BUCKINGHAM

The Buckingham family have been present in North Hill since 1759 and the progressively extending family would have meant they played a significant part in parish life for about two hundred years. Many Buckinghams would undoubtedly have been well known and respected, holding a variety of local occupations and parish positions. If, for example, if you wanted a plough made for your farm, a Buckingham would have been your man.

The earliest Buckinghams we have traced in this general area were in Ashwater, Devon, just a few miles away from North Hill. They were there from the time that church records began in the mid 1500's, and probably before. Our ancestors were probably more mobile than we give them credit for and movement in search of work, or movement to marry was a common occurrence. Indeed a Thomas Buckingham moved from Ashwater to Trewen, a neighbouring parish to North Hill, in May 1732 and married Anne Davy. How they met is unknown, perhaps at a market day in Launceston, which lies between the two parishes. It was from Trewen that the Buckinghams migrated to North Hill, via Lewannick.

In the mid 1750s Philip Buckingham came to North Hill from the nearby village of Lewannick where he had been born in 1733. In February 1759 he married Elizabeth Kenner, a local North Hill girl of his own age, and a long line of Buckingham family members ensued.

One of the more prominent members of the Buckingham family was Jabez Buckingham (1839-1910). His family connections were very local. Both his grandfathers, Richard Buckingham and John Foott, were baptised in St Torney's; his grandmothers were Sabra Sleep from Altarnun and Hannah Stacey from Lewannick. Jabez married Maria Doney whose family were long established residents in the parish. His primary claim to fame was as one of the local blacksmiths that were fundamental to life and farming in Victorian times. Jabez' smithy was in Lewarne and he can be seen in the village in every census from 1841 to 1901. His father was initially a carpenter and later a millwright; in 1861 Jabez was 22, living at home and along with his brother, Nathan, both were working with their father. In subsequent censuses Jabez' occupation changes from millwright to agricultural mechanic and he developed a thriving business in producing innovative farm machinery whilst retaining his status as a millwright. A century and a half after Jabez' machines had been sold to local farmers, some equipment is still in reasonable condition in local farmer's barns. In May 2021 Ray Piper wrote to North Hill Local History Group saying "We are having a farm turnout and have uncovered an old 1 row mangel and turnip ridge drill .. just like the drill in the advertisement ... We intend putting the drill in an online auction run by STAGS on the 26th May ... to think it has survived all this time in perfect working order." Images of the drill are shown below and are testimony to the quality of Jabez' work.

Click here to read an alphabetical list which sets out the various Buckinghams across multiple family lines that were resident in North Hill. If you know of more, if you have additional information or you have spotted an error and would like to suggest an amendment, please contact us.

Today there are no people with the surname Buckingham living in the parish. This link opens up a descendant chart which has been created from the entries in the parish register, census returns and civil registration indexes. If you wish to know more about the family you can contact us as we hold the database from which the chart has been extracted.

The Buckingham Family and North Hill Farm, Ontario

In the early 1850s two brothers from the Buckingham family of North Hill emigrated to Ontario in Canada. "North Hill Farm" is near Collingwood in Ontario and was named after ancestral home in Cornwall by the Buckinghams. The history of the families was recorded in 1987 by a descendant, H Mactaggart. "The Buckingham Family History and Record" has a preface which reads:

"Over two centuries and eight generations of Buckinghams, beginning in England, immigrating to Upper Canada (now Ontario) and spreading from Nova Scotia to Vancouver B.C. John and Elizabeth Buckingham left their home land as newlyweds, determined to forge a new life in a new land, living in conditions primitive to that of England. With ambition, determination and faith the Buckinghams were leaders in the development of this land and the organization of their church. The purpose of this book is to record some history and as many descendants of the Buckingham family as possible, so that future generations can trace their lineage back to England and give members of their family some knowledge of where their ancestors originated from ... "

Note: The Buckingham family from North Hill were not armigerous and the arms shown relate to another family of the same name.

With the kind permission of descendant Betty Thiessen we have been able to scan the book and publish it here. The book contains personal details of living family members whose identity would not have been compromised by publication back in 1987 but now we have the internet and the need for greater care regarding identity. For this reason there are sections of the book which have been redacted. If you are a Buckingham family member with a genuine reason for an interest in the family and would like an unredacted scanned copy, please contact us via the link at the foot of this page.

Click on the image above to open the redacted book.

These Buckingham family graves are in the Buckingham Church & Cemetery, 554608 Rd 55, Feversham, Ontario, N0C 1C0, Canada
William was the youngest son of James Buckingham and Susanna Aunger. He was baptised in St Torney's Church on 24 July 1831.
More images of Buckingham family gravestones in this cemetery can be accessed from CanadaGenWeb's Cemetery Project website.

The Buckingham Family's Fallen Men of World War One & World War Two

Find these men on the Roll of Honour to access more details of their lives and their service.

The toll on the Buckingham family was significant. Seven of the great great great grandsons of Philip Buckingham died in the Great War and one great great great granddaughter lost her husband. Five of them are remembered on the North Hill War Memorial. Alfred James Wills? name is inscribed on the memorial in Stoke Climsland. Samuel John Buckingham?s name can be found on the St Cleer memorial. Alfred (Fred) Wallis was killed with the Canadian Forces on Vimy Ridge in 1917 and is buried in a nearby cemetery. The Foott brothers, James and Alfred, were lost at sea within 6 weeks of one another. Harry Buckingham Wakem was a casualty in World War Two; his name is on the North Hill War Memorial but he doesn't appear on the register of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

Edred's brother, Edgar, had a daughter Ethel in 1893. Ethel married Albert George Jewell in 1915. They can be seen in this image of 1902 which was taken of the Bathpool Band of Hope of Hope at Lanoy House. Albert is marked with an "A" and Ethel with a "B". The photograph has been reproduced here with the kind permission of Colin Herring, the grandson of Albert and Ethel.

The Beswarrick Bible

On 23 May 1850 Maria Buckingham married Philip Beswarrick in North Hill Church and they lived for many years in Berrio. There are family members descended from this line living in Regina, Saskatchewan and Vancouver, British Columbia. Maria and Philip recorded their family events in this family bible which was found in the second hand bookshop at Lanhydrock House in 2012. The cover and inscribed pages are reproduced here.

Our thanks go to Richard Buckingham who has made a significant contribution to our knowledge of the Buckingham family.