Looking for information on birth / siblings and parents of John Hodder, b abt 1896, possibly Ugborough.
This is what I have pieced together so far
John Hodder's marriage entry to Ann Widdecombe on 15 May 1818 in Ugborough has him listed as a Yeoman, and this title stays with him on all of his children's baptism entries. In the 1841 census, he is living in Buckland Monachorum parish, in the village of Crapstone, 'age 45'. His wife, Ann, is also listed as the same age; however, I believe, findmypast has her baptised in Sep 1791 in Ugborough; father John, mother, Jenny. I suspect this couple (Ann's parents) were married in May 1774 in Ugborough, with the wife's name being Joan Martin (Jenny being a possible variant of Joan).
The 1851 census has the Hodder family living in Modbury and has Ann's place of birth as Ugborough. John Hodder's death is registered in Kingsbridge in Mar 1844 and he is not on this census form.
Here is the info I have found for John and Ann Hodder's children, sourced either from findmypast or the 1851 census entries:
Ann Hodder (1819– b Ugborough)
Jane Hodder (1821– b Ugborough)
Elizabeth Hodder (1823– b Buckland Monachorum parish)
John Hodder (1827–1901 b Buckland Monachorum parish)
Catherine Hodder (1834–1897 b Buckland Monachorum parish)
The puzzling part comes with the witnesses to John & Ann's Wedding in 1818 (see attached). They appear to be:
Eliza Hodder, Jenny Widdecombe (hard to read - could even be "Peggy"); Servington Hodder and John Widdecombe. One would surmise they are probably close relatives.
With such an unusual name as Servington Hodder, I would have thought he would be easy to track down.
I checked with the Public trees on ancestry.com and one tree has the following:
Servington HODDER bap 25 Jul 1761, Ugborough m Elizabeth PAIN (b abt 1770) on 25 Mar 1791 in Ugborough.
Children:
John HODDER
bap 11 Mar 1792, Ugborough
Eliza HODDER
bap 3 Dec 1793, Ugborough
Sarah HODDER
bap 22 Jul 1795, Ugborough d.1802 Ugborough
Mary HODDER
bap 18 Aug 1797, Ugborough
Catherine HODDER
bap 27 Sep 1801, Ugborough
Servington HODDER
bap 12 Feb 1804, Ugborough d Mar 1874 Totnes
Jane HODDER
bap 12 Feb 1806, Ugborough
William HODDER
bap 12 Oct 1808, Ugborough
Critically, I cannot find the baptism entry cited for John Hodder 1892 anywhere online, however all baptism dates are that specific that one suspects they must have come from somewhere reliable.
I am wondering if the John Hodder here baptised in 1792 might be one and the same person as the Yeoman who was married in 1818 in Ugborough, given the connection to the name Servington on his marriage certificate. I am unsure of where the ancestry user got the information from, as he does not cite his sources. Many of the names would fit with the family and you can see there are some instances of John & Ann's children being given the same names as the children or parent (in the case of Elizabeth) in this ancestry.com constructed family.
I gather a Yeoman is a hereditary title. This should also mean John who was married in 1818's father had the same title?
If this is the correct family, I could see that either the parents Servington & Elizabeth (shortened to Eliza) or the siblings Servington & Eliza being witnesses to the marriage.
I submit the graphic from the marriage entry of the witnesses signatures.
I am also told by a relative that this branch of the family had a connection to the wine making industry (as might be surmised from the info on the 1851 census "Farming 278 acres, employing 6 labs" living at Edmeston house - now a heritage listed building) and according to my relative, the family supplied wine to the English courts for centuries. I note that one of the meanings of Yeoman is "a man holding and cultivating a small landed estate; a freeholder."
All help appreciated to untangle this jigsaw puzzle