 at approx 17 years old.His mother was also in Barnstaple in 1841 working as a servant. We've all heard these lord/servant stories and I suspect they are usually just to mitigate the arrival illegimate child in the eyes of the mother's family i.e. she couldn't help it, she couldn't refuse the lord of the manor's son etc. etc.

However, there is obviously a grain of truth here. What I am interested in, is knowing how many/details of any large Manor type houses in the general vicinity of Barnstaple - and/or Monkleigh (found a birth of a John pow bastard born to Jane Pow, Servant, in late 1823 which is a good fit, except that there aren't any other Pows in Monkleigh at the time, so why would she go there to have her baby.

If anyone has any ideas, I'd welcome them. I'm rather stumped at the moment.
regards
Mel Morris, Burlington, Ontario

[Guy Etchells]

Two points immediately spring to mind one with the mention of a marriage certificate and second with the mention of Barnstaple.

First the marriage certificate who were the witnesses do they throw ant light on the subject?
Second Barnstaple was/is a seaport; any port always seems to have a large proportion of illegitimate births.

Researchers concerned with Barnstaple are fortunate in that there is an OPC with many records available, though you may have been in contact

Under the heading Nobility, Clergy & Gentry page 180, Pigots 1830 (http://www.parishchest.com/en-gb/dept_661.html) directory shows about 180 entries all possible employers of servants.

Cheers
Guy

[Peter Goodey]

Bastardy papers are the first thing to look for. They would normally be at the relevant CRO, if anywhere.

There's a book "My Ancestors were Bastards (http://www.parishchest.com/en-gb/dept_4824.html)" published by the Society of Genealogists which you would probably find helpful.

If you do want to know about manors, the Manorial Documents Register (part of the National Archives) is the place to go. They are pretty good at answering email queries if you can quote a parish. This is probably a lowish priority job though. As you rightly say, it's wise not to give too much credence to Lord of the Manor stories - although one or two of them must be true!