Audrey As you say it is a tragic loss. I hadn't realised that John was still relatively young. He has always been a very knowledgeable and helpful friend to me, and we've exchanged numerous e-mails on a wide variety of subjects. The Bluetts and the Cruwyses both had a very similar history, both being very old Devon families with substantial landholdings, though the Bluetts in their heyday had much greater wealth than my family. Holcombe Court has been described as the finest Tudor House in Devon: _http://www.britannia.com/history/chouses/bluett.html_ (http://www.britannia.com/history/chouses/bluett.html) One of John's great-grandparents was the last of the Bluett line to live at Holcombe Court. John was rather hoping that his daughters might continue his research but sadly neither of them has so far shown much of an inclination. Unfortunately John's research is now all completely inaccessible. The family tree is written out on a large sheet of wallpaper and the Bluett family papers (mostly from the 15th to 18C) are neatly filed away in carefully labelled archival envelopes. I can only hope that his family will eventually be in a position to continue the research or, if not, that they will consider depositing his papers in the Devon Record Office so that they will be available to other researchers. A lesson for us all perhaps not to leave things too late. Debbie In a message dated 03/11/2006 21:06:07 GMT Standard Time, [email protected] writes: Dear Debbie Thank you very much indeed for sending this. I too am so sorry to hear the news of John's death. As you say, he was an avid and interested researcher into his family as well as being a very knowledgeable one too. I do hope that his family will take up his cause and carry it on. 72 seems a young age at which to die and I am sure that he will be sadly missed by many. Audrey

Dear Debbie I do know what you mean about leaving things too late. A well respected man that I knew whose expertise was vernacular architecture and who gave a great deal to others in the subject never, himself, published. Others who were not so scrupulous would take his ideas and put them forward as their own but, if he had published, he could have claimed copyright. A great deal of his work was quite possibly lost as a lot was in his private files and on his own slides. As far as John's daughters are concerned, they may just get the bug when they are going through his papers. Surely they will not get rid of them without considering the records office or the like! However, I have known of others who have come along to a more remote relative and literally burnt all his effects upon his death without looking at what they were doing. Old photographs and various other bits and pieces were lost that way. I would think that John would not have daughters like that as they would think of their father when going through his things. He did leave his site with me and I looked at it quite a while ago. I shall now have to revisit it to refresh my memory. Audrey ----- Original Message ----- From: <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Friday, November 03, 2006 11:26 PM Subject: Re: [OEL] John Overholt > > Audrey > > As you say it is a tragic loss. I hadn't realised that John was still > relatively young. He has always been a very knowledgeable and helpful > friend to me, > and we've exchanged numerous e-mails on a wide variety of subjects. The > Bluetts and the Cruwyses both had a very similar history, both being very > old > Devon families with substantial landholdings, though the Bluetts in their > heyday > had much greater wealth than my family. Holcombe Court has been described > as > the finest Tudor House in Devon: > > _http://www.britannia.com/history/chouses/bluett.html_ > (http://www.britannia.com/history/chouses/bluett.html) > > One of John's great-grandparents was the last of the Bluett line to live > at > Holcombe Court. > > John was rather hoping that his daughters might continue his research but > sadly neither of them has so far shown much of an inclination. > Unfortunately > John's research is now all completely inaccessible. The family tree is > written > out on a large sheet of wallpaper and the Bluett family papers (mostly > from > the 15th to 18C) are neatly filed away in carefully labelled archival > envelopes. I can only hope that his family will eventually be in a > position to > continue the research or, if not, that they will consider depositing his > papers in > the Devon Record Office so that they will be available to other > researchers. > A lesson for us all perhaps not to leave things too late. > > Debbie > > In a message dated 03/11/2006 21:06:07 GMT Standard Time, > [email protected] writes: > > Dear Debbie > > Thank you very much indeed for sending this. I too am so sorry to hear > the > news of John's death. As you say, he was an avid and interested > researcher > into his family as well as being a very knowledgeable one too. I do hope > that his family will take up his cause and carry it on. 72 seems a young > age > at which to die and I am sure that he will be sadly missed by many. > > Audrey > > > > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message > > > -- > No virus found in this incoming message. > Checked by AVG Free Edition. > Version: 7.1.409 / Virus Database: 268.13.27/517 - Release Date: > 03/11/2006 > >