Peasants to Puddles
My Family History - By Nicky Rowberry

The Puddles

Page 2

The earliest definite ancestor I've traced on the Puddle line is my 5xgreat grandfather, Richard Puddle. Richard Puddle was born about 1735 probably somewhere in Oxfordshire. He married Mary Bryon (or Byron or Brian) in 1756 in Burford, Oxfordshire.

Between 1757 and 1778 in the Signet hamlet of Burford, Richard & Mary had 7 children, at least 6 of which survived to adulthood. I don't know when Mary died, but Richard died and was buried in Burford in 1808.

Richard & Mary's youngest son was John Puddle, born in 1778. John Puddle married Jane Smith in 1804 in Charlton Abbots, Gloucestershire. One of the witnesses was Richard Puddle - either John's father or brother. John & Jane had 8 children in Charlton Abbots. During this time John was described either as a labourer or a servant. At some point in the next 15 years or so, the family moved to Abbey Dore in Herefordshire. By the time of the 1841 census, John, Jane & their youngest son James were living at Woodhouse Farm in Abbey Dore. John was now described as a farmer, suggesting he had improved his lot from being a labourer. Jane died in Abbey Dore in 1849. In the 1851 census John has moved (with his son James and daughter-in-law Elizabeth) to nearby Bacton. He is said to be a farmer of 15 acres of land and was living at the delightfully named Paradise in Bacton. By 1861 John was back in Abbey Dore, now living with his son Thomas Puddle and his wife at Jury Cottage. John died in 1863. His death was reported in the Hereford Journal. (Image © Midland News Association. Image created courtesy of THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. Images reproduced with kind permission of The British Newspaper Archive (www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk). Click www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk to see a full page from the newspaper.

John's son James Puddle was my 3 x great grandfather. You can read more about his family here:

James' brother John Puddle moved to the Llanelly area of Brecon in Wales. He married his first wife Mary Pritchard and they had 3 children. Their oldest son John Puddle stayed in Wales and raised a large family of his own. The photograph below shows his son Seth Puddle and wife Mary Jane Powell with their large family and was very kindly given to me by cousin Pat. From left to right they are: Back row - Elizabeth, Wyndham, Beatrice, Ernest & Hannah. Front row: Bert, Seth Puddle, Dulcie, Mildred, Seth junior, Mary Jane & Lancelot.

Richard & Mary Puddle had a large family many of whom had large families of their own. There are lots of descendants in the UK and Australia and possible the US. It would be lovely to hear from any of them: E-mail me

The family tree below summarises what I know about the Puddle family of Oxfordshire & Gloucestershire. I am indebted to my friend Polly Rubery for a lot of the work on this tree. It is hopefully fairly accurate, but if you spot any errors, or any relatives, please feel free to E-mail me

Please click on one of the red links on the tree to move to a different page.

If any of the above is of further interest, please feel free to contact me at: n.rowberry@btinternet.com

© Nicky Rowberry 2023

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Peasants to Puddles - My Family History. By Nicky Rowberry