An account of the Welsman family history based on the research on John Alfred Welsman.
Welsman Memorandums by Jack Welsman
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Welsman Coat of Arms
A “family” coat of arms is a very popular wall hanging in many homes. Even though they were granted to ancestors centuries ago and cannot be properly claimed by descendents of today, still they serve to stimulate an interest in genealogy and provide a unique artistic flair.
With that in mind, in England 1973, an order was placed. The shield had roundles in each section of a gyronny of eight. Roundels were used in the Earl of Courtney, Devon, coat-of-arms and since the Welsmans were native to the same area it seemed there could be a geographical significance. Later, it was found that roundels, although not a common symbol in heraldry, were found on the arms of families in many parts of the country.
In 1976, an enquiry was made of Sovereign, a Cornwall Ontario firm. Their description of the Welsman arms did not resemble the former. In the first quarter was a black “W” on a gold background, green seahorses in the 2nd and 3rd quarters and the 4th quarter checkered. The use of a “W” was obvious and the sea horses symbolized naval pursuits, possibly a tie-in to the Devon county of seafarers and Sir Francis Drake.
If either of these coat-of-arms were, in fact, granted to someone with the Welsman name, identifying the original grantee would be an interesting pursuit.
The Surname
According to Sovereign, in 1974 there were “fewer than fifty households in Canada with the old and distinguished Welsman name”. There were probably fewer than 25. Not many when, by comparison, some surnames represent over 40,000 households. The name seems to be uncommon even in England, the country of origin.
An unusual surname has some merit, tracing relatives and generations are made less difficult. Information researched by Paul (son), Earla and I was pieced together with that provided by living relatives. Some of the information overlapped and there probably remains much that is uncovered.
The “History of British Surnames” states that C. 1349 many Welsh people emigrated to England for employment. Very few Welsh at that time had hereditary surnames. Many lost their identity because they were given a surname after their race or origin i.e. Walter Walseman, Camb. 1275; Robert le Waylsman, London 1326; Roger Walysman, Linc, 1372. When searching the Welsman name, Paul Welsman found, “see also Welsman or Wilsman”.
From the “Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames” Welsman, local, meaning the Welshman. Spelling variations were, Welsman, Wylsman, and Wellsman.
Walther W., born 1572, vicar of Townstall, Dartmouth England, used several spellings, but his preference seemed Wylsman. His son John W. born 1608, vicar of Aylsebeare, used the old spelling early in his career. As the names of his many children were entered into the parish records, the spelling evolved to Welsman, sometimes with two L’s.
C. 1770 the writing style was that using the long s, resembling an f. The backward e was also used which appeared as an o. For a time the name appeared as Wolfman.
The Sprouting Ground
“Newton-Poppleford is a very quaint old village nestling in that lovely valley through which runs the sweet river Otter, pen nor pencil can not really describe its beauties.” - “Welsmans” poems by William “The Poet” Welsman
Some research was done by J. Paul Welsman (son) regarding the history of the village. On some maps C. 1605 the name Poppleford was omitted and it showed only as Newton. Later maps show it as Newton Poplar, Popplaford, etc. It is suggested that Popple was a corruption of pebble; pebbles formed the river bed at the ford of the river. Another suggestion has it that poplar trees may have existed at that point near the river, thus Poppleford.
Some existing Devon country roads follow the original trackways, trackways which date back to the Bronze Age and some as early as the Neolithic age. Early maps show a large area of Devon as Dumonnia. It was inhabited by a British tribe, the Dummonii. Their capital was Hembury Fort on the moors of Dartmoor and probably remained there until the Romans built a frontier station on the present site of Exeter.
Tin mined in Cornwall was transported by the Dummonii on a trackway which followed a route near Clyst St. Mary, Exeter, through the Otter valley and down to the coast. There it was taken to the Isle of Wight for future shipping to other lands. When the Romans built a later road from Dorchester to Exeter, it intersected the Dummonii trackway near the present village of Harpford. Newton-Poppleford came into being on a secondary road adjacent to Harpford.
By the year 1225, a license was granted to a Wm. Brewer of Newton-Poppleford to hold a Tuesday market, a matter of some prestige indicating that the village had some importance at that time.
A church was founded in the fourth year of the reign of Edward III, 1331, by Hugh de Courtney, second baron of that name and the first Earl of Devonshire. Restoration was carried out on the building in 1826. The church register was included with that of a nearby Aylsebeare from 1580 to 1862. From that date it has maintained its own register. In its early years, the church was used as a chantry house but after the Reformation, it served as a chapel of ease to the Mother Church of Aylesbeare. In 1751 it was separate as a parochial chapel.
The nearby Exeter Inn was at one time church property and used as a chantry house. It was later put into use as an inn. In due time, the good people of Newton-Poppleford, feeling the inn business was not well suited to the nature of the church, sold it to private enterprise. From 1890, the inn was operated by Bill Welsman until his death in 1909 and for a few years thereafter by his widow Poll. On a cold winter day in 1985, sparks from the huge fireplace ignited the thatched roof of the building. Fire truck came to the rescue from Sidmouth, Budleigh, Salterton, Exmouth, Honiton, Ottery-St.-Mary and Exeter. The centuries old building was saved although much repair was needed. Today it remains, awaiting visits from future generations of the Welsmans.
In retrospect, Newton-Poppleford and nearby locations in Devon County may be considered the place from which the Welsmans multiplied and issued forth. Grandmother Delong often recalled grandfather Welsman as saying, “Devon’s Heaven and Heaven’s Devon.” Whether he borrowed these words from his brother Bill, the innkeeper and poet, or if it was a wistful recollection of boyhood years, only George knew.
After coming to Toronto, Canada, brothers Charles and George each returned for visits as have many of their descendants from that day on, drawn by the magnet of the Devon countryside. The Exeter Inn is checked out before taking the winding road, hemmed in by high hedgerows, through the rolling fields of the Otter valley to Venn Ottery, a road that now has heard the Welsman footsteps of six generations. One wonders if it was on that road where great-grandfather, “Happy Dick” the blacksmith, was thrown from his horse in what proved to be the accident to leave a widow and six fatherless boys. It could be here the horse was startled and William Welsman’s poem comes to mind, “Alf, Joey and the Bear.”
Each thatched rood bids a welcome. The village churches stand like granite sentinels against the erosion of time. Not many Welsman gravestones are seen. The installation of markers was a common practice, but not a rule.
On one of our visits to the home of Arthur Welsman, Arthur and his son John, being the two remaining inhabitants by the name in that village, we were accompanied by Roy and Elaine Rundle. Elaine, a grand-daughter of Bill W. and well acquainted with the Devon accent, was most helpful. Arthur W. reminisced on the early days of Newton-Poppleford, and those who had passed on before, in a Devon accent best understood by Devon natives. In reference to the local cemetery, when translated later by Elaine, Arthur had said, “He tallied them up and forty Welsmans be there a-lying.”
In Transition
Arthur W. informed us that a previous vicar of the local church, a genealogist, had traced the Welsmans of that locality back to Walter W., the vicar at Dartmouth C. 1600. From the documents in the County Records Office, we found that Walter of Dartmouth had two sons, John and Walter. Both attended Oxford University. Very little is known of Walter W. Jr... The oldest son, John, turned up in 1639 as the vicar of Aylesbeare, a parish just northeast of Dartmouth and close to Sidbury, Venn Ottery and Newton-Poppleford, native ground to the Welsmans for nearly three centuries.
Great grandfather Richard Welsman b. 1799, known best as “Happy Dick” was a blacksmith by trade. His shop and home were in Newton-Poppleford. It seems he had a large family and a small dwelling. Bill, one of the six boys and tater inn-keeper and poet said, “There we slept six to a bed, three heads to the foot and six feet to the head.”
In 1851, “Happy Dick” was thrown from a horse, developed pneumonia and died. The widow (nee Susan Squire) and children were given much needed support by her family. The Squire name was given, often as a middle name to family descendants. Of the six sons of Happy Dick, Jim died early in life. John and Alfred worked on farms in the Newton-Poppleford area most of their lives. William (Bill) went on to mange the Exeter Inn and write poetry, some of which was published in the Devon Weekly Times and later in book form.
In “The Musical News” 1913, a description is given of a Newton-Poppleford band which terminated in 1865. William Welsman, a tailor, played the bass viol. Bill at that time would be 25 years of age. From that, it appears that he worked at the tailor trade prior to managing the Exeter Inn in 1890. A John Squire, probably Bill’s cousin, also a tailor, played the clarinet. The apparent musical aptitude found above may help to explain the talent in that field which has surfaced so often. A most noticeable example was that of Frank Squire Welsman b. 1873, son of Charles, brother to George and Bill. F.S. Welsman founded the Toronto Symphony Orchestra in 1908. A renowned musician, he passed away in 1952.
According to Arthur Welsman of Newton-Poppleford, either Charles or George apprenticed at a bake shop across the street from the Exeter Inn. C. 1860 Charles and George immigrated to Canada.
It appears that George and Charles went into the bakery business shortly after their arrival in Toronto. In time the business was sold. Charles went into drygoods and George bought a farm at Keele and Annette streets.
Grandfather George passed away in 1915, aged 77, and is buried in Prospect Cemetery in Toronto. He was predeceased by his wife (nee Elizabeth B. Hinde) and two of his children, Frank and Louise.
From the union of George and Elizabeth were three other boys. George Frederick Charles, known as Charles. He married Violet DeLong. Their two daughters were named Lois and Olive. Charles was a minister with the Churches of Christ. He served churches in Ontario and Regina Saskatchewan.
The next oldest son was William Wilfred Walter, known as Fred. He was a carpenter and builder by trade, but farmed for a few years in the Peace River district of Alberta during the depression years of the 30’s. He also served overseas with the Canadian Contingent in World War I. Fred remained a bachelor
The youngest in the family was Richard Oliver James, known as Oliver. He married Caroline Delong. Oliver was a station agent with the Canadian Pacific Railroad, employed in stations along the line in Ontario, Manitoba and Saskatchewan. The forest and prairie was to Oliver “God’s Country”. He also served a short time during World War I with the Royal Air Force. From this marriage there were four daughters, Elizabeth, Phyllis, Lois, Lolita, and one son John Alfred, known as Jack.
Jack married Earla Christy. My early years were spent on a farm. On a borderline farm and not a farmer at heart, other fields of employment were pursued. On retirement, I had served for many years as an inventory control officer with the Ministry of Community and Social Services. From our marriage came two sons; Richard Earl and John Paul, known as Paul. Earla and I reside at Picton Ontario.
Richard married Bonnie Gatehouse. Richard, a graduate of Trent University and a former member of the Fort Henry Guard, is presently employed as a branch manager of E.S. Hubbell & Sons, a steel culvert manufacturing plant, Napanee, Ontario. He ran as a candidate in the federal election of 1988 and gained solid support while representing The Christian Heritage party, new to the political field. They have a daughter Meredyth.
Paul married Catherine Hubbell. Paul, a graduate from Trent and Queens Universities, is employed with the main offices of E.S. Hubbell and Son, Thamesville, Ontario. The first year of their marriage was spent in Yugoslavia where Paul attended university. For the next several years their home was in Frobisher Bay, Baffin Island, where Paul was an employee of the Northwest Territory government before moving to Thamesville. They have two sons, John Andrew, known as Andrew, and Robert Glen.
Constructing a family memorandus proved to be a matter of balancing. On one hand is a lack of information, on the other is an abundance of information – sometimes remote. This work may need revisions. I leave it now for future chroniclers to pursue.
J. A. Welsman
November 1988
