Sheepstor Genealogical Records
Sheepstor Birth & Baptism Records
An index to births registered throughout England & Wales. Provides a reference to order copies of birth certificates from the national registrar of births, marriages and deaths – the General Register Office.
A name index attached to original images of baptism registers. Records document parents' names, date of baptism and/or birth, residence, occupations and more.
Digital images of baptism registers, searchable by a name index. These records may help trace a family as far back as 1691.
A searchable database of 2,225,292 records, linked to original images of baptism registers. The records provide proof of parentage, occupations, residence and other details.
Transcriptions of over 360,000 baptisms from most parishes in the county. Records include parents name and abode.
Sheepstor Marriage & Divorce Records
An index to marriages registered throughout England & Wales. This is the only national marriage index that allows you to search by both spouse's names. Provides a reference to order copies of marriage certificates from the national registrar of births, marriages and deaths – the General Register Office.
Digital images of marriage registers, searchable by a name index. They may list residence, marital status, witnesses and more.
A name index to around 200,000 marriages recorded by the Church of England and other denominations in Plymouth and its environs.
A searchable database of 1,871,561 records, linked to original images of marriage registers. The records may include fathers' names, age, residence, occupations and more.
Transcriptions of over 270,000 marriages from most parishes in the county.
Sheepstor Death & Burial Records
An index to deaths registered throughout England & Wales. Provides a reference to order copies of death certificates from the national registrar of births, marriages and deaths – the General Register Office.
Digital images of burial registers, searchable by a name index. They may detail the deceased's name, residence and age.
Digital images of burial registers, searchable by a name index. Details given may include the deceased's name, residence, age, names of relations, cause of death and more.
A searchable database of 1,666,144 records, linked to original images of burial registers. The records may include date of burial and/or death, residence, age and other details.
Transcriptions of over 225,000 burials from most parishes in the county. Induces the deceased's age.
Sheepstor Census & Population Lists
An index to and digital images of records that detail 40 million civilians in England and Wales. Records list name, date of birth, address, marital status, occupation and details of trade or profession.
The 1911 census provides details on an individual's age, residence, place of birth, relations and occupation. FindMyPast's index allows searches on for multiple metrics including occupation and residence.
A list of those eligible to vote, including their address and qualification to vote.
A list of Devon property-owners who were required to contribute towards sustaining the militia.
A transcription of the Lady Day hearth tax for 1674 for the county of Devon.
Newspapers Covering Sheepstor
A politically independent newspaper, covering the affairs of Dorset, Devon, Cornwall and Somerset. It includes family notices.
A short regional paper covering local occurrences, business news, family notices and more.
A liberal newspaper covering the counties of Cornwall, Devon and Dorset. It includes family notices.
Original images of a regional newspaper, searchable via a full text index. Includes news from the Devon area, business notices, obituaries, family announcements and more.
A database allowing full text searches of a newspaper covering regional news, family announcements, obituaries, court proceedings, business notices and more in the Devon area.
Sheepstor Wills & Probate Records
Searchable index and original images of over 12.5 million probates and administrations granted by civil registries. Entries usually include the testator's name, date of death, date of probate and registry. Names of relations may be given.
An index to 295,609 wills of people who lived in or were connected to Devon. The wills they reference can contain a great deal of genealogical information.
An index to estate administrations performed by the Prerogative Court of Canterbury. The index covers the southern two thirds of England & Wales, but may also contain entries for northerners.
An index to thousands of probates and administrations granted by the Diocese and Archdeaconry of Exeter, covering parts of Devon & Cornwall.
An index to over 300,000 Devon wills, admons and inventories from 550 sources. Index contains name, abode, occupation, type of document, year of probate, court, notes and document reference.
Sheepstor Immigration & Travel Records
A detailed investigation into motivations for Devonians choosing to stay or migrate from the county, with particular attention to labour, religion and family ties.
A lengthy article detailing the practice of moving the needy poor between parishes. Contains examples of settlements, removals and examinations.
The story of a ship heading to Quebec from Plymouth that sank off the coast of Cornwall, killing 194 passengers. Includes information on the crew, passengers and others connected with the event.
An overview of emigration from north Devon to the Americas, with particulars of some who made the journey.
A calendar of prisoners brought before the quarter sessions, with details of their crime and punishment. Contains entries for individuals who were transported.
Sheepstor Military Records
Various military lists published in the Exeter Flying Post, particularly lists of deserters, which may list age and physical description.
A list of Devon property-owners who were required to contribute towards sustaining the militia.
A list of names found on World War One monuments in Devon, with some service details.
A list of names found on World War Two monuments in Devon, with some service details.
Names from a presumably predominately Devonian war memorial in the former Bible Christian church at Swansea.
Sheepstor Court & Legal Records
A list of those eligible to vote, including their address and qualification to vote.
An index of around 300,000 names in local tax records. The index is connected to digital images of the rate books, which record, land owner and occupier, description of property, address and details of the tax.
Transcriptions of documents listing those who swore loyalty to King George I after the Jacobite Atterbury Plot.
A calendar of cases to be heard before the quarter session that are indictable by nature,.
Two calendars, one of those licensed to carry out trade and the other those brought before the session for cursing.
Sheepstor Taxation Records
An index of around 300,000 names in local tax records. The index is connected to digital images of the rate books, which record, land owner and occupier, description of property, address and details of the tax.
Transcriptions of documents listing land, their owner or occupier acreage and name or description.
A list of Devon property-owners who were required to contribute towards sustaining the militia.
A transcription of the Lady Day hearth tax for 1674 for the county of Devon.
An index to 11,000,000 parcels of land and property, connected to digital images of registers that record their owner, occupier, description, agricultural use, size and rateable value.
Sheepstor Land & Property Records
A list of those eligible to vote, including their address and qualification to vote.
Maps delineating fields in Devon, which are referenced to documents recording field names, land owners, occupiers, land use and land size.
An index of around 300,000 names in local tax records. The index is connected to digital images of the rate books, which record, land owner and occupier, description of property, address and details of the tax.
Transcriptions of documents listing land, their owner or occupier acreage and name or description.
A list of Devon property-owners who were required to contribute towards sustaining the militia.
Sheepstor Directories & Gazetteers
A comprehensive place-by-place gazetteer, listing key contemporary and historical facts. Each place has a list of residents and businesses. Contains details on local schools, churches, government and other institutions.
A comprehensive place-by-place gazetteer, listing key contemporary and historical facts. Each place has a list of residents and businesses. Contains details on local schools, churches, government and other institutions.
A comprehensive place-by-place gazetteer, listing key historical and contemporary facts. Contains details on local schools, churches, government and other institutions. Also contains a list of residents and businesses for each place.
A comprehensive place-by-place gazetteer, listing key historical and contemporary facts. Contains details on local schools, churches, government and other institutions. Also contains a list of residents and businesses for each place.
A directory of residents and businesses; with a description of each settlement, containing details on its history, public institutions, churches, postal services, governance and more.
Sheepstor Cemeteries
Photographs and descriptions of Devon's most illustrious church monuments, often featuring effigies, medieval inscriptions and heraldic devices.
Memorials of a select number of headstones in Devon.
Images of millions of pages from cemetery and crematoria registers, photographs of memorials, cemetery plans and more. Records can be search by a name index.
Photographs and transcriptions of millions of gravestones from cemeteries around the world.
Profiles of several hundred mausolea found in the British Isles.
Sheepstor Obituaries
The UKs largest repository of obituaries, containing millions of searchable notices.
A growing collection currently containing over 425,000 abstracts of obituaries with reference to the location of the full obituary.
A collection of 364 obituaries of Quakers from the British Isles. The volume was published in 1849 and includes obituaries of those who died in late 1847 through 1848.
This transcribed and searchable work by Sir William Musgrave contains 10,000s of brief obituaries. The work is a reference point for other works containing information on an individual.
A text index and digital images of all editions of a journal containing medical articles and obituaries of medical practitioners.
Sheepstor Histories & Books
A detailed investigation into motivations for Devonians choosing to stay or migrate from the county, with particular attention to labour, religion and family ties.
A history of Catholicism in South West England with biographies of noted Catholics. Contains details of the Dominican, Benedictine, and Franciscan orders.
A general and parochial history of the county, with sections for each parish.
Numerous articles covering the history of the country, its principle settlements, notable persons, castles and more.
A detailed overview of Devon in 1850, extracted from a directory of that year.
Sheepstor School & Education Records
A name index connected to digital images of registers recording millions of children educated in schools operated by the National Society for Promoting Religious Education. Records contain a variety of information including genealogical details, education history, illnesses, exam result, fathers occupation and more.
A name index linked to original images of registers recording the education and careers of teachers in England & Wales.
A name index linked to original images of short biographies for over 120,000 Oxford University students. This is a particularly useful source for tracing the ancestry of the landed gentry.
A transcript of a vast scholarly work briefly chronicling the heritage, education and careers of over 150,000 Cambridge University students. This is a particularly useful source for tracing the ancestry of the landed gentry.
A searchable database containing over 90,000 note-form biographies for students of Cambridge University.
Sheepstor Occupation & Business Records
Background information on women employed by the mining industry in Devon & Cornwall. Includes a database of over 25,000 women and oral histories.
Lists of gamekeepers from the North Devon Journal.
Lists of gamekeepers from the The Western Times.
A series of newspaper articles listing gamekeepers in Devon.
Transcripts of newspaper articles listing the particulars of apprentices who absconded from their master.
Pedigrees & Family Trees Covering Sheepstor
Extensive and impeccably sourced genealogies for British, Irish & Manx royalty and nobility. Scroll down to 'British Isles' for relevant sections.
A searchable database of linked genealogies compiled from thousands of reputable and not-so-reputable sources. Contains many details on European gentry & nobility, but covers many countries outside Europe and people from all walks of life.
A searchable book, listing pedigrees of titled families and biographies of their members.
A book containing genealogies and biographies of Britain's titled families.
A book containing genealogies and biographies of Britain's titled families.
Sheepstor Royalty, Nobility & Heraldry Records
Three works compiled from 16th and 17th century sources that record Devon families who had the right to bear a coat of arms.
A list of men found by William Camden to have unsubstantiated claims to coats of arms.
Photographs and descriptions of Devon's most illustrious church monuments, often featuring effigies, medieval inscriptions and heraldic devices.
Extensive and impeccably sourced genealogies for British, Irish & Manx royalty and nobility. Scroll down to 'British Isles' for relevant sections.
A searchable database of linked genealogies compiled from thousands of reputable and not-so-reputable sources. Contains many details on European gentry & nobility, but covers many countries outside Europe and people from all walks of life.
Sheepstor Church Records
A history of Catholicism in South West England with biographies of noted Catholics. Contains details of the Dominican, Benedictine, and Franciscan orders.
Prior to civil registration in 1837, the parish registers of Devon are the most common place to turn for details on births, marriages and deaths.
A series of questionnaires detailing the ecclesiastical predicament of around 250 parishes in Devon.
A transcript of documents recording those who contributed to the rebuilding of St. Paul's Cathedral in London.
A history of the Bible Christians, a denomination of Methodists, in Devon and Cornwall.
Biographical Directories Covering Sheepstor
A series of folk tales and detailed biographies of Devonshire men and women.
Biographies of notable Devonians from the Norman period up to the end of the 17th century.
A searchable book, listing pedigrees of titled families and biographies of their members.
A book containing genealogies and biographies of Britain's titled families.
A book containing genealogies and biographies of Britain's titled families.
Sheepstor Maps
Maps delineating fields in Devon, which are referenced to documents recording field names, land owners, occupiers, land use and land size.
Maps delineating fields, forests and other land plots in east Devon. Apportionments not included.
Transcriptions of documents listing land, their owner or occupier acreage and name or description.
A collection of digitalised maps covering the county.
Detailed maps covering much of the UK. They depict forests, mountains, larger farms, roads, railroads, towns, and more.
Sheepstor Reference Works
A series of articles on Devon surnames, including a dictionary of Devon surname definitions.
A guide to locating Devon wills in light of losses incurred during World War II.
A beginner’s guide to researching ancestry in England.
Compiled in 1831, this book details the coverage and condition of parish registers in England & Wales.
A comprehensive guide to researching the history of buildings in the British Isles.
Civil & Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction
Historical Description
SHEEPSTOR (or Shipstor, properly” Sheepstow”) is a parish, 3 miles east-by-south from Yelverton station on the Tavistock and Launceston branch and 2 south from Dousland station on the Prince Town branch of the Great Western railway, 13 north-north-east from Plymouth and 7 south-east from Tavistock, in the Western division of the county, hundred of Roborough, petty sessional division of Midland Roborough, union and county court district of Tavistock, rural deanery of Plympton, archdeaconry of Totnes and diocese of Exeter. The corporation of Plymouth have a large storage reservoir at the Burrator Gorge, in this parish, begun in 1893, and completed in 1898, in order to impound the waters of the river Meavy: the main dam of the reservoir is of masonry, but the side valley towards Sheepstor village is closed by an earthen embankment: this reservoir covers an area, of 115 acres, and has a capacity of 650 million gallons. The church (dedication unknown) is an ancient building of granite in the Early Perpendicular style, consisting of chancel, nave of five bays, south aisle, a curious north transept, south porch and an embattled western tower, with four crocketed pinnacles, containing 5 bells, all recast in 1769 by John Pennington and Co.: the chancel retains an early piscina and there is another in the south aisle; the transept has a hagioscope; the stairs to the rood-loft remain on the north side of the church and there are some remains of a carved oak screen; on the north wall is a monument with the recumbent effigies of a lady and child and three kneeling figures of children, to Elizabeth, second wife of John Elford, ob. 1641, but the inscription is lost; here also is another monument to this family, with inscription to John Elford, gent, ob. August 27, 1584; Elizabeth (Gregory), his wife, and subsequently wife of Thomas Drake esq. ob. March 18, 1631; Walter Elford, their son, ob. May 9, 1648, and Barbara (Crocker), his wife, ob. 1656; over the inscription are 7 shields, exhibiting the alliances of the Elford family, and below the arms of Drake impaling Gregory: the church has been twice restored, the first time between the years 1797 and 1801, and again in 1862: there are four stained windows, the east window being a memorial to Sir James Brooke K.C.B, late Rajah of Sarawak, who died at Burrator House, in this parish, June 11, 1868, and whose remains are interred under a massive granite tomb in the churchyard: one of the others was erected in 1874 in memory of a former schoolmistress of the village: there are 120 sittings. The register dates from the year 1691. The living is a vicarage, net yearly value £138, with one acre of glebe and residence, dating from 1648, in the gift of the Right Hon. Sir Massey Lopes bart. P.C. and held since 1879 by the Rev. Cornelius Hargreave Crooke M.A. of St. John’s College, Cambridge. The church house, near the churchyard, and formerly used as a school, is an interesting structure of the 16th century, apparently given to the parish by John Elford about 1570; it has been repaired and is now used as a parish room. In this parish, on the side of the Tor, are the remains of an ancient cave, reputed to be a haunt of the fairies, and known as the “Pixies’ Cave”; it is entered by a narrow opening through rugged rocks, and consists of a hollow about 6 by 4 feet, formed by masses of rock slanting inward so as to form a kind of hut; Walter Elford, lord of the manor during the Civil war, is said to have frequently concealed himself here to elude the search of the Parliamentary soldiers. The charities amount to about £11 yearly. Burrator House, late the property and residence of Sir James Brooke K.C.B, now belongs to and is occasionally occupied by the Right Hon. Sir Massey Lopes bart. P.C. Longstone, now a farmhouse, was the ancient seat of the Elford family, who were owners of the manor from the 15th century till 1748; William Elford esq. M.P., F.R.S, some time Recorder of Plymouth and Lieut.-Col. S. Devon Militia, was created a baronet Nov. 26, 1800, but the title became extinct on his death, Nov. 30, 1837. The Right Hon. Sir Massey Lopes bart. P.C. and John Bayly esq. between whom the manorial rights appear to be divided, the trustees of the late Mr. Hext-Boger and the Plymouth Corporation are chief landowners. The soil is various; subsoil, partly clay and partly slate. The chief crops are barley, oats and some pasture land. The area is 3,424 acres; rateable value, £4,236; the population in 1891 was 100.
School, erected in 1866, for 30 children; average attendance, 22.
Most Common Surnames in Sheepstor
| Rank | Surname | Incidence | Frequency | Percent of Parent | Rank in Roborough Hundred |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Creber | 17 | 1:5 | 9.04% | 642 |
| 2 | Andrews | 9 | 1:10 | 0.68% | 42 |
| 2 | Northmore | 9 | 1:10 | 5.33% | 717 |
| 4 | Ware | 6 | 1:15 | 1.02% | 178 |
| 5 | Lavers | 5 | 1:18 | 1.24% | 273 |
| 5 | Olver | 5 | 1:18 | 3.47% | 815 |
| 7 | Palmer | 4 | 1:23 | 0.26% | 31 |
| 8 | Jackman | 3 | 1:30 | 0.79% | 293 |
| 8 | Mortimore | 3 | 1:30 | 0.54% | 189 |
| 10 | Cross | 2 | 1:45 | 0.31% | 156 |
| 10 | Cooke | 2 | 1:45 | 0.77% | 453 |
| 10 | Walters | 2 | 1:45 | 0.34% | 182 |
| 10 | Bowden | 2 | 1:45 | 0.11% | 19 |
| 10 | Stanbury | 2 | 1:45 | 0.44% | 244 |
| 10 | Andrewartha | 2 | 1:45 | 66.67% | 11,450 |
| 10 | Legassick | 2 | 1:45 | 4.17% | 1,955 |
| 17 | Reed | 1 | 1:90 | 0.08% | 53 |
| 17 | Lane | 1 | 1:90 | 0.12% | 107 |
| 17 | Rowe | 1 | 1:90 | 0.05% | 16 |
| 17 | Prior | 1 | 1:90 | 0.73% | 861 |
| 17 | Pearse | 1 | 1:90 | 0.11% | 96 |
| 17 | Hogan | 1 | 1:90 | 4.76% | 3,358 |
| 17 | Dillon | 1 | 1:90 | 1.92% | 1,843 |
| 17 | Luscombe | 1 | 1:90 | 0.09% | 62 |
| 17 | Willcocks | 1 | 1:90 | 0.16% | 157 |
| 17 | Gendle | 1 | 1:90 | 2.17% | 2,022 |
| 17 | Dimont | 1 | 1:90 | 50.00% | 13,160 |
| 17 | Gullet | 1 | 1:90 | 25.00% | 9,849 |
| 17 | Rouling | 1 | 1:90 | 100.00% | 15,767 |
| 17 | Grapple | 1 | 1:90 | 100.00% | 15,767 |