Amos Marks & Elizabeth Fouracre, my 2x great grandparents
By John Marks
The name Fouracre or Foweraker as it used to be spelt goes back a long way in Somerset and we know from the Parish registers of West Buckland that a Jasper Foweraker married Elizabeth in 1539, but we will start much later, 1743 to be precise. Abraham Fouracre of Wellington married local girl Thomasin Hutchins in 1743 in Wellington and duly raised a family which Robert, who was born in 1744, went on to marry Sarah Broom in Wellington in 1770
They in due course had a daughter Elizabeth born in 1781 in West Buckland, a neighbouring Parish. She was to be baptised in West Buckland much later, in 1809 in fact. Elizabeth was to become my 2x great grandmother by marrying Amos Marks, a carpenter who resided in West Buckland. Their marriage took place in 1802 at the local church of St Mary from which they settled down in the village to raise their family. The Marke or Marks name also was mentioned in the parish registers in the 1600’s and also in the protestation returns for West Buckland 1641/1642 but I am sure they go back even further. To continue, Amos and Betty, as she was known, went on to have their family consisting of Betty 1802, Samuel 1804, John 1806, Sarah 1808, Ann 1810, Grace 1813, Jane 1817 and last but not least Robert Dennis 1824. Robert went on to become my great grandfather. What became of the family? Betty we have not traced as yet Samuel became a carpenter like his father and married local girl Elizabeth Fouracre – another Fouracre. John sadly was born with poor health and had a private baptism. He died in 1808. Sarah is another one we have not traced. Ann in common with a lot of young village folk of that era married cousin John Marks and settled in the village . Grace married Thomas Blackmore in 1836. Jane married William Fear in 1840, Robert Dennis also became a carpenter and married Harriet Burford from nearby Churchstanton,Devon. Amos’s father who was also named Amos and was a shoemaker by trade died in 1835 and in his Will, of which we have a copy, left his cottage to his son Amos for the rest of his natural life and from there to his grandson Samuel with an outstanding debt of twelve pounds to be paid on the mortgage. The 1841 census is the only census to show Amos and Elizabeth together with their son Robert living in West Buckland. Elizabeth died on the 12th October 1845 of dropsy, an old term for heart failure. The 1851 census shows us Amos a widower living with his son Samuel, wife and family. Amos passed away on the 10th October 1857 of dropsy. He was 77 years age.
Saint Mary's Church, West Buclkland home to many of the Marks baptisms, marriages and burials
