Transcript

of

Reginald Morshead [Obituary]

Trans. Devon Assoc., vol.  47, (1915), pp. 52-53.

by

Maxwell Adams (Ed.)

Prepared by Michael Steer

The obituary was read at the Association’s July 1915 Exeter meeting. A great deal of interesting and useful genealogical information about Mr Morshead and the Morshead family is presented in “The Book of Lamerton: A Photographic History”, by Ann Cole, (1999). The book has been indexed for GENUKI Devon by Geraldine McIntosh. The obituary, from a copy of a rare and much sought-after journal can be downloaded from the Internet Archive. Google has sponsored the digitisation of books from several libraries. These books, on which copyright has expired, are available for free educational and research use, both as individual books and as full collections to aid researchers.

Mr. Morshead, of Hurlditch Court, Lamerton, was the fourth son of the Rev. H. J. Morshead, Rector of Kelly, his mother being the eldest daughter of Sir W. L. Trelawny, of Trelawne, who was Lord-Lieutenant of Cornwall. He was educated at Marlborough and St. John's College, Cambridge, and graduated wrangler in the tripos of 1872. In 1874, on the death of Mr. J. H. Gill, he joined Mr. R. B. Gill as partner in the Tavistock Bank. He retired from business in 1889, and devoted his time and abilities to public work. He represented Tavistock on the Devon County Council for twenty-three years, was chairman of the Tavistock bench of magistrates, chairman of the trustees of Kelly College, vice-chairman of the Governors of Tavistock Grammar School, an Income-Tax Commissioner, member of the Devon Education Committee, chairman of the Lamerton Hunt, and member of the Tamar and Plym Conservators. in 1880 he married the elder daughter of Mr. H. G. Sperling, of Edgeworth Manor, Gloucestershire, and leaves four sons and three daughters.
He joined the Association for the first time in 1889, and acted as honorary local treasurer when it met in Tavistock in that year, rejoining the Association for the meeting held in Tavistock in July, 1914. He died on 28 September, 1914.