Polperro Family History

The MINARDS family of Polperro

The earliest mention of this ancient Polperro family (variously spelled Maynard(s) or Mynard(s)) is of Richard Maynard who became vicar of Talland in November 1576, twelve years before the Spanish Armada sailed up the Channel.

Later generations of Minards in Polperro can reliably be traced back to Zebedee Minards (1650-1695) who married Mary Statten at Talland in 1675. Their eldest son, Nicholas (1678-1718), married Mary Clift at Talland in March 1701.

Nicholas and Mary Minards had three sons, the eldest of which was named Zebedee after his grandfather. The name was carried on for at least a further three generations of Minards in Polperro. Nicholas and Mary's youngest son John married Elizabeth Bartlett at Talland in 1733 and had eight children.

William Minards (1798-1875)

One of their grandchildren, William, born in1798 when England was still at war with France, married Susannah Cowling of Liskeard was the village boot and shoemaker for many years, later becoming one of the first postmaster in Polperro until his death in 1875 at the age of 77.

In his spare time, William Minards took a keen interest in nature and often assisted Dr Jonathan Couch with his study of local bird-life. In 1835, for example, the doctor noted that William told him how he had found a 'cluster or ball as large as a globular quart measure' of wrens in a hole in a hedge which, together with three or four other such clusters, amounted to 'little less a hundred' birds.

William's daughter, Maria Victoria (1840-1919), married William Henry Curtis in 1873 who took over his father-in-law's boot and shoemaking business. Click here to go to the Curtis family page and a picture of William Curtis in his workshop in Polperro.

Further details of the Minards 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.

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