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Previous Chapter 08.B : Bosbury

Section 08 : Herefordshire 1592- 1???

Chapter 08.CB

Fownhope 1752-1890

Fownhope in Herefordshire is about 10 miles east-south-east of Hereford.  It is on the eastern bank of the river Wye.  It is also about 10 miles south of the Felton area where Brush were present families from at least the 1590s.  The two villages are only about 8 miles from Hereford which would have been the focal point for both.  Although there is no direct evidence it seems reasonable to believe the Fownhope families to be descended from those in the Felton area.

The first BRUSH appearance at Fownhope is the marriage of a James BRUSH to Elizabeth WARD in 1752 (AMcD says 5 November).  The best fit is that he was James[H34] baptised at Felton in 1718 (AMcD says 27 April) by James BRUSH and Mary nee SPENCER. Which makes him 32 at marriage.  There is a later record of a burial of a James on 30 September 1774 at Fownhope and of an Elizabeth at 20 June 1788 which both fit neatly.

There appear to be two children to James and Elizabeth: Elizabeth[H52] baptised 1757 and James [H51]. On or around 23 March 1754 the Fownhope register records the baptism of James 'B' the son of Thomas and Elizabeth. In 1814 a James BRUSH age 60 is buried at Fownhope, which equates to a birth in 1753/4, a perfect match to James B.

The following entries come from the National Burial Index for Fownhope (extracted from Find My Past)
y James d 1774
? John d 1779
y Elizabeth d 1788
y Richard b1790 d 1790
y Mary d 1793
y Joseph b 1792 d 1813
y James b 1754 d 1814
y Mary b 1757 d 1829
NBI @ Bishops Frome
John d 1728
Philip d 1728
Mary d 1730
NBI @ Yarkhill
Elizabeth d 1808 Elizabeth d 1809 Thomas b 1739 d 1816 NBI@ Hereford Ann b1780 d 1818 NBI @ Clehonger Jane b 1825 d 1828 NBI @ Pipe & Lyde William b 1830 d 1830 Jane b1831 d 1832 NBI @ Mordiford Maria (Brush?) b 1827 d 1839

At 1765 Ann BRUSH[H53] marries John NEWTON at Hampton Bishop. We have no birth record which matches her. If she is marrying at 'normal' age' then the best fit for her would be as a daughter of Thomas[H24] and Elizabeth of Felton.

James BRUSH of Fownhope [H51] marries Mary TRIGG at St George's in nearby Woolhope on 2 August 1778.*  There is then a record of the baptism of five of their six children from 1780 to 1792.  James was buried on 7 June 1814 at Fownhope.  The National Burial index gives lists his death as 1814 and his birth at 1754.
* This bit of detail came from 'Nikki', someone quite unconnected with the Brush family, who was researching 'unknown' partners as part of a Wikitree project.   A rare and very welcome example these days of selfless cooperation in family history research.  It prompted several hours trying to track the Trigg family:

Find my Past (relying on Family Search) records the baptism of a Mary TRIGG somewhere in Herefordshire on 4 November 1756, the daughter of James and Anne TRIGG.  There is a burial record (1) in 1829 at Fownhope of Mary Brush age 72 - which puts her birth date at 1756/7.
James TRIGG had married Ann THACKWAY at Woolhope on 13 October 1755 {Find My Past}.  In addition to Mary there is also a Herefordshire baptism by James and Ann of a second daughter Ann on 14 October 1759.
The only baptism I have found for a James Trigg is in 1735 at Westbury on Severn in Gloucestershire but he seems to have married and had children there in the 1860s and 1870s detailed in this Ancestry tree. There were Trigg families in Woolhope in tthe 1720s and 30s but no record of James.  Several Ancestry trees show a James Trigg born 1733 at Hereford, the son of William and Sarah but the only sources for these seem to be other Ancestry trees. Simply a count back from the 1855 marriage? But where does the information about parents come from? A William Trigg married Elizabeth in 1732 and William and Sarah baptised William in 1836.

The first three baptisms by James and Mary BRUSH are of William[H60] in 1780, James[H61] on 8 June 1783 and Hester[H62] in 1787.  Another child, Richard[H63] is buried as an infant in 1790 but no parents are named and there is no baptism.   The last two children, Mary[H64] and Joseph[H65], were baptised together in 1792 and we may assume they are twins. Mary dies in 1793 and Joseph dies, age 21 in 1813.

A view of Fownhope on 17th September 1798 and of Fownhope Church in 1792, both by James Wathen

Three of James and Mary's children do survive and marry. Hester, now referred to as Esther, marries Francis JONES in 1803. William (1780) is considered in chapter 8.D - Hereford.

There is one further death at Fownhope listed in the NBI. John, buried in 1779. No previous John mentions at Fownhope - maybe from Felton, a couple of possibilities.

From 1819 to 1847 there are entries in the Fownhope parish books of distributions from charitable trusts. James [H51](1753) had died in 1814.  Mary Brush is allocated one shilling at Whit Sunday in 1819.  In 1821 "Widow Brush" is allocated six pence.  Also in 1821 one of two "grey gowns for two of the most aged women" is allocated to "Molly Brush".  Mary dies and is buried at Fownhope on 14 Jan 1829, age 72 (so born 1757).

James[H61] marries Ann(e) MADDOX on 12 October 1815 at How Caple (a few miles south) and they baptise seven children at Fownhope. James was a farm labourer. Per AMcD Anne was baptised at How Caple on 4 November 1797, the daughter of William Maddox and Catherine Thomas who had married(or had banns called) on 18 April 1797 at How Caple. :

William (1816) [H71] James (1820)[H72] Mary(1821)[H73] Joseph (1827)[H74] Richard (1829, Oct 18 per AMcD)[H75] Thomas (1831)[H76] and Henry (1835)[H77]. These children are discussed in chapter 08.D

At the 1841 census they are at Fownhope with Joseph, Thomas, Richard and Henry

In 1851 census James [H61] is recorded as blind. The parish books of Fownhope mention James and Ann as receiving support (FWB says 'gifts') from charitable funds. James two shillings and sixpence in 1836 and a peck of wheat in 1845.  A peck is a volume measure 16 pints, about 15lbs.  Ann a hundredweight of coal, two (loaves?) of bread and two shillings in 1847. James was buried on 20 December 1860 and Ann on 3 March 1877.

Two infant deaths are recorded (NBI) at Pipe & Lyde, which is just north of Hereford. Lugwardine maybe the nearest point of Bbrush locations. These overlap - though maybe too closely - with James and Anne's children. William b 1830 d 1830 Jane b1831 d 1832

Next Chapter 08.D : The children of James and Anne 1816-19??

(1) back to text    Recorded in the 'National Burial Index' from 'Find my past'