Mary HEARD
1757 - 1837 (80 years)
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Name Mary HEARD Birth 1757 Crediton, Devon 
[1] Baptism 31 May 1757 Crediton, Devon [1] Gender Female Death 1837 Bow, Devon [2] Burial 8 Jan 1837 Bow, Devon [2] - aged 79 at death
Person ID I642 Webb Last Modified 1 Jun 2025
Father John HEARD Relationship natural Mother Joan ????? Relationship natural Marriage - There is no obvious marriage record on the internet. Possibilities are
John HOWARD and Joan ISAAC, North Tawton, 1740,
John HERD (from Bow) and Joan BATTISHILL, Colebrook 1728.
Searching for children born to John and Joan identifies nobody baptised between 1726 and 1743, and potentially people born as late as 1764, though maybe Mary 1757 is the latest. However looking at the children it definitely supports the N Tawton wedding.
Conversely N Tawton is a distance from Crediton where all the children are born.
On balance, the N Tawton marriage is preferred.
Separately, the 3 children born 1759, 1761 and 1764, all baptised in 1776 are included. This is on the basis that the earliest possible deaths for John and Joan are later (John 1781 or later, Joan 1792 or later)
Family ID F283 Group Sheet | Family Chart
Family 1 William DELL Marriage 15 Nov 1781 Bow, Devon [3, 4] Notes - This marriage is the only sensible William Dell marrying a Mary in Devon on IGI. This matches the transcriptions from the Devon FHS. There is another marriage at Burrington, towards Barnstable, in 1795, but there is no reason to assume this is more likely. It leaves a gap on IGI between this and the firstborn in 1782.
Some sites have the marriage year transcribed as 1792. I have picked 1781 as although the Bishops transcripts are just that, they are contemporaneous. IGI has the year of marriage transcribed as 1782.
Note - although the bishops transcription of the marriage says William came from Clannaborough and Mary from Bow, the transcript for their son Richard says "son of Wm and Mary Delve of Clannaborough"
Children 1. William DELVE, b. Abt 1790, Bow, Devon [Father: natural] [Mother: natural]2. Ann DELVE, b. 1787, Bow, Devon d. Abt 1829, Bow, Devon (Age 42 years) [Father: natural] [Mother: natural]3. Samuel DELL, b. Abt 1792, Bow, Devon d. 21 Jul 1875, Bow, Devon (Age 83 years) [Father: natural] [Mother: natural]4. Betty DELVE, b. Abt 1782, Bow, Devon [Father: natural] [Mother: natural]5. Richard DELL, b. Abt 1801, Bow, Devon d. 24 Dec 1873, 9, Waterloo St., Charles, Plymouth (Age 72 years) [Father: natural] [Mother: natural]6. James DELL, b. Abt 1798, Bow, Devon [Father: natural] [Mother: natural]7. Henry DELL, b. Abt 1804, Bow, Devon d. 1876, Spreyton, Devon (Age 72 years) [Father: natural] [Mother: natural]8. George DELL, b. Abt 1795, Bow, Devon d. 1864, Kenton, Devon (Age 69 years) [Father: natural] [Mother: natural]Family ID F266 Group Sheet | Family Chart Last Modified 1 Jun 2025
Family 2 John PARISH Marriage 10 Jun 1770 Nymet Tracey, Bow, Devon [5] Children 1. Ann PARISH, b. 1777, Nymet Tracey, Bow, Devon [Father: natural] [Mother: natural]2. Jane PARISH, b. 1770, Nymet Tracey, Bow, Devon [Father: natural] [Mother: natural]3. Mary PARISH, b. 1779, Nymet Tracey, Bow, Devon [Father: natural] [Mother: natural]4. John PARISH, b. 1773, Nymet Tracey, Bow, Devon [Father: natural] [Mother: natural]Family ID F267 Group Sheet | Family Chart Last Modified 1 Jun 2025
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Event Map 
Birth - 1757 - Crediton, Devon 
Baptism - 31 May 1757 - Crediton, Devon 
Marriage - 10 Jun 1770 - Nymet Tracey, Bow, Devon 
Marriage - 15 Nov 1781 - Bow, Devon Death - 1837 - Bow, Devon Burial - 8 Jan 1837 - Bow, Devon = Link to Google Earth
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Notes - The most likely data from IGI indicates Mary Parish was chr at Holsworthy, which is 25miles from Bow, where she married, so this is some distance. If this is the same person though, then she was chr Nov 1753, daughter of John and Elizabeth - probable marr 18/5/1747 in Holsworthy (Elizabeth HEADON). This does not match her quoted age at burial, which almost certainly is the right person. So overall, this seems the wrong person.
The key difficulty with the chosen option is that John PARISH would appear to have married Mary, and then on 8/6/1779 married Joan DAVY (possibly bapt 1734), and then on 30/5/1784 married Elizabeth FODEN (possibly bapt 1761). I can find on other John Parish in the area of the right age, so they presumably divorced, and indeed John divorced again, though I cannot find a suitable death for Joan Parish. In addition, Mary would be 13 at the time of her marriage, unless she was born a few years before her baptism (and her age at death is also wrong). If she was born in 1757, she would be 47 when Henry Dell was born.
Just to complicate things, there are several Mary Heards, and indeed there are marriages involving a Mary Heard in Bow in 1772 and 1773.
Death data is based on a transcript of the burial of Mary DELL (or DELVE) buried Bow 8/1/1837 aged 79, which is consistent with the other reliable data, but cannot be confirmed as definitely this Mary. However, this has also been used to determine which of the possible Mary Heard's is our one.
- The most likely data from IGI indicates Mary Parish was chr at Holsworthy, which is 25miles from Bow, where she married, so this is some distance. If this is the same person though, then she was chr Nov 1753, daughter of John and Elizabeth - probable marr 18/5/1747 in Holsworthy (Elizabeth HEADON). This does not match her quoted age at burial, which almost certainly is the right person. So overall, this seems the wrong person.
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Sources