Esau Venn the Thatcher: 1796 - 1829

Esau and Sarah seem to have lived in the Curdon/Bicknoller area of the Stogumber parish. After Esau's death, Sarah lived at "Bottom". It is possible that all three locations are one and the same but we can not be sure.

Esau and Sarah are known to have had at least five children. For reasons unknown, only their sons were baptised at Stogumber Parish Church, the revelation that they also had daughters only came when Liz Nuttall was researching her ancestors and found that Jane Peppin had listed "Esau Venn, thatcher" as her father on her marriage certificate. It would be interesting to have suggestions as to why the girls were not baptised.

On all three baptism records for his sons, Esau's profession is given as a thatcher. Their son James died in 1824 aged about a year. Their son Esau died in July 1837, aged 10, of "dropsy". This left William, Jane and Luesa to grow to adulthood but it does not mean that there were not other children.

Esau himself died in 1829, aged 33 and was buried on 15th February in Stogumber, although there is no record of his grave. He left Sarah, with four children under the age of 11.

Sarah subsequently remarried two years later, to Thomas Trowbridge, in Bicknoller. They lived at Bottom, which could be the same place where she had lived with Esau. Thomas and Sarah had at least four children after their marriage.