 |
| St Michael, Awliscombe, Devon - East end cc-by-sa/2.0 - © John Salmon - geograph.org.uk/p/1726261 |
Charles Awton married Mary Maurice at the church of St Michael and All Angels, Awliscombe, East Devon on 13 Apr 1762. The family name was probably really, and certainly became, Horton, but I'll reproduce what was written in the church at the time - that was undoubtedly as a result of the Devonshire accent and the precedent set by the spelling of the village name.
Charles and Mary had at least nine children, all baptised in Awliscombe:
- Betty Awton bap. 6 Jun 1762
- John Awton bap. 7 Apr 1765 (John, son of Charles and Mary, was buried on 10 Feb 1782. He will have been 17. Hence reusing the name the next day.)
- William Awton bap. 22 May 1768
- Charles Awton bap. 9 Sep 1770
- Nancy Awton bap. 2 Jul 1775
- Jenny Awton bap. 19 Apr 1778 (Later calling herself Jane)
- Henry Awton bap. 14 Jan 1781 (Presume died as an infant)
- John Awton bap. 11 Feb 1782
- Henry Awton bap. 9 Jan 1785
 |
| Reenactors in the uniform of the 33rd Regiment of Foot (Wellington's Redcoats), who fought in the Napoleonic Wars between 1812 and 1816. (Slightly later than William Horton's time.) “The 33rd Regiment was unquestionably the best trained regiment in the British Army at this time (1765 -1795).” [Source] WyrdLight.com, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons |
Most of the Awtons I've been unable to trace forward, however, William Horton, when he was living with his sister, Jane Gollop, in Widworthy, in his later life, in 1841 and 1851, is described as a Chelsea Pensioner. William Horton had served with Marquess Cornwallis' 33rd Regiment of Foot (the real one, not the reenactors, but this does help to visualise him in his red coat, looking like an extra in a Jane Austen drama). He was discharged on 21 Apr 1796:
William Horton, Private of the Aforesaid Regiment, born in the parish of Orliscomb (sic), in or near the Market Town of Honiton, in the county of Devon, aged twenty-six years (ish) and by Trade a Labourer, hath served honestly and faithfully in the said Regiment, five years and eight months, but being lame of the right arm from a Wound received at Bois-de-duk (sic) on the 15th October 1794, which renders him unfit for service ...
The regiment took part in the disastrous Flanders Campaign during the French Revolutionary Wars (War of the First Coalition). In 1794, Bois-le-Duc (French) ('s-Hertogenbosch a.k.a. Den Bosch, Netherlands) was taken by French troops, and in this case those of the newly created young republic. The Siège de Bois-le-Duc (1794) took place from 23 Sep to 5 Oct 1794, so it's clear that William Horton was there around that time, when he received his injuries.
Despite this, William Horton lived until the age of 84 and was buried, on 27 Mar 1853, in the churchyard of St Cuthbert's church in Widworthy.
It hasn't been possible to find the burial for Charles Awton, but there is a burial of a Mary Auten, on 21 Jun 1837 - the day after Queen Victoria ascended to the throne - in Awliscombe, who had lived to the age of 100. That would have made her 25 at the time of the 1762 marriage, so it looks entirely likely.
 |
| Churchyard, Awliscombe cc-by-sa/2.0 - © Derek Harper - geograph.org.uk/p/2784088 |