ELFORD It Is Thought That the Elford Family Gave Their Name to Yelverton
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ELFORD It is thought that the Elford family gave their name to Yelverton (Elford’s Town), near Plymouth but that they originated in the village of Elford in Staffordshire.1 The name derives from either Ella’s Ford or the elder tree ford.2 A Robert Elford was the sheriff of Cornwall in the early fourteenth century.3 The main concentration of the name is in southwest Devon.4 The earliest ancestors in this line lived in the reign of Elizabeth I. 11x great grandfather William Elford married Joan Cudlipe on the 2nd of September 1583 In Mary Tavy, Devon.5 Mary Tavy is a small rural parish in south west Devon, The Origin of the Surname Elford on the edge of Dartmoor. It is three and a half miles north of the market town of Tavistock and eighteen miles north of the port of Plymouth. The focus of the surname Cudlipe is in mid and south west Devon.6 The hamlet of Cudlippstown in Peter Tavy may have been named for the family, or it might refer to a ‘leap over a stream’. A likely origin of the name is as a nickname for one who had a cut or cleft lip.7 The Origin of the Surname Cudlipp William and Joan had six children baptised in Mary Tavy: 10x great grandfather Peter Extract from a Parish Map Elford on the 29th of June 1584; Paschovia ©Devon Family History Society on the 5th of May 1586; Richard on the 26th 1 Laura Elford The Elfords: the story of an ancient family Privately Published (1972-1976). 2 Basil Cottle The Penguin Dictionary of Surnames Penguin 2nd edition 1978. 3 Laura Elford The Elfords: the story of an ancient family Privately Published (1972-1976). 4 The British C19th Surname Atlas Archer Software (2003). 5 Marriage register of St. Mary’s, Mary Tavy, Devon via Devon Family History Society www.devonfhs.org.uk. 6 The British C19th Surname Atlas Archer Software (2003). 7 Basil Cottle The Penguin Dictionary of Surnames Penguin 2nd edition 1978. of July 1587; Matthew in November 1588, the year of the Spanish Armada, in which nearby Plymouth played a significant part; Mary on the 16th of September 1591 and Gregory in July 1593,8 he was buried on the 12th of August in the same year.9 Six more children of a William Elford (no mother named) were baptised in Mary Tavy between 1566 and 1581.10 This suggests that William may have been married previously. There is a possible marriage in nearby Whitchurch in 1567 to Aliza Hooy,11 although the first of these children was baptised in the year before the Whitchurch marriage. No burial has been found for Aliza. No burial has been found for Joan either but William was buried at Mary Tavy on the 4th of May 1597.12 10x great grandfather Peter Elford married Jane Bowden at Mary Tavy in 1606, the precise date is illegible.13 Bowden is predominantly a Devon surname. The only other concentration is in Lancashire.14 There are several places called Bowden in the country; it means curved hill.15 Eight children were baptised in Mary Tavy: William in June 1607; Jane on the 14th of September 1608; Philip on the 12th of October 1609; Joanna on the 3rd of June 1612, Mary on the 2nd of April 1615, Wilmot on the 7th of December 1617; Elizabeth on the 19th of August 1620 and 9x great grandfather Peter Elford on the The Origin of the Surname th 16 27 of March 1622/3. Bowden Interestingly, a Joanna Elford ‘of Devon’ was indicted for witchcraft in 1671. She was accused ‘laming and pining (pinning) Alice Paynter. She was found not guilty.17 There is an Alice Reddy or Poynter who was baptised in Tavistock in 1654 and buried there in 167518. Unfortunately, there is no way of knowing whether the suspected witch was indeed a relative. Jane Elford was buried on the 7th of June 1644 and her husband, Peter, on the 11th of August 1650, both in Mary Tavy. 19 9x great grandfather Peter Elford married Katherine Wills in Mary Tavy on the 13th of October 1646.20 The country would have been reeling from the Civil War, in which it is believed about 12,000 men from Devon lost their lives. Wills is a patronymic surname, meaning the son of William. It is another surname with a south Devon focus.21 8 Baptism register of St. Mary’s, Mary Tavy, Devon via Devon Family History Society www.devonfhs.org.uk. 9 Burial register of St. Mary’s, Mary Tavy, Devon via Devon Family History Society www.devonfhs.org.uk. 10 Baptism register of St. Mary’s, Mary Tavy, Devon via Devon Family History Society www.devonfhs.org.uk. 11 Marriage register of St, Andrew’s, Whitchurch, Devon via www.findmypast.co.uk. 12 Burial register of St. Mary’s, Mary Tavy, Devon via Devon Family History Society www.devonfhs.org.uk. 13 Marriage register of St. Mary’s, Mary Tavy, Devon via Devon Family History Society www.devonfhs.org.uk. 14 The British C19th Surname Atlas Archer Software (2003). 15 P. H. Reaney, A Dictionary of Surnames Routledge and Kegan Paul (1979). 16 Baptism register of St. Mary’s, Mary Tavy, Devon via Devon Family History Society www.devonfhs.org.uk. 17 Goal delivery at Exeter on April 5 23 CII TNA ASSI 23/1 Ewen 11 442. 18 Baptism register of St. Eustachius, Tavistock, Devon via Devon Family History Society www.devonfhs.org.uk. 19 Burial register of St. Mary’s, Mary Tavy, Devon via Devon Family History Society www.devonfhs.org.uk. 20 Marriage register of St. Mary’s, Mary Tavy, Devon via Devon Family History Society www.devonfhs.org.uk. 21 The British C19th Surname Atlas Archer Software (2003). Peter and Katherine had five children baptised in Mary Tavy: 8x great grandfather, another Peter, on the 22nd of August 1647; Paschove in April 1649; Matthew on the 29th of December 1651; John on the 6th of February 1653/4 and Lewes on the 23rd of February.22 Katherine was buried in Mary Tavy on the 31st of March 1658.23 A little more is known about this Peter. He remarried on the 24th of September 1666 to Ellis Masy, a widow.24 They do not appear to have had any children.25 Leases in Devon Heritage Centre describe Peter as a yeoman and he leased a property known as Peekes Tenement, part of Mary Tavy Barton, in 1669/70.26 He served as both parish constable and was churchwarden The Origin of the Surname in 1684.27 He was buried in Mary Tavy on the 15th of Wills December 1711.28 8x great grandfather, the third Peter, married Margery Spiller on the 6th of February 1676/7 at Mary Tavy.29 The name Spiller may relate to a maker of staves.30 The name is largely found in Devon and Somerset.31 Their five children were baptised in Mary Tavy: 7x great grandmother Katherine on the 18th of November 1677; Peter on the 27th of September 1680; Jane on the 10th of December 1683; Elizabeth on the 17th of July 1686 and Patience on the 13th of January 1690/1.32 This Peter too was a parish constable.33 Margery was buried on the 13th of October 1716. Peter was still alive at this time but no burial has been found.34 The Origin of the Surname Katherine Elford married 7x great grandfather, Spiller Christopher Bishop, on the 13th of January 1701/2 in Mary Tavy.35 Her story continues under Bishop.36 22 Baptism register of St. Mary’s, Mary Tavy, Devon via Devon Family History Society www.devonfhs.org.uk. 23 Burial register of St. Mary’s, Mary Tavy, Devon via Devon Family History Society www.devonfhs.org.uk. 24 Marriage register of St. Mary’s, Mary Tavy, Devon via Devon Family History Society www.devonfhs.org.uk. 25 Baptism register of St. Mary’s, Mary Tavy, Devon via Devon Family History Society www.devonfhs.org.uk. 26 National Archives Discovery Catalogue reference to an agreement for a lease in Devon Heritage Centre 89Z- 0/T/19. National Archives Discovery Catalogue reference to an agreement for a lease in Devon Heritage Centre 89Z-0/T/20 27 Information from Mrs Laura Elford. 28 Burial register of St. Mary’s, Mary Tavy, Devon via Devon Family History Society www.devonfhs.org.uk. 29 Marriage register of St. Mary’s, Mary Tavy, Devon via Devon Family History Society www.devonfhs.org.uk. 30 Mark Antony, Lower A Dictionary of Surnames Wordsworth Editions Ltd. (1988). 31 The British C19th Surname Atlas Archer Software (2003). 32 Baptism register of St. Mary’s, Mary Tavy, Devon via Devon Family History Society www.devonfhs.org.uk. 33 Information from Mrs Laura Elford. 34 Burial register of St. Mary’s, Mary Tavy, Devon via Devon Family History Society www.devonfhs.org.uk. 35 Marriage register of St. Mary’s, Mary Tavy, Devon via Devon Family History Society www.devonfhs.org.uk. 36 See Bishop Narrative. .