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• Introduction - The Story
  • Family Tree Charts
• The Devon Families
  • The Bovetts
  • The Lowdens
  • The Cawleys
  • The Snells, Devon
• The German Families
  • Christian+Gertrude & earlier
  • Theodore Tenten
  • Henry Tenten
  • The Neuhsingers
  • The Other Tentens
• The Suffolk Families
  • The Borretts
  • The Osborns
• The Hampshire Families
  • The Bevis's
  • The Wests
• The Londoners
  • The Snells, London
  • The Murchs
  • The Jeffs
  • The Moores
  • The Timberlakes
• Mysteries

The Lowdens

The link from Bovetts to Snells

Anne Bovett married Charles Lowden (1836) in November 1858.

Charles was a dock labourer from Honiton – which seems odd, as there are no docks in Honiton. He must have had a lot of trouble finding work. Anyway, Charles and Ann soon got down to a spot of begatting in Stoke Canon, Devon. It seems their first child Emily didn’t survive long, so they popped out another Emily, followed by 7 more children. Charles was clearly on a roll here.

• Emily (1860)
• Emily (1862)
• Eli Gertrude
• John Henry
• Louisa Ann
• Frances
• Ambrose
• Rose Lily
• Gertrude

At about 18 years old, the second Emily left Devon and may never have returned. She travelled to West Ham, London, where she married George Snell, who had also left Devon aged 18 - did they elope?

It must have been quite an adventurous step for George and Emily. For generations before them, it seems that their ancestors had never moved more than 5 to 10 miles throughout their lives. Now these two had hopped on a GWR broad-gauge train, or maybe a horse-drawn coach, bound for London. I wonder, had they arranged a job and lodgings before they set out, or did they just go? The very first telephones were appearing in London at that time, but a Devon to London call was not possible. (London's first trunk telephone line was with Brighton and was opened in 1884).

If any arrangements had been made in advance, it would have been by letter - but I suspect they just went.

George Snell's mum was from Beer - it seems just about everyone in Beer was a Cawley. Great Grandad George's story is very interesting but first, you might like to know a little more about his mum's family, the Cawleys.