How would you like to travel back in time to England, the land of our ancestors, and get a taste of what it was like back in the early 1800’s? You can. It is possible to travel to the county of Devon during the early nineteenth century and find out what life was like at the time of William Buckler (born about 1807, in Bradworthy, Devon) our ancestor who left England in the 1840’s and immigrated to Canada.
Your ticket for this trip is the genealogy web site GENUKI (http://www.genuki.org.uk). It is a wonderful place to visit and is dedicated to genealogy in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The information available is seemingly endless. (Hint: remember that all the underlined sources are links to another site, be sure to click on any that interest you. Each link is a door to a whole new experience.)
Feel free to wander through the English counties but be sure to stop and visit Devon ( http://www.cs.ncl.ac.uk/genuki/dev). Here you will find historical descriptions of Devon villages and parishes where our English ancestors were born, lived and farmed.
You can get an aerial view of the present day Bideford area at this web site: ( http://www.devon.gov.uk/econeuro/tourism/visitor/dcctl.html). Bideford was a small seaport and the main market place in the area of Devon where the Buckler family lived. To learn more visit ( http://www.cs.ncl.ac.uk/genuki/dev/Bideford).
Make a quick stop at Bradworthy ( http://www.cs.ncl.ac.uk/genuki/DEV/Bradworthy) the birthplace of William Buckler. Several historical references are listed.
Travel on to Hartland ( http://www.cs.ncl.ac.uk/genuki/DEV/Hartland) where William Buckler made a living as a farmer in 1841. The name given to his residence was “West Yagland” and if you go to the list of Directories at this site and click on the underlined 1857″ Directory” you will find a wealth of information including an alphabetical list of professions and trades. Go down to the list of farmers and search for “Moore, James West Yagland”. Presumably, he took over the farm when William Buckler, wife Grace, son Richard, and daughters left England for Ontario.
Finally, make one more stop at Woolfardisworthy West ( http://www.cs.ncl.ac.uk/genuki/DEV/WoolfardisworthyWest) and click on the “White’s Directory of Devonshire, 1850”. Wander down the list of farmers and there you will find “Boundy, Susanna”. She is almost certainly the mother of Grace Boundy (wife of William Buckler) and therefore Richard Buckler’s grandmother and great-great grandmother of Willard, Ella, Stanley, and May Buckler. ( Given that information, you Buckler’s can figure out how she is related to you.)
This is the end of the guided tour of Devon as William Buckler knew it, now you can go and venture out on your own.