Re: An interesting read - followup on Sam Vosper and others mentioned in the book

Hi Cousin Teri

I'm afraid I cannot add much to your store of knowledge. Samuel Vosper 1866-1955 had plenty of siblings but none called Ethel or Min. Samuel himself was born in St Dominics and died in Liskeard. His father William Samuel was born in Callington and died in Liskeard but no doubt you know that

Cousin Malcolm

On 8 Oct 2018, at 16:33, Infoseeker@Gmail <infoseeker1980@gmail.com> wrote:

Hi Cousin Malcolm! [see message below]

 

Well, thanks for that!  Do you know what community each was in?  I have a William Samuel Vosper on my tree, but he has different dates.  I think the 1866-1955 person is the best candidate, but there is absolutely no indication of age of the person in the stories.  

 

Here is a synopsis of some of the Vosper references from the book:  

 

There is one mention of a woman Bessie, dau. of Sarah  Rickard and Edwin Grills, I think. (P. 93) Bessie married Sam Vosper from Boetherick.  The butcher shop was at "West Boetherick Farm."  Sam employed fruit pickers, and employed Jack Rickard.  Sam "travelled to local markets…and he always provided kidneys and sweetbreads to Lady Ernestine, the Earl's sister, when she lived at Honeycombe House."  (P. 76)   

 

"Sam [the singer] was the nephew of the butcher at West Boetherick who was also called Sam." (P.80)  Sam [the singer] "was my [Leonard Hughes'] cousin and he took us out in his boat sometimes – he was a bit of a character and full of fun and he lived down at Woodlands." (P. 80) Sam was a singer at Wesleen/ Wesleyan Chapel.  Sam left and went to Liskeard.

 

The book also mentions Ethel and Min Vosper.  Did the 1866-1955 Samuel have sisters named Ethel and Min?  Ethel worked in the polling place on election day.  Ethel played tennis (P. 80).

 

The various comments are from various people, and they may or may not have been talking about the same "Sam".

 

Cousin Paula is wondering if anyone knows how the Vospers of the boat company are related – Herbert Edward Vosper was the founder.  I've looked briefly at it a number of times but have not figured it out.  Does anyone know?  https://www.battleships-cruisers.co.uk/vosper_thornycroft.htm

 

Another famous Vosper is  the actor, Frank Vosper, and how he was related.  I have put a tree together for him:  https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/tree/47374333/family     You can read about his life here:  https://www.ancestry.com/mediaui-viewer/tree/47374333/person/6756524606/media/1c4a5b07-f71c-4284-9c72-3c6c019f51e9 and you can probably watch him in "The Man Who Knew Too Much" on your "On Line" demand system from the comfort of your own home.  He died when he fell off a cruise ship.

 

Cousin Teri

 

From: Malcolm 
Sent: Saturday, October 6, 2018 1:53 PM
Subject: Re: An interesting read

 

Possible candidates to be the Sam Vosper would be William Samuel Vosper, Butcher, 1824-1896, son of George Vosper 1779-1852; or his son Samuel Vosper, Butcher, 1866-1955

RE: An interesting read - followup on Sam Vosper and others mentioned in the book

Hi Cousin Malcolm! [see message below]

 

Well, thanks for that!  Do you know what community each was in?  I have a William Samuel Vosper on my tree, but he has different dates.  I think the 1866-1955 person is the best candidate, but there is absolutely no indication of age of the person in the stories. 

 

Here is a synopsis of some of the Vosper references from the book: 

 

There is one mention of a woman Bessie, dau. of Sarah  Rickard and Edwin Grills, I think. (P. 93) Bessie married Sam Vosper from Boetherick.  The butcher shop was at "West Boetherick Farm."  Sam employed fruit pickers, and employed Jack Rickard.  Sam "travelled to local markets…and he always provided kidneys and sweetbreads to Lady Ernestine, the Earl's sister, when she lived at Honeycombe House."  (P. 76)  

 

"Sam [the singer] was the nephew of the butcher at West Boetherick who was also called Sam." (P.80)  Sam [the singer] "was my [Leonard Hughes'] cousin and he took us out in his boat sometimes – he was a bit of a character and full of fun and he lived down at Woodlands." (P. 80) Sam was a singer at Wesleen/ Wesleyan Chapel.  Sam left and went to Liskeard.

 

The book also mentions Ethel and Min Vosper.  Did the 1866-1955 Samuel have sisters named Ethel and Min?  Ethel worked in the polling place on election day.  Ethel played tennis (P. 80).

 

The various comments are from various people, and they may or may not have been talking about the same "Sam".

 

Cousin Paula is wondering if anyone knows how the Vospers of the boat company are related – Herbert Edward Vosper was the founder.  I've looked briefly at it a number of times but have not figured it out.  Does anyone know?  https://www.battleships-cruisers.co.uk/vosper_thornycroft.htm

 

Another famous Vosper is  the actor, Frank Vosper, and how he was related.  I have put a tree together for him:  https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/tree/47374333/family     You can read about his life here:  https://www.ancestry.com/mediaui-viewer/tree/47374333/person/6756524606/media/1c4a5b07-f71c-4284-9c72-3c6c019f51e9 and you can probably watch him in "The Man Who Knew Too Much" on your "On Line" demand system from the comfort of your own home.  He died when he fell off a cruise ship.

 

Cousin Teri

 

From: Malcolm
Sent: Saturday, October 6, 2018 1:53 PM
Subject: Re: An interesting read

 

Possible candidates to be the Sam Vosper would be William Samuel Vosper, Butcher, 1824-1896, son of George Vosper 1779-1852; or his son Samuel Vosper, Butcher, 1866-1955

 

Re: An interesting read

Possible candidates to be the Sam Vosper would be William Samuel Vosper, Butcher, 1824-1896, son of George Vosper 1779-1852; or his son Samuel Vosper, Butcher, 1866-1955

An interesting read

Hello Vosper cousins!

 

I’ve had a very productive month, and among the things I finished (so few of those!), was reading “A Stitch in Time” by Natalie Allen.  It is “Compiled from memories of village people” – the elders of St. Dominic’s Parish, in Cornwall.    Susan Katzban, our “maybe-cousin” or “probably-cousin” or “DNA proven but lineage not-for-sure-yet cousin”, sent me this to read.

 

 

I’ve read the entire (tiny) book, and added red flags wherever the name “Vosper” occurs.  You can see them on the right of the photo.

 

St. Dominic’s is located northeast of Pillaton, where my Vosper ancestors came from:

 

 

If you are interested in what day to day life was like in Cornwall from about 1880-1960, this is the book for you!  Unfortunately, the Vosper family Is not described in any depth, and most references are to Samuel Vosper, a butcher, choir director, leader of the Wesleyan Choir, and owner of a ‘big boat’.    I’m not sure who this Sam is – is he related to one of you?  My branch of the Vospers came to America in 1872, earlier than the time period of this book, but it was interesting nonetheless.  There is one small passage about the SMALE family:  “We played with the three Smale girls and Cicely Hamilton, who lived next door.”  Unfortunately I can’t remember all our cousins’ surnames, to tell you if your family is mentioned in it.

 

The book is not indexed, but there are many pages of lovely old photos:

 

 

My overall impressions were:

1.        Life was hard there, but people were happy working hard.

2.       Things were more primitive than I imagined, with no electricity or running water for a long time.

3.       People travelled much farther and more extensively that I realized.

 

The book is written like a collection of short stories, which makes it ideal for some easy reading.

 

I did an internet search for this book and came up with:  https://www.bookfinder.com/author/natalie-allen/  - if you’re interested.

 

I’ll be returning the book to Susan in the near future – many thanks to her for sharing this glimpse into the Cornish past.

 

OH!  I think it’s time for Poldark to start, too!

 

Hope you are all doing well,

 

Cousin Teri