Hello Everyone. I'm not sure I can answer the question posed in these queries, but as I run the Darracott One-name study and have a keen interest in all things connected to the name "Darracott" I thought I'd chip in. The name "Darracott" (and some spelling variants) derives from the Braunton/Barnstaple/Bideford area of north Devon. At the time of the matters we're concerned with here, there were very few Darracotts (in the UK) outside north Devon and the adjoining area of Cornwall, apart from a few related families who were in Plymouth, and were prospering. I have what I believe to be a pretty extensive database of names and events, and can't find any event that would have given rise to a Richard Page Derricott, who married Sarah Petherne on 10 October 1800 in Modbury. The name Darracott is sometimes found spelled as "Derricott" and in other ways in Devon at this time, but it is usually obvious that it's a spelling "error", and I would suggest that in this case his name should properly be Richard Page Darracott. It is important not to be confused with the numerous Derricotts and Dorricotts who were flourishing up in the Shropshire and Staffordshire area at the same time. The name clearly has the same original meaning, but the groups are not related. I have come across several instances of the name Darracott being incorrectly given in the early census as Derricot or similar variations. And to make matters worse, there are several instances of where the name "Dannatt" (admittedly badly written in the original) has been incorrectly transcribed as "Darracott" by the folk at Ancestry and Findmypast. Interestingly, I have in my own tree a Harriett Saunders who married a John Darracott on 30 June 1836 in Alverdiscott, and a James Darracott married a Maria Page on 30 May 1843 in Barnstaple. But I have no Richard Page Darracott. It is such as rare name that, assuming it is correct, there would appear to definitely be an interesting story behind the circumstances. "No smoke without fire" is a dictum that I've found to be true on many occasions! I'm now intrigued and will keep a look out for any possible solutions. Cheers, Brian Darracott ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 6 Dec 2013 11:17:39 -0000 From: "elizabeth howard" <elizgh@btinternet.com> Subject: [DEV] SAUNDERS/PAGE/DERRICOTT To: "Joy Langdon" <joy.langdon@btopenworld.com>, <devon@rootsweb.com> Message-ID: <77415E81FE064AA6B888037F79FF1119@max> Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1"; reply-type=original Hi .. both Modbury and Plymstock have transcriptions of their bapt registers on genuki//devon and I see that Plymstock is really Plymouth , just 3 miles E by S of Plymouth and Modbury some 12 miles E by S . Richard Page ( transcribed as Paye) Saunders is there and perhaps if you contacted Plymstock there might be some further info on the register . Derricott is rare to a point of almost not existing , but Darracott is also fairly rare and mostly in the north of Devon around Braunton but with the constantly changing population of Plymouth anyone could have been there at any time . Saunders there are a plenty . Petherne is also luckily a rare name. If you familysearch it the most results are for Pethern without an e , and of course Cornwall , which handily is just along the road from Plymouth !! I think this may well remain a mystery !! life is hard . soften it with a cat \\\=^..^=/// ----- Original Message ----- From: "Joy Langdon" <joy.langdon@btopenworld.com> To: <devon@rootsweb.com> Sent: Thursday, December 05, 2013 12:06 PM Subject: Re: [DEV] Baptized as "Base" son/daughter Hi Elizabeth, I did some further investigating and came across another puzzle (and another surname) associated with Richard. When he married in 1813 he was a widower resident at Brixton and I looked to see if there were any other baptisms relating to Page Saunders and I found two earlier baptisms at Brixton (Harriet Page Saunders 1802 and Jane Page Saunders 1804). Here the plot thickens because the original entry shows that on Harriet's baptism the original surname is Dericott and that was scored through and Saunders inserted. The mother was Sarah Petherne. I couldn't find a marriage of Richard Page Saunders to Sarah Petherne BUT when I searched for a Sarah Petherne marriage I found a marriage to Richard Page Derricott at Modbury in 1800. Can anyone find a marriage of Ann Saunders to a Derricott/Darracott etc? One possible explanation is that Richard's mother married a Derricott and he was raised using that surname (which tends to imply that he isn't the son of the Ann Saunders married to Philip Saunders). Or, was he farmed out to a family called Derricott and not raised by his mother? Or was his birth father a Derricott? I doubt if we will ever know unless there is a Saunders/Dericott marriage or a descendant has a story passed down through the family. Joy ________________________________ From: elizabeth howard <elizgh@btinternet.com> To: Blaine Sanders <utvairs@yahoo.com>; devon@rootsweb.com Sent: Thursday, 5 December 2013, 11:42 Subject: [DEV] Baptized as "Base" son/daughter Hi, you don`t say where you " came across " this information . Sanders/Saunders is a most populous Devon name and perhaps this is another Saunders ? it seems unlikely that a family would choose one child out of 8 , to highlight as being illegitimate . . I would try find out more before deciding that Ann the wife of Philip had an " affair " . And follow up Joy`s lead with the 1813 marriage of Richard Page Saunders . life is hard . soften it with a cat \\\=^..^=/// ----- Original Message -----