Narcissus and his part in my family
One of my pastimes, when I have a few spare weeks, is family history. I’m currently doing my mother’s maternal line which has provided a few surprises, perhaps the most notable being that I appear to be a not so distant cousin of the infamous Paris Hilton. Moving swiftly on……
My Great Uncle Charles was one of the crew of the MV San Demetrio who sailed the crippled ship back into harbour after it was torpedoed. So this side of the family is looking pretty interesting.
Prior to this I headed off down the Paternal line who seem to have been, to a man, Agricultural Labourers (Ag. Labs). I managed to track that line back to a marriage of Nicholas and Elizabeth in 1539 in Cornwall but unlike researchers today, it took me ages. I started it in the early 80s, way before Internet searches were available. I had to physically attend the various record offices and wade through mountains of Microfiche, Microfilm and books.
But it must be said, that it would have taken me far less time than it actually did, if I hadn’t kept getting sidetracked by interesting things I came across in Parish Records whilst looking for clues to the identity of three Johns all born in the same place, in the same year.
Most of these sidetracks were suitably completed and I have a pile of “associated” research but there was one that I never managed to push any further than my original find in the Hearth Taxes of 1662 and it’s driven me nuts for years.
An ancestor was renting a cottage in Cornwall from a gentleman called Narcissus Manpowder. What a fantastic name! Now you’d think with a name like that he’d be easy to find elsewhere, but nothing. Not so much as a sniff. The only results from Internet searches is that there seems to have been a family by the name of Manpowder and they may have had a manor in the Dorset area:
14.07.1832 Twyford House
Christened by Revd Charles Shipley, Rector of Manpowder, Dorset
Twyford, Hampshire, Baptisms
with possible associations to the Edgecumbe family in Cornwall and the Glanvilles of Tavistock.
A description of one of a number of Anglo-Norman Coat of Arms in the old mansion of the Glanvilles at Kilworthy, near Tavistock says:
Hen. Manaton de Harwood, m. Martha Andrews, Lyme Regis. Arms : Sable, a saltire Argent between four cross-crosslets Or. About different parts of the house are thirty-six other coats, shewing the descent of the Manatons and their alliances with other houses, such as Buller, Hockmore, Manaton, Edgecumbe, Manpowder, Ilbert, Carminow, Roscarrock, Courtney, Kingdon, Trecarrol, Tremaine, Hunt, etc., etc. Kilworthy, and most of the property in and about Tavistock, now belongs to the Duke of Bedford.
The names Edgecumbe, Roscarrock, Trecarrol and Tremaine are from West Country roots so it seems likely that the Manpowders were in the locality and Dorset would fit but I’ve yet to find any other references although there is a village called Mappowder.
So, in order to preserve my sanity, I’m posting this so that anyone searching the web for the elusive Narcissus Manpowder can hopefully contact me.
Jaybee responds:
Posted: February 16th, 2008 at 11:17 pm →
Well the power of the Internet strikes again. Within 24 hours of this post, I was sent a link to the full transcript of a will for Narcissus Mapowder of Holsworthy in Devon, dated 1628. Having purchased the will for the princely sum of £3.50 ($7 for our friends across the water) I now have more information than I could possibly want, as soon as I’ve finished reading it.
4 pages of handwritten legalese script from the 1600s is not easy to work with, especially as in those days ’s’ was often written as ‘f’ but I’ve already worked out that this man was seriously wealthy for his day and not only left the entire “Parifh of Holsworthie” (sic) to his wife, but also large sums of money for the “poore of Wolverhampton”.
Repeat after me……. “I must not start researching this family, I have more than enough to do on my own.” “I must not……..
Steve responds:
Posted: April 3rd, 2008 at 8:58 pm →
Just searching the internet for articles on the M.V. San Demetrio and came across your bit
Ihave a lampstand in the form of a ship in a bottle vein showing the San Demrtrio
Do you by any chance have a crew list for her as my godfather could have been one of her crew as well, I can send you a photo of the object if you want
Regards Steve
Jaybee responds:
Posted: April 4th, 2008 at 1:35 pm →
Hi Steve, thanks a photo would be great. I don’t have a full crew list I’m afraid but I’m thinking it shouldn’t be that difficult to get hold of one. Merchant shipping usually kept pretty good records and in the case of the San Demetrio it ought to be available.
Send me an email and I’ll see what I can dig up.