Since all roads seem to lead to Halberton lately I decided to make it the next stop on my virtual journey through Devon, England. Halberton and its suburbs contain 132 records dating back to 1654. This is 1/7 of the remaining records on my punch list. There are several suburbs of Halberton (Tiverton, Willand, Uffculme and Culmstock) where I already know of Babb encampments. So, I’ve included them in the data sample.
Halberton lies about 8 miles (13 km) up the Exe River from Exeter. A second river graces Halberton which is known as the River Tone. It runs across Tiverton and Halberton before heading east towards Pitminster, which is home to the Dragons of Somerset (DNA-04). However, there is no genetic connection between the two lines as shown by DNA testing. That didn’t stop one of the Somerset Dragons from moving to Culmstock to start a family. Fortunately, this didn’t happen until 1807, so it was easy to control for.
The first record in Halberton is of the baptism of John Babb on 14 Oct 1654. He was born to Mathew & Francisca Babb. This Mathew was earlier than any I had in the file. While it was a few records down before I realized it, this turned out to be a new generation added to the Gryphons of Halberton (DNA-07). Family Tree Maker spotted the connection as I was entering data.
Before I knew it, I had unified the Halberton lines into one. It was so clear once I had it all laid out in front of me that it reminded me of a quote from my favorite Christmas Eve Movie.
The water went flat when I asked it to. I didn’t think to ask for more.
–Katherine Hepburn as Eleanor of Aquitaine in “The Lion in Winter”
This was the sort of result I’ve been hoping for but seemed so elusive until this time. I’ve spent the last few days tidying up the tree and exploring all the possible avenues I could think of before posting here.
This work is incredibly complex and it is impossible to see all the moving parts at once. So, if you see something that just looks wrong, please let me now. It’s a work in progress and it takes a village to harden it.
So, let me present for your consideration a vastly expanded Gryphons of Halberton (DNA-07) Lineage with 13 Generations and 364 members.