[Index]
Thomas ELWORTHY (1720 - 1775)
Children Self + Spouses Parents Grandparents Greatgrandparents
James ELWORTHY (1770 - 1837)
Thomas ELWORTHY (1720 - 1775)

+

Mary HODGE (1728 - )
George ELWORTHY male ELWORTHY



unknown (ELWORTHY)


















b. 17 Nov 1720 at Sandford, Devon, England
m. 15 May 1769 Mary HODGE (1728 - ) at Crediton, Devon, England
d. 18 Jan 1775 at England aged 54
Near Relatives of Thomas ELWORTHY (1720 - 1775)
Relationship Person Born Birth Place Died Death Place Age
Grandfather male ELWORTHY
Grandmother unknown (ELWORTHY)

Father in Law John HODGE
Mother in Law Grace BECKLEY

Father George ELWORTHY

Self Thomas ELWORTHY 17 Nov 1720 Sandford, Devon, England 18 Jan 1775 England 54

Wife Mary HODGE 15 Jan 1728 Crediton, Devon, England

Son James ELWORTHY 1770 Crediton, Devon, England 09 Nov 1837 Wincanton, Somerset, England 67

Daughter in Law Grace Thirza LEIGH bef 29 Sep 1771 Devon, England 20 Aug 1836 Clifton Place, Exeter, Devon, England 64

Grandson James ELWORTHY bef 11 Dec 1796 Stoke Damerel, Devon, England 25 Feb 1832 St Sidwell, Exeter, Devon, England 35
Granddaughter Sarah ELWORTHY bef 07 Apr 1799 Modbury, Devonshire, England abt 1824 England 25
Grandson Henry Leigh ELWORTHY bef 27 Dec 1802 Crediton, Devon, England 30 Aug 1842 Exeter, Devon, England 39
Granddaughter Amy A ELWORTHY 01 May 1806 Devon, England 04 Jul 1884 New Zealand 78
Granddaughter Elizabeth ELWORTHY bef 14 Jun 1810 Exeter, Devon, England
Granddaughter Elizabeth ELWORTHY bef 06 Jan 1811 Exeter, Devon, England 1870 Hackney, London, England 59
Granddaughter Mary ELWORTHY bef 06 Jan 1811 Exeter, Devon, England abt 1811 Devon, England 0
Grandson George ELWORTHY 23 Apr 1813 Exeter, Devon, England 24 Feb 1878 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia 64
Granddaughter Jane ELWORTHY 12 Jun 1815 St Sidwell, Exeter, Devon, England 04 Feb 1897 Catford, Middlesex, England 81
Granddaughter Emma ELWORTHY 15 Feb 1818 Exeter, Devon, England 1880 England 62

Events in Thomas ELWORTHY (1720 - 1775)'s life
Date Age Event Place Notes Src
17 Nov 1720 Thomas ELWORTHY was born Sandford, Devon, England
15 May 1769 48 Married Mary HODGE (aged 41) Crediton, Devon, England
1770 50 Birth of son James ELWORTHY Crediton, Devon, England
18 Jan 1775 54 Thomas ELWORTHY died England
Personal Notes:
In the County of Somerset lies a village called Elworthy which formed part of the
lands given by William the Conqueror to one of his supporters, William de Mohun.
He leased it out to others including William of Elworthy, his son Simon of
Elworthy and his son Philip of Elworthy who held it until some time between 1201
and 1258. After that the lands appear to have passed to other families.
Somerset Record Office data says that Philip or one of his predecessors must
have 'subinfeudated' it (meaning the land was granted by a vassal to a dependent).
The Domesday Book of 1086 - which really was a census of taxable stock and
lands, mentions only total numbers of people in each centre. Lands were taxed at
ix shillings per hide or household. That year ELWRDE (Elworthy) paid two
pounds, double the tax paid before the Norman conquest.
There were 72 sheep, 12 swine and one riding horse as well as nine villeins, as
free-born peasants were called, eight bordars (tenants or villeins who held their
cottage and a small parcel of land in return for menial services to the lord) and two
serfs - a total of 19 people!
In 1667 there were 244 people still living in the parish but by the 19th century the
population had fallen considerably. In 1971, only 62 people remained but I'm told
there are recent signs of expansion in the village.
A church at Elworthy was mentioned in 1233. The nave, tower and a lancet
window date from the 13th century, with the porch and nave roof added in the late
15th. The 17th century font, the altar rail and table are made from alabaster and are
considered quite rare. The patrons of the church during the Middle Ages were the
Knights of St John of Jerusalem - more commonly known as Knights Hospitaller.
It is interesting to note that the rector of St Martin's from 1643-5 and again from
1660-90 was John SELLACK - the same surname as John Bowcher's second wife,
Ann. The Rev Sellack was ejected for loyalty to the King during the Civil War and
later was involved in helping Charles II to escape.
The parish of Elworthy is on the eastern slopes of the Brendon Hills, much of it
within the Exmoor National Park. The entire parish measures only 1768 acres, 202
of which are taken up by Elworthy Farm. Because of the village's extremely small
declining population the church was declared redundant in 1976.
The village of Elworthy dates back to Neolithic times and Page 187 of "Neolithic
Man in Somerset" mentions how few traces.of this civilisation were found when
eolithic man was known to have been present in areas between Bath and the
Devon border. "The polished stone axe found in Elworthy Barrows ... may have
belonged to an inhabitant of that fortified village."
Several meanings have been given for the Old English words 'worp' and
'worpig' (worthy) used as a suffix for quite a few towns and villages in Devon and
and Somerset - Clatworthy, Hockworthy, Beaworthy, Selworthy, Woolfardis-\'orth (pronounced much like Woolery) and so on. Considering this pronunciation,
should Selworthy be called Celery and our name Ellery??
The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Placenames says 'worp' is 'an enclosure, a
yard about a house, an open place in a village or town, or a homestead' - take
your pick!
Surnames did not evolve until about the 12th century, so people were known by
various methods such as (1) their trade, (Eric the Baker could have been full
brother to William the Carpenter); (2) a strong physical characteristic, (George the
Large and his brother James the Small), or; (3) the area from which the person
originated say, John of Elworthy.
In due time their names were written Eric Baker, William Carpenter, George
Large, James Small and John Elworthy. There must have been many families with
identical surnames who were totally unrelated and others who were blood related
- but with quite different names!
It follows therefore, that many ancestors of present day Elworthys would have
originally taken their name from that village and as there were only 19 people
living in Elworthy in 1086, it is quite possible all people called Elworthy are
somehow very distantly related.
Over the centuries numerous variations have appeared with Elsworthy being
the most cornmon, even nowadays. Others include Ellsworthie, Ellerworthy,
Ellworthy, Ellisworthy, Elseworthie, Allworthy, Ullworthy, L. Worthy and even
Elthworthy!
Pursuing the Elworthy line in which we are interested, it was not possible to
accurately go further back than 1769 when the second marriage of Thomas
Elworthy took place. There were several Thomases in that area and it would be
very foolish to choose just anyone because he seems to fit the bill. This can waste a
lot of time, as I found out the hard way when I first started researching.
The parish records merely state Thomas Elworthy, widower and Mary ATWELL,
widow, both of the parish of Crediton married on 15 May 1769, It was not cornmon
in those times to give names of parents of the bride and groom nor their ages but
sometimes a parish clerk made unusual or helpful notes in the margin. In this case,
unfortunately he did not!
The fact the bride was a widow made it relatively easy to look for her birth and
previous marriage. Mary, the daughter of John HODGE, was baptised 29 Jan 1728
and married John Atwell on 15 ApI 1754. They had a daughter Mary baptised 21
Feb 1755 and a son John Atwell 25 Jun 1756. When she married Thomas Elworthy,
Mary was already past 41 and the birth of a son JAMES the following year was no
doubt something of a surprise. This baby (their only child) was also baptised at the
beautiful font in the lovely old Church of the Holy Cross at Crediton.
He is the progenitor of each branch of the Elworthy family mentioned in this
book,
Source References:
2. Type: Book, Abbr: Devon to Down Under, Title: Devon to Down Under, Auth: Bettie Elworthy, Publ: Bookbound, Date: 1997
- Reference = 23-24 (Name, Notes)

Created on a Macâ„¢ using iFamily for Macâ„¢ on 2 May 2025