West of England Roots
Brinsmeads now live all over the world. Many are in the USA, Australia and Canada as well as the UK. However, most of them seem to have their roots in the West of England.
This section of our site includes much of our research into these West Country roots, trying to build up a picture of the family as it grew over the years. Click below to explore these topics:
Special Edition of the North Devon Journal - First Edition
Special Edition of the North Devon Journal - Second Edition
The Devon Brinsmeads - St. Giles in the Woods
The Devon Brinsmeads - Weare Gifford
The Devon Brinsmeads - Alverdiscott
Early Devon Brinsmeads - The Tax and Muster Rolls
Did Brinsmead's Sail Against the Armada?
Early Somerset Brinsmeads - Lay Subsidy and Protestation Rolls
Many Brinsmeads come from a few small villages in North Devon, St. Giles in the Woods, Weare Gifford and Alverdiscott. Our first records are of a Thomas Brinsmead, buried in May, 1626 and Agnys buried on June 27th, 1627 in St. Giles in the Woods, followed by Robert Brinsmead who married Christian (last name unknown) in St. Giles in the Woods in 1639.
Click here for a map of the Weare Giffard and St. Giles in the Woods area. Scroll down and change the resolution to see the full area.
We do not know for sure where they came from before then, but our best guess is that they or their predecessors moved to Devon from Bishops Hull in Somerset. Our research into the original parish records at Bishops Hull show Brinsmeads going back as far as 1570. Several of the first settlers to move to the United States came from Bishops Hull, leaving in the early 1600's.
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