Person:William Coombes (5)

William Coombes was baptised on 14th January 1844 at Stoke Canon in Devon, son of a paper maker named William Coombes and his wife Jane. Young William appears in the 1851 census living with his parents and siblings at Stoke Canon, although it is worth noting that the whole family in that census gave their place of birth as Rewe, the neighbouring village to the north.

By 1861 William had left home and was working as a groom in Exeter. He continued working as a groom or coachman for several years, appearing in the 1871 census working as a coachman for a clergyman at Trull, near Taunton in Somerset.

On 28th September 1872, aged 28, William married Elizabeth May. They married at Silverton in Devon, although William gave his residence as Taunton on their marriage certificate. They appear to have had one child in Taunton, before moving to Trent on the Somerset / Dorset border (it was then in Somerset but has subsequently been transferred to Dorset). At Trent they appear to have had a further four children. The 1881 census finds the family living at Trent, with William's father-in-law living with them. William was working as a gardener at this time.

In 1883, Elizabeth died, aged 44.

The following year, William remarried, with his second wife being Amy Emily Trott. They appear to have had a further seven children together, although only three of these seven were still living by the time of the 1911 census. They moved from Trent to West Coker before settling at Yeovil in Somerset, where they lived at a house called Babylon View on Lyde Road, appearing there in both the 1901 and 1911 censuses. This was clearly quite a sizeable house, being described as having ten rooms in 1911. By this time William was working as a laundryman.

William died in 1930, aged 86.

1. ↑ Church of Englnad. Parish Registers of Stoke Canon. (Exeter: Devon Heritage Services).

   BAPTISMS solemnized in the Parish of Stoke Canon in the County of Devon in the Year 1844
   No. 459
   When Baptized: Jan[uar]y 14th
   Name: William
   Parents: William & Sarah
   Surname: Coombs
   Abode: Stoke Canon
   Occupation: Labourer
   By whom the Ceremony was performed: William Napleton

2. ↑ England. 1851 Census Returns for England and Wales. (
   Kew, Richmond, Greater London TW9 4DU, United Kingdom:
   The National Archives (abbreviated TNA), formerly the UK General Register Office.)
   Class HO107; Piece 1866; Folio 542; Book 16, 30 Mar 1851.

   Address: Stoke Canon, Devon
   William Commbes, head, married, male, 43 [1807/8], Paper Maker Lab, b. Rew, Devon
   Sarah Coombes, wife, married, female, 39 [1811/12], Wife, b. Rew, Devon
   John Coombes, son, unmarried, male, 13 [1837/8], Scholar, b. Rew, Devon
   Frank Coombes, son, unmarried, male, 10 [1840/1], Scholar, b. Rew, Devon
   William Coombes, son, male, 7 [1843/4], Scholar, b. Rew, Devon
   Harriott Coombes, daughter, female, 4 [1846/7], b. Rew, Devon
   Susan Hurley, lodger, unmarried, female, 27 [1823/4], Lab at Paper Mills, b. Rew, Devon

3. ↑ England. 1861 Census Schedules for England and Wales, Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. (
   Kew, Richmond, Greater London TW9 4DU, United Kingdom:
   The National Archives (abbreviated TNA), formerly the UK General Register Office.)
   Class RG9; Piece 1398; Folio 23; Page 38, 7 Apr 1861.

   Address: 4 Bedford Street, Exeter (St Lawrence), Devon
   [in household of John Sercombe, ostler:]
   William Coombes, lodger, unmarried, male, 18 [1842/3], Groom, b. Stoke Canon, Devon

4. ↑ England. England and Wales. 1871 Census Schedules. (
   Kew, Richmond, Greater London TW9 4DU, United Kingdom:
   The National Archives (abbreviated TNA), formerly the UK General Register Office.)
   Class RG10; Piece 2367; Folio 63; Page 32, 2 Apr 1871.

   Address: Gatchell House, Trull, Somerset
   [in household of Rev. William J. Allen, clergyman:]
   William Coombes, servant, unmarried, male, 29 [1841/2], Coachman, b. Stoke Cannon, Devon

5. ↑ England. 1881 Census Schedules for England and Wales, Isle of Man and the Channel Islands: . (
   Kew, Richmond, Greater London TW9 4DU, United Kingdom:
   The National Archives (abbreviated TNA), formerly the UK General Register Office.)
   Class RG11; Piece 2118; Folio 41; Page 11, 3 Apr 1881.

   Address: Trent Road, Trent, Somerset
   William Coombes, head, married, male, 35 [1845/6], Gardener, b. Stoke Canon, Devon
   Elizabeth Coombes, wife, married, female, 40 [1840/1], b. Badninch, Devon
   Mabel Coombes, daughter, unmarried, female, 7 [1873/4], Scholar, b. Taunton, Somerset
   Alice M. Coombes, daughter, unmarried, female, 6 [1874/5], Scholar, b. Trent, Somerset
   Elizabeth Coombes, daughter, unmarried, female, 4 [1876/7], Scholar, b. Trent, Somerset
   William M. Coombes, son, unmarried, male, 1 [1879/80], b. Trent, Somerset
   William May, wife's father, widower, 70 [1810/1], Annuitant, b. Templeton, Devon

6. ↑ England. 1891 Census Schedules for England and Wales, Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. (
   Kew, Richmond, Greater London TW9 4DU, United Kingdom:
   The National Archives (abbreviated TNA), formerly the UK General Register Office.)
   Class RG12; Piece 1895; Folio 39; Page 26, 5 Apr 1891.

   Address: Font Cottages, West Coker, Somerset
   4 rooms occupied
   William Coombs, head, married, male, 42 [1848/9], Coachman, b. Stoke Canon, Devon
   Amy Coombs, wife, married, female, 36 [1854/5], b. Honiton, Devon
   Mabel Coombs, daughter, single, female, 17 [1873/4], b. Taunton, Somerset
   William M. Coombs, son, single, male, 12 [1878/9], School, b. Trent, Somerset
   Fred Coombs, son, male, 7 [1883/4], School, b. Trent, Somerset
   Frank J. Coombs, son, male, 5 [1885/6], School, b. Trent, Somerset
   Arthur R. Coombs, son, male, 3 [1887/8], School, b. West Coker, Somerset
   Harriet Coombs, daughter, female, 1 [1889/90], b. West Coker, Somerset
   Lucy M. Coombs, daughter, female, 4m [1890/1], b. West Coker, Somerset

7. ↑ ^7.0 7.1 England. England. 1901 Census Schedules for England and Wales, Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. (
   Kew, Richmond, Greater London TW9 4DU, United Kingdom:
   The National Archives (abbreviated TNA), formerly the UK General Register Office.)
   Class RG13; Piece 2300; Folio 101; Page 16, 31 Mar 1901.

   Address: Babylon View, Lyde Lane, Yeovil, Somerset
   5 or more rooms occupied
   William Coomber, head, married, male, 47 [1853/4], b. Stoke Cannon, Devon
   Amy Coomber, wife, married, female, 40 [1860/1], Laundress, own account, working at home, b. Honiton, Devon
   Mabel Coomber, daughter, single, female, 26 [1874/5], b. Taunton, Somerset
   Elizabeth Coomber, daughter, single, female, 21 [1879/80], b. Trent, Somerset
   Harriett Coomber, daughter, single, female, 13 [1887/8], b. Trent, Somerset
   Walter H. Coomber, son, single, male, 3 [1897/8], b. Yeovil, Somerset

8. ↑ England. 1911 Census Schedules for England and Wales, Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. (Kew, Richmond, Greater London TW9 4DU, United Kingdom: The National Archives (abbreviated TNA), (formerly the UK General Register Office.))
   Class RG14; Piece 14415; Schedule 254, 2 Apr 1911.

   Address: Babylon View, Lyde Road, Yeovil, Somerset
   10 rooms occupied
   William Coombes, head, male, 67 [1843/4], married, Laundryman, employer, working at home, b. Stoake Canon, Devon
   Annie Coombes, wife, female, 53 [1857/8], married 26 years, 7 children born alive, 3 children still living, working at home, b. Honiton, Devon
   Elizabeth Coombes, daughter, female, 27 [1883/4], single, working at home, b. Trent, Dorset [Somerset crossed out]
   Frank Coombes, son, male, 25 [1885/6], single, working at home, b. Trent, Dorset
   Harriett Coombes, daughter, female, 21 [1889/90], single, working at home, b. West Coker, Somerset
   Walter Coombes, son, male, 14 [1896/7], School, b. Yeovil, Somerset
   Edward Holway, servant, male, 19 [1891/2], single, worker, b. Sherborne, Dorset

9. ↑ Deaths index, in General Register Office. England and Wales Civil Registration. (London: General Register Office).

   d. William COOMBES, March Quarter 1930 Yeovil Registration District, Volume 5c, page 479, aged 86 [1843/4]