Notes:

Harriet and her sister Mary Ann, both born in Maryport, Cumberland, were baptized on 28 September 1832 in Parkham, Devonshire. In their baptismal records, their father, Peter, was listed as "Controller, late of Mary Port, Collector of Customs."

Our family has a sampler made in 1837, by "H.F. Passmore, aged 9 years".

Death certificate information:
Spinster, age 54 years
Cause of death: nervous debility, 6 months.

Notes:

Peter Passmore [excerpts from notes compliled by Lola Falconer]:

Peter Passmore was a customs officer in Plymouth in 1814 and in Liverpool in 1818; there is a leather case with the inscription "Mr. Passmore, Customs, Liverpool, 1818. The 1822-23 Piggot's Directory of Devon and the 1823-24 "London and Provincial New Commercial Directory" listed him as a Customs landing waiter at the Custom House quay in Bideford, Devon. He was listed as "principle [sic] officer, Ousegate, in the Custom House in Baines Directory and Gazetteer Directory for Selby, Yorkshire, in 1822 [http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/YKS/WRY/Selby/Selby22Dry.html]. Although Selby is inland, it is situated on the River Ouse, and was an important trading and shipbuilding port.

Peter was also listed as "collector and surveyor of the port, Quay", in the Pigot & Co. Directory for Maryport, Cumberland of 1828-29. Maryport is on the northwest coast of England, on the Solway Firth, near the Scottish border. There was a short article about him in the "Liverpool Mercury" newspaper of 15 April, 1825: "The great inconvenience which the masters of vessels at Maryport have hitherto laboured under, that of having to travel to Workington for the purpose of clearing out their vessels, for either Ireland or coastwise, has just been removed. Mr. Passmore, having been appointed principal-coast officer at Maryport, a power so far as clearing of vessels, similar to that enjoyed by the officers at Workington, is vested in him",

The National Archives in London has Customs records back through several centuries. A search of some of them [CUST 18, CUST 19/5, CUST 28/78, CUST 39/46,175,182, CUST 66/16-19, CUST 69/80, CUST 83/82-86] turned up no records of Peter Passmore.

There are interesting stories told by his grandson, A.C. Passmore - of articles being smuggled from France and other places. There was a shipment of walnuts, each of which was found to contain a fine white kid glove, made in France.

Peter was married to Maria Downing in Chester in 1819. The bishop's transcript of the marriage describes Peter as a gentleman, of the Parish of Bideford, in Devon, and Maria as a spinster of this (i.e. St. John the Baptist, Chester) Parish. There is a copy of a rather long and sentimental poem from Peter to Maria from Plymouth in 1814, 5 years before they were married. Its title is "My own Character Addressed (owing illness) to a Lady", and ends with "And if ever sincerity glow'd in my Breast,
'Tis now when I swear xxx xxxxx x x x xxxxxx".

Our family has their silver Sheffield tea service, serving spoons and tea spoons, which have the initialed monogram "P.M.P" - Peter and Maria Passmore. We also have a Crown Derby tea and coffee service, which may or may not have belonged to them. There is a set of plates and tea cups without handles, which must date further back. When his daughter Mary Ann, was asked in later years where the saucers were, she said "there were no saucers in those days". There is also some old pewter, including a teapot with the data (or some designation) 1790,and the signature Tyler Sheffield.

The children of Peter and Maria, who survived to adulthood, were Maria Louisa (b. 1822, Selby), Frederick Fortescue (b. 1824, Selby), Mary Ann (b. 1826, Maryport) and Harriet Fortescue (b. 1828, Maryport, shortly after Peter died). There is also a 24 May, 1820 baptismal record, in Bideford, Devon, of a Frederick Fortescue Passmore, born to Peter Passmore, Officer of the Customs (no mother's name is given). This first-born Frederick Fortescue died in 1822 in Selby, Yorkshire, two years before his brother was born and given the same name.

There is a letter, dated 18 Oct., 1821 from a Mr. R. Wilson in the Customs House, Bideford, to Peter Passmore, Principal Coast Officer, Selby, Yorkshire. It contains several topics:
(1) Repairs needed for Peter's house, which had been rented to a Dr. Chanter.
(2) Matters concerning the property that Peter's father had leased from Mr. Kekewich - probably part of the Manor of Broad Parkham. It appears that the Manor is about to change owners - from a Risdon to a Turner. Most lessees will be served Notices of Ejectment. He has not had success in collecting rents from tenants Mr. Camp and Mrs. Short. It may be that Peter Passmore is a steward of all or part of the estate, and that Mr. Wilson is acting as his bailiff in Peter's absence.
(3) A report of local Customs activities. (The letter is "On the Service of Customs", so perhaps this bit was inserted to justify having the postage paid by the government.)
(4) Local news, including a recent storm and maritime disaster.
The letter ends with a statement of Peter's account: salary of 20 pounds plus Mrs. Chanter's rent of 5 pounds, less a small amount deducted for received post.

Obituary in "Liverpool Mercury", 20 June, 1828:
"On Monday, the 9th instant, Mr. Passmore, Collector of Customs, in his 45th year".
This obituary was found on the British Newspaper Archive Internet site. Other newspapers that might have more information: "Whitehaven News", "Cumberland Pacquet".

Peter married Maria DOWNING on 19 Apr 1819 in Chester, Cheshire, England (St. John the Baptist Parish). Maria (daughter of Thomas DOWNING and Joanna FORTESCUE) was born on 1 May 1791 in Parkham, Devonshire, England; died on 29 Apr 1873 in Toronto, Ontario; was buried in Toronto Necropolis and Crematorium P36b. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Following her husband's 1828 death, Maria and her children moved back to Devon. Maria inherited the rents, interest, dividends and annual produce from her father's West Goldworthy property in Parkham. The 1842 tithe map of Parkham Parish shows Maria Passmore leasing properties called Whitefields Broad Parkham and Short's Cottage from Mr. Samuel Kekewich Trehawke Esq. She sub-rented the properties to tenant farmers, Thomas Lemon and John Lang, respectively.

Two mortgage indentures [B127/4/33/7&8] in the North Devon Record Office show Maria lending a total of 230 pounds in the form of a mortgage, to James Chappell for properties he was occupying in Northam Parish and Appledore. The first mortgage document was in 1844 and the second was in July, 1845, and also involved other people: two Prusts, a Norrice, a Pyke, and Richard Buse. Worries about complications in these mortgage transactions were mentioned in the May and June, 1845 letters from the ship and Canada to Maria from her son Frederick .

The letters of Maria's son Frederick to her and her daughters in 1845 were addressed to Plymouth, Devon. In the 1841 census, Maria and her four children were living on Providence Row in the Parish of Bideford, Devon. All four children were shown as being born outside of Devon. Under "profession, trade, employment or independent means", Maria was listed as "independent".

In the 1866 Mitchell and Co. Toronto Directory, Maria is listed as the widow of Peter Passmore, and occupying a house at 222 Church Street.

In the 1871 census [Toronto St. James Ward, District 47, Sub-district B, Division 4, page 40] she is listed as age 74, born in England, Church of England, head of household, and living with her daughters Maria Louisa, age 45, Mary Ann, age 35, and Harriet, age 35.

Death certificate information: age about 82 years. Died of paralysis and old age.

Maria's will and codicil,made in 1871, leaves the bulk of her estate to her son Frederic and all his children, however precluding any of said children are "other than dutiful, obedient and respectful to my said son (of which conduct he is to be the sole judge)". The will specifically excludes Frederic's present wife [Isabella] or any of her relatives from appointment to or rearrangement of administration of the will if her son resigns from that responsibility. If Frederic dies intestate, or without having appointed a new trustee during the childrens' minority, then Maria's daughters are named as the childrens' trustees, with the hope that the children will be obedient and respectful towards them.

The property left to Frederic in trust for the benefit of his children:
-Money on deposit at Canada Permanent Building and Savings Society
- Lot #1 on north side of Sydenham st. in the Village of Yorkville, York County, with dwelling houses and appurtenances thereto belonging which said property was conveyed to Maria by General Warren johnston by deed dated Oct. 9, 1861.
-Lots #37 and #38 fronting on Edinburgh St. and Merion St. according to the subdivision of Lots 5 and 6 of Division "A" now in the Town of Guelph in Wellington County, which lots were conveyed to Maria by William haskins by deed dated Dec. 20, 1860.
- Lot #276 in first concession northeast of the Toronto and Sydenham road in the Township of Melancthon in Grey County, which property was conveyed to Maria by way of mortgage by Edward Harrison by indenture dated Jan. 21, 1860.
-West half of Lot #11 in fifth concession in Tay Township, Simcoe County.
-West half of Lot #11 in seventh concession in Tay Township, Simcoe County, conveyed to Maria by way of mortgage by William Johston Evans and his wife on June 1, 1869.
- Peter's gold watch chain and seals and his masonic medals.
- A gold ring presented to Maria by her brother-in-law the late John Roberts.

Property left to Maria's daughters, Maria Louisa, Mary Anne and Harriet:
- Household furniture, books, pictures, plate, jewellery, china, bed and table linen
- Inasmuch as Mary Anne never had a conveyance of certain property a part of which is situated on Lot #11 Section G of the Military Reserve in the City of Toronto, it was Maria's desire that Mary Anne will bring such property into the General Fund and thereafter participate in equal shares with her sisters and brother. Should she be unwilling to comply with this request, then the Executor [Frederic] has power to take the conveyance of such real and personal property into his consideration and by a true appraisement of the value thereof by some competent person, so distribute the remainder of Maria's property as in his judgement shall be considered four equal shares.
- It was Maria's desire that her son should have his fourth share from the personal estate only, and should not have any claim on the landed property or house property.

The will specifically states that her son's present wife [Isabella] shall have no right, claim or interest by any law of succesion or inheritance of any of the above property.

The will goes on to say that at the time of creation of the will, Maria is planning to have a house erected on a lot on the south side of William St. purchased on May 30, 1870, and to which is added lots #7 and #9 on the west side of Bellaire St. This house is intended to be a "homestead" for her daughters, and it may also be a home for her son and his three children (but not his present wife).

Our family has a book published in 1696, "Mystery of the Skill of Physic Made Easy", by Nicholas Culpepper. It is inscribed in several places with "Mrs. Passmore, Maryport, Cumberland, A.D. 1820" and "Maria passmore her book 1832". Other signatures in the book include James Fortescue, Joanna Downing, Joanna Fortescue, Henry Downing and James Downing.

Notes:

Listed as a carpenter in parish registers.

There are indentures which record Peter's lease of dwelling houses from his father Richard, who in turn was leasing them from lords of manors. In 1778 he leased the upper half of a cottage dwelling house and part of a garden in Buckland Brewer from his father. The lease was a "copyhold for lives", meaning that the property could be held by the Pasmore family until the deaths of all three of Richard's wife Jane and of his sons William, John and Peter. Such leases required an up-front sum of money, called a heriot, a yearly rental sum, payable quarterly, and various unspecified duties and produce due to the landlord when asked for.

In 1787 there was a similar lease of a house in Buckland Brewer in the Manor of Bartin to Peter Pasmore from a John Clevland and his wife. The lease is 2239 B-8/71 held in the North Devon Record Office.The other copyhold of lives names in the lease are Richard's wife Jane, his son William and Peter's 3 year old son Peter. The yearly fee is 4 shillings and two fat capons. The lease also obliges Peter to grind his corn at the Tythacott Mill in the parish of Buckland Brewer.

In September 1797 there was another lease for house and land, including outbuildings, orchards, pastures and commons ("Messuage") in Broad Parkham in the Parish of Parkham, but excepting timber and mineral rights, and giving the landlord hunting rights. In this case the lease is from a Mr. Samuel Kekewich, and no copyhold of lives names are mentioned. The indenture indicated that Peter and his family were to act as caretakers and property managers of the estate. [Written transcripts of these indentures were originally made by Lola (Passmore) Falconer.]

Peter's son, Peter, had the following marble memorial shield mounted on the wall of the Church of St. Mary and St. Benedict in Buckland Brewer:
"Sacred to the memory of Peter Passmore
of this parish who died 8th December 1808 aged 57 years
also of
Mary his wife
who died 29th September 1817, aged 70 years.
He was pious and prudent
She discreet and virtuous.
As an affectionate tribute of filial duty
their only son
erects this monument."

Peter married Mary BEST on 22 Jul 1779 in Buckland Brewer, Devon, England. Mary was born about 1747; died on 29 Sep 1817 in Buckland Brewer, Devon, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Mary's birth year is obtained from her memorial plaque in the church in Buckland Brewer. There are no parish records of a Best being born in the Hartland Deanary. The only Best marriage recorded in the Hartland Deanary is that of Peter and Mary in Buckland Brewer.

Notes:

Thomas Downing has hitherto been assumed to be born to William Downing and Elizabeth Floyde in Buckland Brewer in 1748 [there was indeed such a birth of a Thomas Downing to William and Elizabeth]. However, Thomas's burial record, in 15 March, 1837, states his age as 84. This means that he was born in 1752 or 1753. There was a Thomas Downing baptized to James Downing and Elizabeth Braund in East Putford (a chapel connected to the Buckland Brewer church) in 1752. James Downing and Elizabeth Braund had been married in Buckland Brewer in 1748.

The 1780 and 1800 Parkham Land Tax records [at http://genuki.cs.ncl.ac.uk/DEV/Parkham/ParkhamLandTax1780.html and at http://genuki.cs.ncl.ac.uk/DEV/Parkham/ParkhamLandTax1800.html], show Mr. Thomas Downing as the proprietor and occupier of West Goldworthy.

Thomas Downing's will, written in 1823, and in the Devon Heritage Centre, Exeter, shows the executors as Thomas's nephews, William Cleverdon and James Vanstone. Thomas's sister, Joanna Cleverdon was to inherit 5 pounds, Ten pounds was a donation to the poor of Parkham Parish. The executors were to hold the leased (from Richard Pine Coffin) dwelling and fields in Parkham in trust for Thomas's wife and sons as follows:
1/4 to son Henry Downing
1/4 to son Charles Downing
1/4 to son James Downing
1/4 to wife Joanna
The rents, interest, dividends and annual produce was bequeathed to Thomas's daughter Maria Passmore.

Thomas married Joanna FORTESCUE on 19 Oct 1780 in Buckland Brewer, Devon, England. Joanna (daughter of George FORTESCUE and Elizabeth NORTHCOTT) was born on 25 Aug 1757 in Buckland Brewer, Devon, England; died on 23 Sep 1813 in Buckland Brewer, Devon, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Joanna's burial record states that she was living in Alwington.

Notes:

Rent accounts [B1056/2 , B1056/3 and B1056/4 in the North Devon Record Office] for Barton Manor in Buckland Brewer in 1770 1771 and 1772 show Richard Passmore paying a yearly rent of 5 shillings and sixpence. These accounts show Richard among about 25 other tenants occupying about 34 properties on the Manor.

A Dec. 9, 1778 indenture was copied by Lola Passmore Falconer. It was from Richard Pasmore, carpenter, transferring the upper part of his house in Buckland Brewer "above the entrance of the door now made use of to go in and out of the same, and also all of the eastern part of the garden belonging to the above higher part of the house leading towards Bowden Cross" to his son, Peter Pasmore. The assignment was for the remainder of a 99 year lease or until Richard's wife Jane and his sons William and John had all died. The indenture states that Richard was the lawful owner of the entire house and garden by virtue of an indenture made earlier with Richard Stevens Esq., now deceased. The consideration for the assignment was 8 pounds and 8 shillings, plus a yearly fee of 2 shillings and 9 pence.

There is a record of a 1787 will of a Richard Passmore of Buckland Brewer proved in the Court of the Archdeaconry of Barnstable and indexed at http://www.origins.net/NationalWills/Search/devon/showrecordsdevonwills.aspx. Unfortunately all the Devon wills of the Archdeaconries of Barnstable and Exeter were destroyed by bombing in WW2. The Buckland Brewer burial record shows Richard Passmore being buried on 13 May, 1784.

Richard married Jane WEBB on 6 Jan 1732 in Buckland Brewer, Devon, England. Jane was born about 1708; died in Apr 1798 in Buckland Brewer, Devon, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

A 1787 indenture on the Manor of Bartin named Jane as still living in that year. The Buckland Brewer burial register shows Jane Passmore, age 90, being buried on 3 Apr. 1798.

William married Elizabeth FLOYDE on 16 Jan 1733 in Buckland Brewer, Devon, England. Elizabeth was born on 2 Sep 1712; died in UNKNOWN. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

George married Elizabeth NORTHCOTT on 28 Apr 1756 in Buckland Brewer, Devon, England. Elizabeth died in UNKNOWN. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]