The name Hellyer is Norman in origin (derived from St Hellier) and the family had lands in Devon.
The family members described here are the ancestors of Mary Agnes Hellyer, my great-grandmother and can be traced back to the late 16th century.
The following towns and villages are the sources of records for the family.
William Hellyer (b 1799) and his son Giles Hellyer (b 1835), both mariners, are of particular interest as there is a substantial amount of information about them.
Early Records
The earliest record located is the baptism record for Jonathan Hellier in the parish of Netherbury in 1711. This gives little detail other than the date (2nd April) and the name of his father (James).
There is no record in Netherbury of the marriage of James Hellier or any other births until 1723 with the baptism of Richard Hellier also the son of James Hellier. It is strange that the only two children were born 12 years apart and it may be that Jonathan's mother died and James married again in the 1720s.
Jonathan married Christian Daw on 3rd January 1747 in Netherbury. (This is shortly before the calendar reforms of 1752 so was in the 10th month of 1747) Christian was the daughter of Emmanual and Ann Daw, born in nearby Rampisham and baptised on 26th September 1720. Although it is slightly unusual that the wedding took place in the bridegroom's parish; this maybe explained by their ages (36 and 27).
They had a long and productive marriage with seven children.
Jonathan and Christian both died in 1791 at the ages of 80 and 71. They were buried within two weeks of each other.
Giles Hellyer b 1757
Giles, the 4th child of Jonathan and Christian, was baptised in Netherbury on 5th January 1757 so may have been born in December 1756. He married Mary Legg in 1791. Mary was from the neighbouring parish of Mapperton, based in the Manor House of Mapperton. She and her twin sister Ann were born illegitimately to Jean Legg - there is no indication of her father. However it is notable on the same page of the register that there are other illigimate ("base born") births, including members of the Legg family.
The Banns of marriage were read in Netherbury, but there is an entry in Pallot's Marriage index for Mapperton so presumably the wedding took place there. Certainly their first three children, including William, were born there. Their 4th and final child was born back in Netherbury.
Mary died and was buried in 1808 at the age of 44. This of could have been due to a complication of pregnancy. Giles survived another 15 years and was buried in 1823.
