Julie Hunt has kindly drawn our attention to the marriage at Peters Marland in north Devon on 27 August 1717 of Lewis Holman and Joan Yeo.
Joan was one three daughters of Samuel Yeo and Lavinia Pearse. They married quite a long way from Samuel’s parish of Peters Marland – the event is recorded in the parish register for Exton in Somerset as having taken place on 29 January 1682. There is a family connection with Exton as Samuel’s brother Bartholomew Yeo had been rector there some years earlier.
Samuel Yeo was from a wealthy background. He was born about 1612, the third son of John Yeo and Rebecca Rolle, and received a legacy from his uncle Valentine Rolle. He is recorded in Essex County, Virginia in 1653 but appears later to have returned home. According to research by Reg Walter, administration of his estate was granted at Barnstaple in 1687. Samuel died in 1687 and had no male heirs. He owned property at Peters Marland that was later sold to the Lethbridge family. A deed dated 24 September 1663 relating to property at Hatherleigh might also be relevant.
Samuel and Lavinia had three daughters:
– Elizabeth Yeo, baptised at Peters Marland in 1686 and later named as Samuel’s executor, but too young to deal with his estate when he died [note 4]; her own will was proved at Barnstaple in 1715
– Lavinia Yeo, who married Arthur Piper at Peters Marland in 1711
– Joan Yeo; no record of her baptism has been found.
Lavinia married again three times: she married Henry Elston [note 1], Thomas Hutchings [note 2] and Thomas Balkwill [note 3] and was buried at Peters Marland in 1728.
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Notes
1. Married at Peters Marland in 1688. Lavinia was a party to a prenuptial trust deed drawn up before this marriage – the deed involved land at Stone and properties at Stone Moore and Swilladon in the parish of Peters Marland. John Pearse of Winsford, Somerset and Thomas Pearse of Exton, Somerset were also parties.
2. Date and place of marriage not known.
3. Married at Peters Marland in 1697.
4. Samuel’s will failed probate because Elizabeth was only 11 years old. His estate was administered by his widow (named in the court documents as Elizabeth rather than Lavinia, which appears to be an error).