Walter King

BMDB data

     Walter King was baptized on 21 Jan 1828 Walkhampton, DEV, ENG; extract showing: Walter King, s/o Walter & Sarah, farmer of Walkhampton.^1,2,3,4
     Walter King married Margaret Spry, daughter of John Spry and Mary Dawe, bet. Mar 1858 - Jun 1858 reg. Dist of Tavistock, DEV, ENG.^5,1,3,4,6
     Walter King died on 14 Jan 1902 Hele Barton, Bickleigh, Dist of Plympton St Mary, DEV, ENG; aged 74, this date/age being based on the assumption I've correctly identified him in the index, certainly the age and registration district match known info, including h/stone subsequently found, which I transcribed as 4th, but as buried 18th, I've assumed is actually 14th.^7,8,9,10 He was buried on 18 Jan 1902 Bickleigh, DEV, ENG, entry 616 shows Walter as 74 of hele Barton.¹⁰ He was buried with Margaret King St Mary's, Bickleigh, DEV, ENG, H/stone reads: In loving memory of Margaret the beloved wife of Walter King who died Nov 3rd 1886 aged 58 years Also Walter husband of the above died Jan 4th 1902 aged 73 years. They rest from their labours and their works do follow them.⁹

Census/Where lived/Occupations

     Walter King appeared on the census of 1841 Ditsham, Par. of Walkhampton, DEV, ENG, in the household of Walter King and Sarah King.^11,12
     The census of 1851 showed James, Walter and John in the household of their parents Walter and Sarah King Dittsham Lower, Walkhampton, Dist of Tavistock, DEV, ENG, enumerated as KING: Walter farming 100 acres emp 4 labourers, 68, mar, b. Walkhampton and Sarah wife, 55, b Bickleigh; Children (all farmer's sons empd at home and b Walkhampton): James B 29; Walter 22; John 20; Brother: James B, unm 58, annuitant b Walkhampton; Servant: Henry Dawn ?Dawe, 15, ag serv b Bridestow.^4,3
     The census of 1861 showed Walter with his wife Margaret, their son John, their dtr Sarah, his uncle James Barter King Ditsham Farm, Walkhampton, Dist of Tavistock, DEV, ENG, household enumerated as KING: Walter 33 farmer 112 acres emp 1 man 1 boy, b Walkhampton; wife Margaret 32 b Buckland Mon; Children: John 2, Sarah A 5mths, both b Walkhampton; Uncle: James B King unm, 66 retired b Walkhampton; 4 servants (Newcombe*3; Alger.¹³)
     The census of 7 Apr 1871 showed Walter with his wife Margaret, their sons Walter, James and Thomas, their dtrs Sarah, Mary and Margaret Ditsham Farm, Walkhampton, DEV, ENG, household enumerated as KING: Walter, 43, head, farmer 100 acres, b Walkhampton; wife Margaret, 42, b Buckland Monachorum; Children (all b Walkhampton): John, 12; Sarah A, 10; Mary E, 9; Walter 7; Margaret 6; James 4;(all scholars) Thomas 1. Servants: William Newcombe, 17 farm serv indoors ; Sarah A Symons, 22 gen serv; Alice Hannaford, 18 gen serv; all b Walkhampton.¹⁴
     Bet. Jul 1872 - Apr 1881 Walter King and Margaret King moved from Ditsham, Walkhampton to Hele, Par. of Bickleigh, DEV, ENG, where the extended King family continued their connection with the place until at least 1901. one day I'll sort out who all lived there over time, but so far I've 1827 to 1901, Rowe, King, Creber names associated with Hele, contiued by Eggins up to around the 1960s. The current tenants, the Harveys, took over from James King Eggins' stepson Peter Damerell.¹⁵
     The census of 1881 showed Walter with his wife Margaret, their sons John, Walter, James and Thomas, their dtrs Sarah, Mary, Margaret and Emma , a visitor Elizabeth Agnes Duck Hele, Par. of Bickleigh, DEV, ENG, household enumerated as KING: Walter, 53, farmer of 283 acres emp. 2 labourers b Walkhampton; Margaret, wife, 52, b. Buckland Monachorum. Children (all b Walkhampton, unm): John, 22; Sarah Ann, 20; Mary Elizabeth, 19; Walter, 17; Margaret, 16; James, 14; Thos, 11, scholar; Emma, 8, scholar. Visitor: Elizabeth Agnes Duck, farmer's dtr, 30, unm, b Corsham, Wiltshire (later became 2nd wife of Walter's son John); Servant: William Sowden, ag lab, dom serv (in door), 21, unm, b Meavy, DEV.¹
     The census of 1891 showed Walter, with his sons John and James, his dtrs Sarah, Mary and Emma, his cousin Henrietta G Dawe, Hele Barton, Village of Roborough, Par. of Bickleigh, DEV, ENG, enumerated as KING (all b Walkhampton): Walter, 62, head, widower, farmer; Children: John, widower, 32, farmer; James, 23 farmer; Sarah A, 30; Mary E, 29; Emma, 18; Cousin:Henrietta G Dawe, 21, b Newton Ferrers. Servants: Richard Ford, 19, b Newton Abbot; Frederick Reddicks? 18, b Stowford, DEV; Annie Thomas, 17, b Camborne, CON.¹⁶ Walter King appeared on the census of 1891 at the Turnpike? Shop, Roborough, Par. of Bickleigh, DEV, ENG, as neighbour of Joseph Rowe Hamley.¹⁷
     The census of 1901 showed Walter King in the household of his dtr Mary and her husband Tom Eggins, their son James Hele Barton, Bickleigh, Dist of Plympton St Mary, DEV, ENG, enumerated as EGGINS: Tom 35 farmer employer, b Bridestow; wife Mary Elizabeth 39 b Walkhampton; Children (all b Bickleigh): James King 4; Margaret Mary 3; Elsie 2; Father-in-law: Walter King widower 74 living on mains (sic) b Walkhampton (Walter's brother John & John's dtr Margaret were in the neighbouring Hele Barton Cottage.)⁸

All the other info

     Walter King and Henrietta Grace Dawe are related as cousins, or so the 1891 census tells us. I have been trying to determine how come, even in the loose definition of the term commonly used in older data. Given the several Rowe/Dawe connections, I had originally assumed it would be in those trees somewhere, even though I couldn't place Henry and Sarah Dawe at all. My theory, as at Feb 2006, was that Henrietta's grandmother might just happen to be Mary Dawe nee King and that this Mary King just might happen to be the sister of Walter's grandfather Walter. As Mary turned out to be a Mary King I then assumed that the Mary King who married Henry Dawe in Buckland Monachorum in 1816 is the sister of the Walter King, grdfather of Walter at Hele, which made this Henrietta and Walter 1st cousins once removed. And turned my attention to seeing if Henrietta's maternal grandmother, a Grace King, was any connection. All of which was overturned by my research in Devon in Aug 2006. Yes Henrietta's grandmother was Mary King, but this Mary was the dtr of Walter King and Margaret Willcock, not the dtr of James Barter King and Sarah Pike. All was not lost however. This particular Mary turned out to be the sister of Sarah King, the one who married Walter King, son of James Barter. Grace may yet prove to be related, as I still suspect she is a sister of Mary and Sarah.^16,15,18
Walter King witnessed the marriage of Tom Eggins and Mary Elizabeth King on 25 Mar 1896 at the Par. Ch, Bickleigh, Dist of Plympton St Mary, DEV, ENG.^19,20,21 Walter King was mentioned in the letter from Sarah Peek Rowe to William Rowe on 20 Feb 1902 from 11 Regents Park, Polsloe Rd, Heavitree, Exeter, DEV, ENG.²²