2.2 John (1)
SAUNDERS ( Ann ) was baptised on
26 Dec 1812 in Crediton, Devon, and appears to have died between 1881
and 1891.
John, a shoemaker by trade, lived all his adult life in Chawleigh, Devon. In 1841, he was living alone in the village. After his marriage, he lived in Wards (1851), New House (1861), the village (1871), and St Sedwells No. 1 Village (1881). He gave his birthplace consistently as Crediton, except in 1881 when he gave it as Chawleigh. It seems likely that he moved with his mother to Chawleigh before 1818 (when his brother William was born) and then stayed there after his mother died in childbirth.
John married Mary about 1841. Mary was born in 1806 and also seems to have died between 1881 and 1891. John and Mary had the following children:
3.1
F i Fanny SAUNDERS was born in 1842 in Chawleigh. A dressmaker, she appears to have lived with her parents all her life and never married. In 1891, she was living with her sister at St Sidwells, Chawleigh¾probably the same house she was living in in 1881. She died in 1896 in Chawleigh.
3.2
F ii Harriett (1) SAUNDERS was born in 1846 in Chawleigh. Like her sister, she appears never to have married. She lived in Chawleigh until after 1891, but in 1901 was recorded as living in Camberwell, London. The only indication of her occupation was "domestic" in 1891.
3.3
M
iii
John (2) SAUNDERS
2.3 Robert SAUNDERS
( Ann ) was baptised on 8 Oct 1815 in
Crediton and died on 12 May 1866 in Chawleigh.
In the 1851 and 1861 censuses, Robert gave his birthplace as Chawleigh, Devon¾but there is no record of his baptism in Chawleigh in this period. Also, on his 1840 marriage certificate, he gives his father as "Edward SANDERS, labourer", but there is no record of a couple Edward and Ann SAUNDERS in Chawleigh or Crediton at the time. It seems that Robert confused his origin with that of his brother William, not surprisingly considering that they lost their parents at an early age.
Robert was a labourer. By 1840, he had moved to Somerset. At the time of his marriage, he was resident in East Street, Bedminster, where his bride and presumably his in-laws were also resident. Robert and his new wife moved to Eliza's home town of Nailsea, then to Exminster, Devon, sometime before 1845, and then to Plymouth, Devon. In 1851, they were living at 23 John St., Morice, Stoke Damerel, and in 1861 at 11 Keate Street, Stoke Damerel. After one of his daughters and his wife died in 1863-1864, Robert moved back to Exminster. When his second daughter died there a year later, he moved to Chawleigh to live with his brother John. A year after that, Robert died of jaundice after two days of haemorrhaging from the stomach and bowels, his death being registered by John's neighbour Jane KEMP.
Robert married Eliza HALE, daughter of
labourer Henry
HALE and his wife Betsy, on 28 Dec 1840 in Bedminster, Bristol. Eliza
was christened on 28 Jan 1816 in Nailsea, Somerset (although she
consistently claimed to have been born in the neighbouring parish of
Backwell), and she died on 22 Apr 1864 in Stoke Damerel.
Robert and Eliza had the following children:
2.4 William (2) SAUNDERS ( Ann ) was christened on 1 Apr 1818 in Chawleigh, Devon. He died on 15 Jan 1881, probably in Brixham.
No father is named in the record of William's baptism. On his1849 marriage certificate, he gave his father as "Edward KEAN, mariner", but this Edward KEAN has not yet been found; for example, there was no Edward KEAN or KEEN recorded as living in Devon in the1851 census. However, taking into account the fact that his brother Robert gave his father's name as Edward SANDERS, it does suggest that William's father's first name was Edward¾if, indeed, Robert and William ever knew his name.
Illegitimate and losing his mother at birth, William must have had a most difficult childhood. He may have been brought up with his brothers John and Robert in the Chawleigh workhouse, which in 1777 was reported to have had 24 places. He himself was very unsure of where he was born, giving his birthplace variously as Sandford (1851), Chawleigh (1861) and Chulmey [Chulmleigh] (1871). Interestingly, all these places are in the Crediton registration district. He and his brother Robert seem to have mixed up their origins.
In 1841, William was a servant in the household of Chawleigh farmer John WOOLWAY. By 1849, he had moved from Chawleigh to Brixham and become a sawyer. He lived the rest of his life there, residing in Kings Street (1851), Sheepy Lane (1861), and Ranscombe (1871).
Apparently, William did not make a will and no obituary has yet been found.
William married Mary Ann GREGORY, daughter of Brixham mariner Robert GREGORY and Elizabeth née WARREN, on 21 Jan 1849 in Lower Brixham. Mary was born in 1824 in Brixham, Devon, and christened there on 25 Jul 1824. She died on 15 Feb 1897, probably in Dartmouth.
William and Mary had the following children:
+ 3.6
M i William James Pepperell SAUNDERS + 3.7
M ii Emanuel Gregory SAUNDERS + 3.8
M iii Robert Gregory SAUNDERS