Please read About Families before using any of the information on this page. This line was originally researched by Humphrey Toms and Reg Walter.
William Yeo (c1608–1683, second son of John Yeo and Rebecca Rolle) married Sarah Heathman at West Buckland in 1637. They had three sons:
– John Yeo (see below)
– William Yeo (see below)
– Thomas Yeo (see below).
After Sarah’s death, William married Elizabeth Griffin at East Buckland in 1671. There were two sons from this second marriage:
– Samuel Yeo (see below)
– Leonard Yeo (baptised 1679 at East Buckland, married Ann Berry and Rebecca Main).
John Yeo (c1638–1685, son of William Yeo and Sarah Heathman) married Mary Ley at Monkleigh in 1664. They had two children:
– Rebecca Yeo (1667–1690)
– John Yeo (1668–1690).
William Yeo (c1639–1687, son of William Yeo and Sarah Heathman) married Frances Cliffe. They baptised five children at Merton:
– Robert Yeo (see below)
– William Yeo (see below)
– Francis Yeo (baptised 1674)
– Elizabeth Yeo (baptised 1678)
– Mary Yeo (baptised 1679) [note 1].
Thomas Yeo (baptised c1645 [note 1a], son of William Yeo and Sarah Heathman) was rector of three successive parishes: Swimbridge, Chittlehampton and Mortehoe. His seven children were baptised at Swimbridge:
– Sarah Yeo (baptised 1674)
– Thomas Yeo (baptised 1675)
– Elizabeth Yeo (baptised 1677)
– Mary Yeo (baptised 1680)
– Katherine Yeo (baptised 1683)
– John Yeo (baptised 1686)
– William Yeo (1686–1687).
Samuel Yeo (1674–1726, son of William Yeo and Elizabeth Griffin) married Susanna Laney at Swimbridge in 1730. They had two children:
– John Yeo [note 2]
– Charity Yeo (baptised 1714 at Swimbridge, married William Pugsley at Goodleigh in 1745).
Robert Yeo (1667–1733), son of William Yeo and Frances Cliffe, married Margaret Brown at Merton in 1668. They baptised eight children at Merton:
– Susanna Yeo (baptised 1689)
– William Yeo (baptised 1691)
– Robert Yeo (see below)
– Francis Yeo (1695–1699)
– John Yeo (1697–1711) [note 3]
– Francis Yeo (see below)
– Roger Yeo (baptised 1703)
– Thomas Yeo (baptised 1709).
William Yeo (1691–1770, son of Robert Yeo and Margaret Brown) married Mary Dunford at Merton 1729. They baptised four children at Merton:
– Margaret Yeo (baptised 1731, married Thomas Willcocks at Great Torrington in 1770)
– Robert Yeo (see below)
– Francis Yeo (1736–1812, buried at Eggbuckland)
– Mary Yeo (baptised 1738, married John Diment at Little Torrington in 1756).
Robert Yeo (1692–1772, son of Robert Yeo and Margaret Brown) moved to South Tawton, and married twice. He first married Johan Arscott in 1718; they baptised six children at South Tawton before Johan’s death in 1741:
– Mary Yeo (baptised 1719)
– Elizabeth Yeo (1720–1736)
– William Yeo (baptised 1723, married Mary Pillar at South Tawton in 1754)
– Mary Yeo (baptised 1726)
– Robert Yeo (baptised 1728, died as a child)
– Robert Yeo (see below).
Robert married his second wife Elizabeth Jordain at South Tawton in 1744. They had a son:
– Joseph Yeo (see below).
Francis Yeo (1700–1773, son of Robert Yeo and Margaret Brown) married Lucy Young in London in 1737. They had a son in Buckinghamshire:
– John Yeo
before moving to Cornwall and having a daughter:
– Lucy Yeo (baptised 1746 at St Stephen, near Launceston).
Robert Yeo (1732–1798, son of Robert Yeo and Johan Arscott) remained in South Tawton, marrying Jane Hurchill there in 1754 and baptising six children there:
– Robert Yeo (baptised 1755, died as an infant)
– Joan Yeo (baptised 1756, married William Piller)
– Robert Yeo
– William Yeo
– Joseph Yeo (see below)
– Richard Yeo (see below).
Robert Yeo (1734–1808, son of William Yeo and Mary Dunford) married Susanna Down at Merton in 1765. They had seven children:
– Mary Yeo (baptised 1765)
– Margaret Yeo (1767–1783)
– Elizabeth Yeo (1769–1772)
– Robert Yeo (see below)
– William Yeo (see below)
– Francis Yeo (see below)
– Richard Yeo.
Joseph Yeo (1744–1830, son of Robert Yeo and Elizabeth Jordain) married Elizabeth Gillard at South Tawton in 1768. Their 13 children were baptised there:
– William Yeo (see below)
– Betty Yeo (baptised 1769)
– Joseph Yeo (baptised 1771)
– Mary Yeo (baptised 1773) [note 4]
– Jane Yeo (1775–1814) [note 5]
– John Yeo (buried 1777) [note 6]
– Robert Yeo (buried 1777) [note 6]
– Ann Yeo (baptised 1779)
– Robert Yeo
– Joanna Yeo (1784–1863, married William Lethbridge at South Tawton in 1809)
– Agnes Yeo (1786–1793)
– John Yeo (1789–1790)
– John Yeo (1791–1798).
Joseph Yeo (1761–1818, son of Robert Yeo and Jane Hurchill) married Ann Mallet at South Tawton in 1786; their four children were baptised there:
– Robert Yeo (see below)
– James Yeo (see below)
– Joseph Yeo (see below)
– Ann Yeo (see below).
Richard Yeo (1764–1823, son of Robert Yeo and Jane Hurchill) married Jane Rowe at South Tawton in 1787. They baptised four children there:
– Jane Yeo (1788–1855, married John Gay at Kingsteignton in 1810)
– William Yeo
– Ann Yeo (baptised 1793)
– Mary Yeo (baptised 1794, married James Coombs at Kingsteignton in 1817)
before moving to Kingsteignton and having another daughter [note 7]:
– Elizabeth Yeo.
William Yeo (1768–1814, son of Joseph Yeo and Elizabeth Gillard) married Ann Redstone at South Tawton in 1798. They baptised two sons at Spreyton:
– John Yeo (see below)
– William Yeo (see below)
before moving to South Tawton, where they baptised three daughters:
– Ann Yeo (baptised 1808)
– Mary Yeo (baptised 1811)
– Grace Yeo (baptised 1813).
William Yeo (baptised 1780 at Merton, son of Robert Yeo and Susanna Down) married Ann Mills at Little Torrington in 1796 [note 8]. William and Ann had three children:
– Mary Yeo (baptised 1797 at Little Torrington, daughter Charlotte Yeo – see below)
– Elizabeth Yeo (baptised 1799 at Little Torrington)
– James Yeo.
Francis Yeo (baptised 1782 at Merton, son of Robert Yeo and Suaanna Down) married Mary Piper at Huish in 1811. Francis lived at Smithycott, Merton and worked as a shoemaker; he and Mary baptised three children at Merton [note 9]:
– Robert Yeo (1812–1813)
– Mary Ann Yeo (1815–1817)
– Francis Yeo (baptised 1819).
Robert Yeo (1787–1828, son of Joseph Yeo and Ann Mallet) married Sarah Harvey at South Tawton in 1811 and baptised eight children there:
– William Yeo (baptised 1811)
– Mary Yeo
– John Yeo (baptised 1820)
– Sarah Yeo (baptised 1822, died as an infant)
– Robert Yeo (baptised 1823) [note 10]
– Joseph Yeo
– James Yeo
– Richard Yeo.
Robert Yeo (1779–1848, son of Robert Yeo and Susanna Down) married Agnes Bews at Merton in 1817. They baptised eight children at Merton before emigrating to Ontario:
– Mary Anne Yeo (baptised 1818)
– Robert Yeo (see below)
– Susanna Yeo (1822–1910, married John Diment at Great Torrington in 1845, later emigrated to Ontario)
– Jane Yeo (1824–1849, son John Yeo 1847–1849)
– Rebecca Yeo (1827–1827)
– Rebecca Yeo (1828–1916, emigrated to Ontario, married Welsh emigrant James Hooper at Turnberry in 1861)
– William Yeo
– George Yeo (see below).
James Yeo (1794–1859, son of Joseph Yeo and Ann Mallet) married twice. He first married Ann Counter at South Tawton in 1825; they baptised four children at South Tawton:
– James Pearce Yeo (see below)
– Ann Counter Yeo (1829–1881, married Thomas Jones at South Tawton in 1860)
– William Counter Yeo (1832–1832)
– George Josse Yeo.
Ann died in 1832. James married his second wife Ann Jope at Exeter Cathedral in 1838; they lived at South Zeal [note 11] , where James died. They had two children:
– Sarah Anne Yeo (1842–1900, married Charles Knowles at St George, Worcester in 1868)
– George William Jope Yeo (born 1844, married Elizabeth Esther Curson in 1867, son William Curson Yeo).
Joseph Yeo (1802–1834, son of Joseph Yeo and Ann Mallet) married Elizabeth Finch at South Tawton in 1828. They baptised two daughters at South Tawton:
– Eliza Yeo (1829–1905, married Henry Marks in 1858) [note 12]
– Harriet Yeo (baptised 1831 [note 13], married John Powlesland at Exeter Cathedral in 1853).
John Yeo (baptised 1803 at Spreyton, son of William Yeo and Ann Redstone) married Sally Harris at Wembworthy in 1841. They had four sons [note 13a]:
– William Yeo (1842–1878, married Ann Harvey at Spreyton in 1867)
– John Yeo (1846–1918, married Elizabeth Cooper at South Tawton in 1872, eight children)
– James Yeo (born 1851, married Ellen Bryant in London in 1883, son Alfred James Yeo)
– Edwin Yeo (born 1855).
William Yeo (1805–1840, son of William Yeo and Ann Redstone) married Elizabeth Brooke at South Tawton in 1820. They had two children:
– Elizabeth Yeo (1825–1877, married John Bennett in 1853)
– William Yeo (1830–1842).
Ann Yeo (1807–1879, daughter of Joseph Yeo and Ann Mallet) married John Heywood at North Tawton in 1831. They had at least six children, including:
– John Yeo Heywood (1841–1888, married Selina Perryman at Mamhead in 1866).
Charlotte Yeo (1817–1898) was baptised at St Giles in the Wood to single mother Mary Yeo. Charlotte married John Isaac at St Giles in the Wood in 1842.
Robert Yeo (1820–1910, son of Robert Yeo and Agnes Bews) married Elizabeth Risdon at Dolton in 1850. They emigrated to Ontario, where they had at least 12 children [note 14]:
– William Yeo (1851–1851)
– Mary Jane Yeo (born 1853)
– Susan Amelia Yeo (1853–1918, married Henry Atfield in 1874, died in Michigan)
– Eliza Yeo (1859–1943, married John Pocock in 1886 and Andrew Holmes in 1903)
– Robert Yeo (1860–1931, married Iley Gibbons, three daughters)
– William R. Yeo (born 1861)
– Maude Yeo (born c1862)
– Joseph Yeo (c1864–1929)
– George Yeo (born 1864, married Susanna Reynard in 1903, two sons)
– Frances Anne Yeo (born c1865)
– Lindy Anne Yeo (born 1871)
– Mary Bell Yeo (born c1878).
James Pearce Yeo (1826–1901, son of James Yeo and Ann Counter) married Jane Parker [note 15]. They had three children:
– Alice Parker Yeo (1860–1935, married Louis John Aitken, died in Canada)
– James Yeo (1861–1861)
– Hilary James Yeo (1864–1892).
George Yeo (baptised in 1834 at Merton, son of Robert Yeo and Agnes Bews) emigrated to Ontario, where he married Charlotte Atfield in 1870. They had five children:
– Alice Yeo (1871–1943, married John Morrison)
– Sarah Ann Yeo (1873–1918, married William Joseph Schumaker)
– Charlotte Emily Yeo (born 1875)
– Emma Yeo (1878–1949)
– George Robert Yeo (see below).
George Robert Yeo (1882–1955, son of George Yeo and Charlotte Atfield) moved to Michigan, where he married Elizabeth Schneider in 1908. They had four children:
– Louis George Yeo (1909–1961, married Elizabeth Clifford)
– Frances Marie Yeo (1911–1995, married Alfred Lozon)
– Bertha Mae Yeo (1915–1996, married Wilbur Leddy)
– Robert John Yeo (1921–1986, married Margaret Decator, two children).
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Notes
1. Mary might have married Charles Yeo, son of Leonard Yeo and Margaret Kestell née Grylls.
1a. Probably baptised at East Buckland, but no matching record found. Nor has a record of Thomas’s marriage or burial been found.
2. See note to the pedigree for Bartholomew Yeo and Margaret Ackland.
3. Some researchers show John marrying Mary Short at Shebbear in 1720, but his burial at Merton in 1711 is clearly documented. The John Yeo who married in 1720 has not been identified.
4. Did Mary marry Patrick William Butler in 1838? See Patrick William Butler and Mary Ann Yeo.
5. Some researchers have confused Jane with the Jane Yeo who married James Redstone at South Tawton in 1814.
6. John and Robert are recorded as twins. No matching baptism record has been found.
7. Did William and Ann have other children between 1795 and 1807?
8. Ann’s death (about 1803) has not been confirmed from a burial record. Did William later marry Grace Marden at Ideford in 1806?
9. Robert Yeo and Agnes Bews (see above) were baptising children at Merton around the same time; the two families have been confused by researchers.
10. Some researchers incorrectly show Robert marrying Adelaide Davies. She married a different Robert Yeo, son of Philip Yeo and Frances Peat, and is listed with him in the 1881 census.
11. The 1841 census for South Zeal records James Yeo (a schoolmaster), with his wife Ann Yeo (a milliner), his son James Yeo and daughter Ann Yeo. Also in the household is James’s second cousin Ann Yeo, daughter of William Yeo and Jane Lee.
12. Married in Exeter, at the parish church of St Mary Steps.
13. No record of Harriet’s death has been found; some researchers incorrectly show a second marriage in 1873, to William Curtis – the bride in that marriage was a previously unmarried Harriett Powlesland (1849–1929).
13a. A George Yeo, assigned by some researchers to this family, was a son of James Yeo and Sally Bolt.
14. Based on research by Sheila Yeo.
15. James’s second forename was recorded as Pierce when his birth was registered. James and Jane married by licence at the parish church in Bury, Lancashire in 1859. See also The Clergy.