Palk land on the moor lay in Bridford. The family rose with Robert Palk, Governor of Madras. The 1840 owner is his grandson, Sir Lawrence Vaughan Palk, 3rd Baronet. The Palks are tied by marriage to two other big 1840 owners: the Wreys and the Saviles.
In 1840 the tithe lists them as Lawrence Vaughan Palk. 1,293 acres on the Dartmoor-parish tithe maps: Bridford 1,293.
Click a name to see everything the sources say about that person, with the exact words quoted, below the chart. Yellow marks the 1840 tithe owner.
Robert Palk
Robert Palk, baptised 16 December 1717, second son of Walter Palk of Lower Headborough Farm near Ashburton and Frances Abraham of Buckland-in-the-Moor; Ashburton grammar school and Wadham College, Oxford (1736). Sailed to India in 1747 as chaplain to Admiral Boscawen's expedition, then served the East India Company; second in council at Madras in 1760 and Governor of Madras from November 1763 to January 1767. Returned to England in July 1767 with a considerable fortune. M.P. for Ashburton 1767-68, Wareham 1768-74 and Ashburton 1774-87. Created baronet 19 June 1782. Married 7 February 1761 Anne, daughter of Arthur Vansittart of Shottesbrook, Berkshire; one son and three daughters. Died 29 April 1798. S1, S3
Children shown: Anne Palk, Sir Lawrence Palk, 2nd Baronet
Where this comes from
S1 Burke, A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage (1869), entry Palk
The eldest son, I, Robert Palk, Esq., who had been appointed governor of Madras in 1763, was created a Baronet, 19 June, 1772. Sir Robert m. Anne, dau. of Arthur Vansittart, Esq.
S3 Sutherland, History of Parliament 1754-1790, member biography: Palk, Robert (1717-98), https://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1754-1790/member/palk-robert-1717-98
Summary of the entry: baptised 16 December 1717, second son of Walter Palk of Lower Headborough Farm by Frances Abraham of Buckland-in-the-Moor; Wadham College 1736; chaplain RN 1747, East India Company chaplain 1749, governor of Madras November 1763 to January 1767; returned to England in July 1767 with a considerable fortune; M.P. Ashburton December 1767-68, Wareham 1768-74, Ashburton 1774-87; married 7 February 1761 Anne Vansittart, one son and three daughters; created baronet 19 June 1782; died 29 April 1798.
Anne Palk
Anne Palk, daughter of Sir Robert, born about 1764 in Madras; married Sir Bourchier Wrey, 7th Bart., on 14 March 1786 at Shottesbrook, Berkshire (Burke gives 1787); died 5 September 1791 aged 27 and was buried at Tawstock. (The Wrey family is another large 1840 owner.) S1, S4, S5, S6, S7
Child of Robert Palk
Where this comes from
S1 Burke, A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage (1869), entry Palk
The eldest son, I, Robert Palk, Esq., who had been appointed governor of Madras in 1763, was created a Baronet, 19 June, 1772. Sir Robert m. Anne, dau. of Arthur Vansittart, Esq.
S4 All About History, Sir Bourchier Wrey, 7th Baronet (secondary; transcribes the memorial inscriptions at Tawstock church), https://allabouthistory.co.uk/History/l3/Bourchier-Wrey-7th-Baronet
Summary of the page, not word for word: baptised at Tawstock on or before 23 February 1757, son of Sir Bourchier Wrey, 6th Bt., and Ellen Thresher; succeeded on his father's death on 13 April 1784; married first, on 14 March 1786, Anne Palk, daughter of Sir Robert Palk and Anne Vansittart, born about 1764 in Madras, who died on 5 September 1791 aged 27 and was buried at Tawstock on 16 September 1791; married secondly in January 1793 Anne Osborn, daughter of John Osborne of Monksmill, Gloucestershire, who died on 28 January 1813 aged 50; children Bourchier (born 10 December 1788) and Anna Eleanora (born 1790) by Anne Palk, and Henry Bourchier (born 5 June 1797) by Anne Osborn; he died on 20 November 1826 and was buried at Tawstock on 2 December 1826. The page cites no documents for the dates other than the inscriptions.
Summary of the profile, not word for word: born 22 February 1757 in Devon, died 20 November 1826 aged 69 at Tawstock; son of Bourchier Wrey Bt MP (1714-13 April 1784) and Ellen Thresher; grandson of Bourchier Wrey (about 1682-1726) and Diana Rolle; great-grandson of Bourchier Wrey (about 1653-1696) and Florence Rolle; married first Anne Palk on 14 March 1786 at Shottesbrook, Berkshire, and second Anne Osborne in February 1793 at Alderley, Gloucestershire; children listed: Anne Eleanora (Hartopp), Bourchier Palk, Anna Eleanora, Robert Bourchier, Eleonora Elizabeth (Fayle) and Henry Bourchier.
S6 thepeerage.com, Sir Bourchier Wrey, 7th Bt., person 193795 (secondary compilation citing Cokayne, Complete Baronetage, vol. 5, p. 221, and Burke's Peerage 2003), https://www.thepeerage.com/p19380.htm#i193795
Summary of the entry, not word for word: born 22 February 1757 in Devon, died 20 November 1826 aged 69; son of Sir Bourchier Wrey, 6th Bt., and Ellen Thresher; succeeded 13 April 1784; married first Anne Palk, daughter of Sir Robert Palk, 1st Bt., and Anne Vansittart, on 14 March 1786 at Shottesbrook, Berkshire; married second Anne Osborne in February 1793 at Alderley, Gloucestershire; children by Anne Palk: Anna Eleanora (died 25 January 1846), Sir Bourchier Palk Wrey, 8th Bt. (born 10 December 1788, died 11 September 1879) and Robert Bourchier (1790-1872); by Anne Osborne: Eleanora Elizabeth (about 1796-12 January 1882) and Rev. Sir Henry Bourchier Wrey, 9th Bt. (5 June 1797-23 December 1882).
S7 Rootsweb Devon, St Peter's Tawstock: Effigies and Mural Monuments (secondary; transcribes the inscriptions, with compiler's notes), https://sites.rootsweb.com/~ukdevon/TawstockInsideMIs.htm
Summary of the page, not word for word: the memorial to Anne, Lady of Sir Bourchier Wrey and daughter of Sir Robert Palk of Haldon House, records her death on 5 September 1791 aged 27 'leaving three infant children' (the compiler adds: born in Madras 1764, married 14 March 1786, buried at Tawstock 16 September 1791); the memorial to Sir Bourchier Wrey, 7th Bt., records his death on 20 November 1826 in his 70th year and two marriages (Anne Palk, by whom two sons and a daughter; Anne Osborne of Monksmill, Gloucestershire, by whom a son and a daughter); the compiler's notes give his baptism at Tawstock on 23 February 1757 and a second marriage in January 1793 at Wotton under Edge. The memorial to the 4th Baronet records his death on 28 July 1696 aged 44; the compiler adds that he fought a duel in Hyde Park on 4 February 1692 with Thomas Bulkeley, M.P. for Beaumaris, and was uninjured, and that a violent quarrel in June 1694 with James Praed, M.P. for St Ives, left him seriously wounded.
Sir Lawrence Palk, 2nd Baronet
Sir Lawrence Palk, 2nd Baronet, M.P. for Devon. Married 1st, 1789, Mary, eldest daughter of John, 3rd Earl of Darnley (no surviving issue); 2ndly, 1792, Dorothy Elizabeth, daughter of Wilmot (Vaughan), 1st Earl of Lisburne. Died 20 June 1813. S1
Child of Robert Palk. Children shown: Sir Lawrence Vaughan Palk
Where this comes from
S1 Burke, A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage (1869), entry Palk
The eldest son, I, Robert Palk, Esq., who had been appointed governor of Madras in 1763, was created a Baronet, 19 June, 1772. Sir Robert m. Anne, dau. of Arthur Vansittart, Esq.
Sir Lawrence Vaughan Palk
Sir Lawrence Vaughan Palk, 3rd Baronet, born 24 April 1793, eldest son of the 2nd Baronet by his second wife; Eton 1808, Christ Church, Oxford, 1812. Succeeded 20 June 1813 and came of age the next year. M.P. for Ashburton 1818 to 1831. Married 9 December 1815 his cousin Anna Eleanora, relict of Edward Hartopp of Little Dalby and eldest daughter of Sir Bourchier Wrey, Bart. (she died 25 January 1846); three sons and two daughters. Dod's Baronetage (1860) gives a second marriage to Phillipine Anne Victoire, with a daughter. His inheritance was burdened by his father's heavy investment in the Torquay estate, which he continued; the Ashburton property, mortgaged for over 23,000 pounds, was sold in the 1840s, and he spent most of his later years in France. Died 16 May 1860. The owner named in the 1840 tithe lists. S1, S2
Child of Sir Lawrence Palk, 2nd Baronet. Children shown: Sir Lawrence Palk, 4th Baronet, Rev Henry Palk, Elizabeth Anna Palk
Where this comes from
S1 Burke, A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage (1869), entry Palk
The eldest son, I, Robert Palk, Esq., who had been appointed governor of Madras in 1763, was created a Baronet, 19 June, 1772. Sir Robert m. Anne, dau. of Arthur Vansittart, Esq.
S2 Symonds, History of Parliament 1790-1820, member biography: Palk, Sir Lawrence Vaughan (1793-1860), https://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1790-1820/member/palk-sir-lawrence-vaughan-1793-1860
Summary of the entry: born 24 April 1793, first son of Sir Lawrence Palk, 2nd Bt., by his second wife; Eton 1808, Christ Church 1812; married first 9 December 1815 his cousin Anne Eleanora (died 25 January 1846), daughter of Sir Bourchier Wrey, 7th Bt., and widow of Edward Hartopp, three sons and two daughters; possibly a second wife, Phillipine Anne Victoire, one daughter; succeeded as 3rd Bt. on 20 June 1813; M.P. for Ashburton 1818 to 1831; his father's heavy investment in the Torquay estate burdened the inheritance, the Ashburton property was mortgaged for over 23,000 pounds and sold in the 1840s, and he spent most of his later years in France; died 16 May 1860.
Sir Lawrence Palk, 4th Baronet
Sir Lawrence Palk, 4th Baronet, M.P. for South Devon, born 1818; succeeded 16 May 1860. Married 15 November 1845 Maria Harriet Hesketh. Of Haldon House. S1
Child of Sir Lawrence Vaughan Palk
Where this comes from
S1 Burke, A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage (1869), entry Palk
The eldest son, I, Robert Palk, Esq., who had been appointed governor of Madras in 1763, was created a Baronet, 19 June, 1772. Sir Robert m. Anne, dau. of Arthur Vansittart, Esq.
Rev Henry Palk
Rev. Henry Palk, rector of Bridford and of Dunchideock, born 25 February 1819. S1
Child of Sir Lawrence Vaughan Palk
Where this comes from
S1 Burke, A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage (1869), entry Palk
The eldest son, I, Robert Palk, Esq., who had been appointed governor of Madras in 1763, was created a Baronet, 19 June, 1772. Sir Robert m. Anne, dau. of Arthur Vansittart, Esq.
Elizabeth Anna Palk
Elizabeth Anna Palk, married 16 May 1848 Albany Bourchier Savile of Holne Park near Ashburton. (The Saviles are another large 1840 owner.) S1
Child of Sir Lawrence Vaughan Palk
Where this comes from
S1 Burke, A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage (1869), entry Palk
The eldest son, I, Robert Palk, Esq., who had been appointed governor of Madras in 1763, was created a Baronet, 19 June, 1772. Sir Robert m. Anne, dau. of Arthur Vansittart, Esq.
Stories from the record
Each story is backed by at least two independent sources, at least one of them a printed or official record. The sources are listed under it.
Sir Robert Palk, 1st Baronet, by Thomas Beach, about 1780. Wikimedia Commons
How Robert Palk's fortune was made, and the Haldon purchase
Robert Palk went to India in 1747 as a naval chaplain, then served the East India Company as chaplain and rose through army and civil posts to become Governor of Madras. The 1922 Historical Manuscripts Commission report on his papers says that as Paymaster of the Army and holder of a bullock contract granted by Clive he had early chances to make money, that he took part in private trade which the Company recognised, and that the fortune with which he retired was not all derived from his official pay. He left Madras in January 1767 and reached England on 13 July 1767. The same report says he bought the Haldon estate near Exeter in 1769 and prints a friend's letter of December 1769 congratulating him on the cheapness of the purchase. It also notes that private remittances to England were often made by sending home diamonds, because the rates for Company bills were unfavourable.
Burke (1869) prints Sir Robert Palk's baronetcy as 19 June 1772 and his death as 1791. The History of Parliament, the Historical Manuscripts Commission report on his papers and Wikipedia give the baronetcy as 19 June 1782, granted under the Rockingham administration, and the death as 29 April 1798. Those dates are used.
Burke names two daughters of the 3rd Baronet by his first wife; his will of 4 June 1856 refers to three (History of Parliament note). The same note gives his second wife's death as 12 February 1855 at Versailles, from the Gentleman's Magazine.
How Robert Palk's fortune was made, and the Haldon purchase. The History of Parliament, the Historical Manuscripts Commission report and Wikipedia date Robert Palk's baronetcy 19 June 1782; the Dictionary of National Biography and Burke say 1772. The History of Parliament and Wikipedia give his death as 29 April 1798, the Dictionary of National Biography says May 1798, and Burke prints 1791. The History of Parliament dates are used.
Notes
Lysons (1822) lists Sir L. V. Palk at Haldon House, Kenn, among the baronets' seats.
Anne Palk's memorial at Tawstock says she died leaving three infant children, which matches the three children thepeerage.com gives her.
The Darnley and Lisburne marriages are read from a damaged scan of Burke; the names are as read.
Sources
S1 Burke, A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage (1869), entry Palk
The eldest son, I, Robert Palk, Esq., who had been appointed governor of Madras in 1763, was created a Baronet, 19 June, 1772. Sir Robert m. Anne, dau. of Arthur Vansittart, Esq.
S2 Symonds, History of Parliament 1790-1820, member biography: Palk, Sir Lawrence Vaughan (1793-1860), https://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1790-1820/member/palk-sir-lawrence-vaughan-1793-1860
Summary of the entry: born 24 April 1793, first son of Sir Lawrence Palk, 2nd Bt., by his second wife; Eton 1808, Christ Church 1812; married first 9 December 1815 his cousin Anne Eleanora (died 25 January 1846), daughter of Sir Bourchier Wrey, 7th Bt., and widow of Edward Hartopp, three sons and two daughters; possibly a second wife, Phillipine Anne Victoire, one daughter; succeeded as 3rd Bt. on 20 June 1813; M.P. for Ashburton 1818 to 1831; his father's heavy investment in the Torquay estate burdened the inheritance, the Ashburton property was mortgaged for over 23,000 pounds and sold in the 1840s, and he spent most of his later years in France; died 16 May 1860.
S3 Sutherland, History of Parliament 1754-1790, member biography: Palk, Robert (1717-98), https://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1754-1790/member/palk-robert-1717-98
Summary of the entry: baptised 16 December 1717, second son of Walter Palk of Lower Headborough Farm by Frances Abraham of Buckland-in-the-Moor; Wadham College 1736; chaplain RN 1747, East India Company chaplain 1749, governor of Madras November 1763 to January 1767; returned to England in July 1767 with a considerable fortune; M.P. Ashburton December 1767-68, Wareham 1768-74, Ashburton 1774-87; married 7 February 1761 Anne Vansittart, one son and three daughters; created baronet 19 June 1782; died 29 April 1798.
S4 All About History, Sir Bourchier Wrey, 7th Baronet (secondary; transcribes the memorial inscriptions at Tawstock church), https://allabouthistory.co.uk/History/l3/Bourchier-Wrey-7th-Baronet
Summary of the page, not word for word: baptised at Tawstock on or before 23 February 1757, son of Sir Bourchier Wrey, 6th Bt., and Ellen Thresher; succeeded on his father's death on 13 April 1784; married first, on 14 March 1786, Anne Palk, daughter of Sir Robert Palk and Anne Vansittart, born about 1764 in Madras, who died on 5 September 1791 aged 27 and was buried at Tawstock on 16 September 1791; married secondly in January 1793 Anne Osborn, daughter of John Osborne of Monksmill, Gloucestershire, who died on 28 January 1813 aged 50; children Bourchier (born 10 December 1788) and Anna Eleanora (born 1790) by Anne Palk, and Henry Bourchier (born 5 June 1797) by Anne Osborn; he died on 20 November 1826 and was buried at Tawstock on 2 December 1826. The page cites no documents for the dates other than the inscriptions.
Summary of the profile, not word for word: born 22 February 1757 in Devon, died 20 November 1826 aged 69 at Tawstock; son of Bourchier Wrey Bt MP (1714-13 April 1784) and Ellen Thresher; grandson of Bourchier Wrey (about 1682-1726) and Diana Rolle; great-grandson of Bourchier Wrey (about 1653-1696) and Florence Rolle; married first Anne Palk on 14 March 1786 at Shottesbrook, Berkshire, and second Anne Osborne in February 1793 at Alderley, Gloucestershire; children listed: Anne Eleanora (Hartopp), Bourchier Palk, Anna Eleanora, Robert Bourchier, Eleonora Elizabeth (Fayle) and Henry Bourchier.
S6 thepeerage.com, Sir Bourchier Wrey, 7th Bt., person 193795 (secondary compilation citing Cokayne, Complete Baronetage, vol. 5, p. 221, and Burke's Peerage 2003), https://www.thepeerage.com/p19380.htm#i193795
Summary of the entry, not word for word: born 22 February 1757 in Devon, died 20 November 1826 aged 69; son of Sir Bourchier Wrey, 6th Bt., and Ellen Thresher; succeeded 13 April 1784; married first Anne Palk, daughter of Sir Robert Palk, 1st Bt., and Anne Vansittart, on 14 March 1786 at Shottesbrook, Berkshire; married second Anne Osborne in February 1793 at Alderley, Gloucestershire; children by Anne Palk: Anna Eleanora (died 25 January 1846), Sir Bourchier Palk Wrey, 8th Bt. (born 10 December 1788, died 11 September 1879) and Robert Bourchier (1790-1872); by Anne Osborne: Eleanora Elizabeth (about 1796-12 January 1882) and Rev. Sir Henry Bourchier Wrey, 9th Bt. (5 June 1797-23 December 1882).
S7 Rootsweb Devon, St Peter's Tawstock: Effigies and Mural Monuments (secondary; transcribes the inscriptions, with compiler's notes), https://sites.rootsweb.com/~ukdevon/TawstockInsideMIs.htm
Summary of the page, not word for word: the memorial to Anne, Lady of Sir Bourchier Wrey and daughter of Sir Robert Palk of Haldon House, records her death on 5 September 1791 aged 27 'leaving three infant children' (the compiler adds: born in Madras 1764, married 14 March 1786, buried at Tawstock 16 September 1791); the memorial to Sir Bourchier Wrey, 7th Bt., records his death on 20 November 1826 in his 70th year and two marriages (Anne Palk, by whom two sons and a daughter; Anne Osborne of Monksmill, Gloucestershire, by whom a son and a daughter); the compiler's notes give his baptism at Tawstock on 23 February 1757 and a second marriage in January 1793 at Wotton under Edge. The memorial to the 4th Baronet records his death on 28 July 1696 aged 44; the compiler adds that he fought a duel in Hyde Park on 4 February 1692 with Thomas Bulkeley, M.P. for Beaumaris, and was uninjured, and that a violent quarrel in June 1694 with James Praed, M.P. for St Ives, left him seriously wounded.
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