The Foaden Family

Thomas Foaden and his wife Ann had 4 children baptised at Ashburton between 1814 and 1831: John, Thomas, Eliza and Emma. Thomas Foaden, innkeeper, is one of a large number of Ashburton people pledging their support to the Prince Regent after the Peterloo Massacre in 1819 (see People and properties 1800s for more on this).

1824 Thomas Foaden is landlord at the Sun Inn

Quarter sessions Victuallers' Recognizances, Devon Heritage Centre ref QS/63/3/12/027

See also Inns and hotels, under Banks and businesses.

By 1836 dinners are being held at Foaden's London Inn

Western Times 9 January 1836 p4 col1

John, Eliza and Emma are with their parents for the 1841 census, where Thomas Snr. is an innkeeper in West St.

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Exeter Flying Post 2 December 1819 p1 cols 4,5

1841 census HO107, piece 253, enumeration district 8, folio 21, p34


Thomas Foaden Snr., innkeeper, died on August 24th 1852. He was again said to be of the Sun Inn.

Western Times 28 August 1852 p4 col6

He was 62

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A dispute went to court in 1855 between W R Whiteway and John Foaden (Thomas's son), over who was responsible for paying for malt supplied by Mr. Whiteway.
A Mr Johnstone had left the Sun Inn in 1851, and John Foaden's parents had taken it over. Malt had been supplied to Mr Foaden's parents, but at the request of their son; there was also the question of how involved John and his wife were in the running of the inn. At one stage it was asserted that both the defendant and the the defendant's wife had assisted at the inn during fair-days and holidays, but when Thomas Foaden, John's father, died in 1852, the name over the door was changed from Thomas Foaden to Ann Foaden.
When called to the stand John Foaden said that his father had been landlord of the Sun Inn before the London Inn, and had always wanted to return.
Judgement was given for the defendant.

Western Times 1 September 1855 p7 col3


                                                                 The Foaden family
John Foaden

John Foaden was baptized in June 1814, the son of Thomas and Ann
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He married Sarah Dolling in the June 1843. In the newspaper announcement he is said to be a woollen manufacturer.
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Western Times 24 June 1843 p3 col1


When his wife gave birth to a son in 1849, John Foaden was a relieving officer.*
Western Times 6 January 1849 p4 col6
* A relieving officer assessed the cases of those applying for poor relief or needing finance for medical assistance. He could authorize emergency payments or entry to the workhouse.
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1855 Recent Acts of Parliament required relieving officers to visit children who had come out of the workhouse to work as servants or apprentices. It was proposed that John Foaden's salary was increased by £10 a year to allow for this. Not everyone on the committee agreed with the proposal: Mr Cuming said that 'they grudged a loaf of bread to a poor creature, whilst they were prepared to throw (money) away in this manner.'
Mr Creagh pointed out that £90 (presumably Mr Foaden's salary) did not go far in keeping a family and a horse - Mr Foaden needed a horse to get to Newton Abbot every Wednesday, as there was no rail service.
Exeter and Plymouth Gazette 21 July 1855 p7 col4

In 1861 John and his wife Sarah are living in Mulberry Cottage, which appears to be in the vicinity of St. Lawrence's Lane. John, aged 46, is a relieving officer.They have six children with them plus John's mother Ann, who is described as the widow of an innkeeper.
Sarah died on June 14th, aged 42, two months after the census was taken.
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Exeter and Plymouth Gazette 21 June 1861 p5 col5

John, a Liberal and the Relieving Officer, was elected as Portreeve in 1867.
Exeter and Plymouth Gazette 27 November 1867 p7 col5


Thomas Foaden Jnr. and descendants

Some of this section on Thomas and his son John Hannibal Foaden has moved to Builders and Contractors, a sub-menu of Banks and Businesses.

Thomas Foaden (jnr) was baptised at Ashburton on October 12th 1815, the son of Thomas and Ann.

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Baptised in May 1837, John Hannibal Foaden was the son of Thomas and Susanna. When another son was born in 1841, the newspaper announcement (with Susannah named) said that Mr T Foaden was a builder.

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Western Times 23 January 1841 p2 col2

The 1851 census shows Thomas Jnr. his wife, Susanna, and family living in West St. One of his children is Mary Ann. Thomas appears to be a mason and slater (?)

1851 census HO1871, folio 314, p3

Susanna is a widow by 1861. On the census of that year she is living in West Street with her brother Thomas Pearse, a master butcher.

A Thomas Foaden, aged 38, had died in the June quarter of 1854

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In 1864 Mary Ann, eldest daughter of the late Mr T Foaden, married Edward Husson of Exeter.

Exeter and Plymouth Gazette 26 August 1864 p5 col5

1867 John Hannabal Foaden married Elizabeth Husson in the September quarter of 1867.

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He became a builder like his father. In 1871 James Hamlyn, woollen manufacturer, was having a new house built to the west of Buckfastleigh. Mr J H Foaden's tender for the work was accepted.

Western Times 3 March 1871 p8 col1

After the death of Edward Husson of the Globe Inn, Mr Foaden, brother-in-law to the executor, Mr E Husson, became the landlord.

Exeter and Plymouth Gazette 18 August 1876 p7 col5

1877 John Foaden, builder and landlord of the Globe Inn, successfully defended an action to recover money in a dispute with an auctioneer over some pictures.

Western Times 21 August 1877 p5 col5

Later that year Mr. Foaden, builder of Ashburton, was involved in a serious accident. He and his sister-in-law, Frances Husson, were driving in a dog-cart near Highweek when a boy's hoop rolled under the horse's legs and caused it to bolt onto the pavement. Both Mr Foaden and Miss Husson were thrown out of the cart, and Miss Husson remained in a critical condition.

North Devon Journal 5 December 1878 p7 col1

By 1881 the Foadens were living at Sparnham House, West Street. On January 4th Mrs. Foaden gave birth to a daughter.

Western Times 7 January 1881 p5 col3

The 1891 census shows 53 year old John H Foaden living in West Street with his wife Elizabeth and 6 children: Kate, George P(earse), Florence A(lice), Jessie A(melia), Amy J (Winifred?) and John H(enry). John Snr. is a builder and contractor.

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John H Foaden died in 1924, aged 87. When the Newton Abbot Board of Guardians met in May, they unanimously decided to send a letter of condolence - John Foaden had been a Guardian for about 38 years.

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Exeter and Plymouth Gazette 29 May 1924 p3 col4

J H Foaden, the youngest son of Mr J H Foaden of Sparnham, was awarded the Military Medal in 1916. A Lance Corporal with the London Rifle Brigade, he won the medal for bravery in action, and was believed to be the first Ashburton man to receive the honour.
Western Times 10 August 1916 p3 col3

George Pearse Foaden was living at Betweenways, Ashburton, when he was appointed one of the Land Tax Commissioners for Devon in 1938
Western Morning News 6 June 1938 p8 col6

In 1942 Flt Officer Constance M Colbeck-Davis received the MBE. The widow of Wing Commander E S C Colbeck-Davis, she was the only daughter of Mr and Mrs J P Foaden* of Ashburton.
Western Morning News 12 June 1942 p4 col3
* Surely should be G P Foaden. A Constance M Foaden's birth was registered in June 1913, with the mother's maiden name shown as Sawdye. See item on George Pearse Foaden below.
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In 1905 Mr G P Foaden, son of J H Foaden, received the decoration of Grand Officer of the Imperial Order of the Medjidieh from His Highness the Khedive of Egypt. He had previously been a Commander of the same Order.
Totnes Weekly Times 4 March 1905 p8 col6

When George Pearse Foaden died in January 1944 aged 72, he was described as a 'well known and greatly respected member of an old Ashburton family'. The son of Mr and Mrs J H Foaden of Sparnham, he had been educated at the Grammar School and gained a B.Sc. degree at Edinburgh University. He returned to the Grammar School as a master, and later as a governor, but was best known for his work connected to Egyptian agriculture. After attending Ghizeh Agricultural College in 1894 he married Elizabeth Marion Sawdye, but  then returned to Egypt to found the Khedival Agricultural Society. He gained many honours during the course of his career, and amongst his travels undertook a tour of America.
Returning to Ashburton in 1912, he became Portreeve in 1914. A freemason, he was also president of the Constitutional Club for several years.
At the time of his death his only daughter was a squadron officer in the WAAF.
Western Times 14 January 1944 p6 col3

A Text Book of Egyptian Agriculture, printed in Cairo 1908-10, was edited by G P Foaden and F Fletcher.
Cotton Culture in Egypt, G P Foaden, US Government Printing Office, 1897
Notes on Egyptian Agriculture, G P Foaden,
US Government Printing Office, 1904