The Lamason family

Isaac and Sarah Lamason were an Exeter couple, whose children all seem to have moved to Ashburton in the early 1800s.
Their son, another Isaac, and his wife Maria had a large family, including William Mortimer Lamason and John Isaac. Brothers William and John, both brush makers, moved back to Exeter, although John later returned to Ashburton and continued his business in West Street.

Elizabeth Holman Lamason, the daughter of Isaac and Sarah, was baptized in Exeter in November 1785.
Isaac, the son of Isaac and Sarah Lamason, was baptized in Exeter in June 1795.
The couple baptized a daughter, Sarah, in 1799.
Exeter, All Hallows on the Walls parish records

In 1802 Isaac was named as an occupier of a house that was about to be auctioned in Exeter. He was a confectioner.
Exeter Flying Post 7 October 1802, p2 col2

William Mortimer, of St Edmunds in Exeter, married Elizabeth Holman Lamason in Ashburton in June 1807. Isaac Lamason was one of the witnesses.
Parish records

John Saunders married Sarah Lamason, a spinster, in Ashburton in December 1822. Both were of the parish, and Isaac Lamason was one of the witnesses.
Parish records

In March 1829 Isaac Lamason married Maria Osmond, by licence. The marriage was in Ashburton, and both bride and groom were of the parish.
Parish records

A freehold property in West Street was to be sold in October 1829. A brick built dwelling house and shop, it had a large oven, outbuildings, and a garden of about 20 feet. Mr Lamason had occupied it until recently.
Exeter Flying Post 1 October 1829, p1 col4

Isaac Lammason, aged 71, was buried in St Thomas parish, Exeter, in February 1831
St Thomas parish records

Sarah Maria Lamason, the daughter of Isaac [jnr.] and Maria Horswell Lamason, was baptized in June 1836. Isaac was a confectioner.
William Mortimer Lamason, the son of Isaac and Maria, was baptized on the same day.
Parish records

The annual courts of the Right Hon Lord Clinton and Sir L V Palk, Bart., were held in November 1839. James Coneybeare and Isaac Lamason were chosen as breadweighers.
Exeter and Plymouth Gazette 2 November 1839, p3  col1

1848 Isaac Lamason won the contract for supplying bread for the poor of Ashburton, at 4½d for a 4lb loaf.
Western Times 17 June 1848, p7 col5

Isaac and Maria Lamason were living in East Street in 1851. 56 year old Isaac, a confectioner, had been born in Exeter.
With the couple are their 7 children: Sarah, Elizabeth, Osmond, Thomas, Mary, John and Agnes A.
1851 census HO107, piece no. 1871, folio 266, p14

John Isaac Lamason, together with his sister Mary Webber Lamason, were baptized in May 1856. Their parents were Isaac and Maria. Mary was baptized as an adult.
Later censuses suggest that John was born circa 1848. (See below)
Parish records

William Mortimer Lamason married Lucy Dodge in Exeter in the December quarter of 1860
https://www.freebmd.org.uk

William N [sic] Lamason was a 28 year old brush manufacturer in St Sidwells, Exeter, in 1861. With him on the census was his wife Lucy and brother John. Both William and John had been born in Ashburton
1861 census RG09 piece no. 1394, folio 125, p33

In 1861 Isaac Lamason was summoned at the Petty Sessions by the examiner for weights and measures for having defective weights. He was not alone: 15 others were also summoned.
Exeter and Plymouth Gazette 12 April 1861, p6 col4

Isaac Lamason [jnr.], aged 72, was buried at Ashburton in April 1866.
Parish records

Mr Lamason, of East Street, was appointed agent for the Western Times in 1867.
Western Times 13 December 1867, p8 col4

Maria Lamason, the daughter of William Mortimer and Lucy, was baptized in Exeter in January 1869. The family were from South Street, Exeter, and William was a brush maker.
Exeter St Mary Major parish records

Maria Lamason, aged 9 months, died at Ashburton on September 27th 1869. Her brother Thomas, aged three and a half, died two days later, also at Ashburton. They were the children of Mr W Lamason, of 3, South Street, Exeter.
The following April Isaac, the infant son of Mr W M Lamason, died in South Street, Exeter.
Western Times 1 October 1869, p5 col6
Western Times 13 April 1870, p2 col4

Meanwhile his mother, Maria Lamason, a baker and confectioner, was living in East Street, Ashburton. She was a widow. With her on the census was her daughter, Elizabeth Holman Lamason, her son Osmond, and her daughter Agnes Ann.
Osmond, 34, had been blind from  birth.
1871 census RG10, piece no. 2080, folio 68, p10

Mr O Lamason was agent for the Western Times in 1871
Western Times 11 September 1871, p4 col5

A thief stole a bundle of combs from Mrs Lamason's shop in North Street in 1881. Mrs Lamason pursued the man and demanded them back, at which point he gave them to her. PS Knott and PC Cox traced him to Widecombe.
Western Times 1 March 1881, p5 col2

Maria Lamason, a widow, was living in North Street in the 1881 census. With her were her son, Osmond, a newsagent, and her daughter Agnes. Maria was a baker.
1881 census RG11, piece no. 2161, folio 29, p13

Maria Lamason, the daughter of John Isaac and Mary Jane, was baptized in October 1882.
Parish records

1887. At a meeting of the School Board the Rev W M Birch proposed that Agnes Lamason and Thomas Veale be engaged as pupil teachers. The proposal was agreed.
Totnes Weekly Times 5 February 1887, p6 col3

Maria Lamason was 85 when she died in March, 1890
Western Times 14 March 1890, p5 col7

Osmond Lamason, aged 54 and unmarried, was a newsagent in North Street in the 1891 census. Two of his sisters, also unmarried, were on the census with him: Sarah, 61, and Agnes, 41.
1891 census RG12, piece no. 1698, folio 25, p14

Agnes Lamason died, aged 82, in January 1933. 'She was for a long period the newsagent for the locality.'
Mourners at her funeral included her nephew, Mr W Lamason of Leytonstone; her nieces Mlle Lefebre of Paris* and Mrs Rogers, of Bristol; her grandnephews Mr J Rogers and Master H Langler; and her nephew and niece Mr and Mrs S G Langler.
Exeter and Plymouth Gazette 27 January 1933, p16 col4
Western Times 3 February 1933, p11 col7
*Hazel Bray thought that the Lamasons came from France in Victorian times. Although this does not seem to be quite correct, there is obviously a French connection with Mlle Lefebre
             

In 1933 Rendell and Sawdye were auctioning land and property in after the death of Miss A A Lamason.
Lot 1 was Blue Anchor House, 14 East Street.
Lot 2 was the old Police Station, 1 Back Lane
Lot 3 was 50, North Street.
Two meadows were also being sold.
Western Morning News 19 August 1933, p4 col1

                                             John Isaac Lamason

23 year old John Lamason, who had been born in Ashburton, was a brush maker in Exeter in 1871. With him on the census was his wife Alice, and one year old daughter Agnes.
1871 census RG10, piece no. 2064, folio 63, p17

Alice, the wife of John Lamason, died at St Friar's Gate, Exeter, in July 1873. She was 25.
Exeter and Plymouth Gazette, 8 August 1873, p5 col6

John Isaac Lamason, a widower, married Mary Jane Bowden in April 1876. A brushmaker, he was resident in Exeter at the time of his marriage.
In August 1892 he married for a third time, to Lavina Soper. Both his second and third marriages were in Ashburton.
Parish records

In the 1881 census John Westaway was an innkeeper in East Street. Next door, in West Street, was John I Lamason, a 33 year old brush maker. With him was his wife Mary, and children Agnes, 11, James and Mary, 4. Mary had been born in Ashburton. Although occupying the premises, they may not have owned it.
1881 census RG11, piece no. 2161, folio 67 p10

Mary Jane, the wife of John Lamason, died in September 1888. She was 42.
Western Times 18 September 1888, p5 col2

In 1891 John I Lamason was in the property next to the Duke's Head. This is what is now 1 West Street. A widower, he was a brush maker, born in Ashburton; with him on the census were his children Mary, James and Maria.
1891 census RG12, piece no 1698, folio 54 p16
Agnes, the eldest daughter of Mr J I Lamason, died at West Street in May 1891. She was 21.
Western Times 29 May 1891, p5 col6

James, the son of J Lamason, was also 21 when he died at West Street in 1893.
Western Times 4 July 1893, p4 col7

Above: Lamason, Brush Manufacturers, at the turn of the 19th/20th century.
From the collection of Lerida Arnold, to whom many thanks

John, his wife Lavinia and daughter Maria were next to the Capital and Counties Bank in the 1901 census.
1901 census RG13, piece no. 2053, folio 9 p10

In 1911 John I Lamason and his wife Lavinia were at 1 West Street, and John was a brushmaker. With them on the census was John's 11 year old grandson, John Richard Rogers.
1911 census RG14, piece no. 12725

John Isaac Lamason, aged 64 and of West Street, was buried in March 1912
Parish records.

The Western Times said that Ashburton had lost a prominent townsman. A brush manufacturer in West Street, he had served his apprenticeship in Exeter; he was 64 when he died. During his lifetime he had served on several committees, was a trustee of various charities, was a churchwarden and governor of the Grammar School. 'In politics he was a strong Conservative.'
Western Times 18 March 1912, p2 col4

                                                Jack Lamason

In 1950 Ashburton Parish Magazine paid tribute to Jack Lamason, the blind newspaper vendor who had recently left the town following an accident. Jack, whose birth surname was Rogers, had moved to be with his mother near London. Well known by visitors to Ashburton, Jack was able to recognize people by their voices when they returned to the town; he also had a remarkable memory for dates. He delivered newspapers, and was able to distinguish them by touch.
Exeter and Plymouth Gazette 9 June 1950, p7 col4
Jack's grandfather was John Isaac Lamason. Osmond, a brother of John Isaac, was also blind. (See above)

In October 1899 Mary Lamason married Richard Enoch Cox Rogers at St Mary Arches in Exeter. Her father was John Isaac Lamason, a brush manufacturer.
St Mary Arches parish register

John Richard Rogers was baptised in December 1899, the son of Richard Enoch Cox Rogers and his wife Mary. Richard snr. was a draper.
Parish records

In 1911 John I Lamason and his wife Lavinia were at 1 West Street, and John was a brushmaker. With them on the census was John's 11 year old grandson, John Richard Rogers.
1911 census RG14, piece no. 12725

'[Jack] was the local paper “boy”. He could identify the paper by the feel, and seldom made a mistake. He had a remarkable memory and as children we would wait expectantly on my mother’s birthday for Jack to arrive. The annual ritual never varied. “Good morning Florence, a very happy birthday to you” he said, rubbing his fingers together and thinking carefully, “let me see - March 25th - you will be forty eight today”. This procedure was repeated for most of the householders who had their papers delivered, and then he was given a shilling for his trouble. Sometimes a bicycle would be left standing at the kerb and Jack would collide with it. The air would be blue and his loud voice would bring everyone out to see what was happening.'

Many thanks to Hazel Bray for the above account


In the 1939 register John R Rogers, born in November 1899, was living at 6 North St., with Stanley G Langler and Maria Langler. The register notes that John was blind.
1939 register, available through https://www.findmypast.co.uk
Stanley G Langler had married Maria Lamason in 1920. Maria would have been Jack's aunt.
https://www.freebmd.org.uk
See also Jack Lamason, under Remarkable and interesting people