The BRADDON family of Polperro

The Braddon family originated in Polperro in the late 18the century with the arrival of Wiliam and Margaret Braddon from the Launceston area.

Their son William was born in 1779 and married a local Polperro girl, Ann Forrest, at Lansallos church in 1797. He ran a general merchant's business in Polperro until he was declared bankrupt in 1805, probably as a result of further anti-smuggling legislation that reduced the supply of goods from Guernsey. Zephaniah Job, the 'smuggler's banker' who acted for the Braddon family recorded a list of twenty local creditors, including himself, who were owed money as a result of the failure of the business. When news of Braddon's bankruptcy was announced in the Exeter Flying Post in March 1805, Job acted as receiver, ensuring that all the creditors received at least one third of what they were owed. William Braddon's son Thomas (1805-1873) kept one of the inns on the Lansallos side of the harbour for several years, but in later life became first, an auctioneer, and then a village schoolmaster.

By the end of the 19th century, many of Thomas Braddon's several grandchildren had married and moved away from the Polperro area, some to Cardiff, Manchester and Plymouth, others emigrating to Australia and the USA.

One of them was Ernest Albert Braddon, born in Polperro in 1871, who emigrated to the USA shortly after his marriage in London in 1907 and settled in Massachusetts where many of his descendents live today.

Ernest Albert Braddon (1871-1953)

Further details of the Braddon family of Polperro can be obtained from Jeremy Rowett Johns:

E-mail: jeremy.johns@polperro.org

Further information on the family would also be welcomed.

Jeremy Rowett Johns, Polperro Heritage Museum © 2000