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Haughton (sometimes spelt Houghton) was born in 1793 to Matthew and Jenefer (née Morcom) at Gwennap. He was baptised at Gwennap Church on April 4th, 1804. His father worked in the mines around the Gwennap area, possibly as a mine agent/captain. Haughton himself also followed into the mining profession also working as a mine agent/captain. He would have first served his apprenticeship in the area of his birth, but there is some thought that Haughton may have travelled abroad, possibly Mexico to further his career. In 1830, along with Abraham Sanders of Lostwithiel and Robert Bayly the younger of Inner Temple, London, Haughton took out a 21-year lease on the Limestone quarry at Wishworthy, Lawhitton.
It was through his travelling that he met and married Mary Cook (b.1808) the daughter of John and Agnes (née Rowden) Cook, Sampford Courtenay, Devon in 1832. John (1770-1845) was the innkeeper of 46 years for the Cornish Arms at Sticklepath, Devon, a well-known coaching stop on the main coach road from Exeter into Cornwall. John also owned several properties in the area and for a short time, Haughton for a short period helped run the inn.
In 1833 Haughton and Mary’s first child was born, at St. Leonards, Lawhitton, where Haughton had taken up residence to run the nearby limestone quarries at Wishworthy. In 1835 their second son, Albert was also born at St. Leonards and this was followed by three more sons and three daughters over the years leading up to 1848, with all but the final two being born at Carzantic also in the parish of Lawhitton. In 1837, the quarries clearly ran into financial difficulties, with Haughton being unable to meet the debts. As a result, in April of that year, he was sent to Bodmin Gaol where he served a short period of detention until his release the following month. From Carzantic, the family moved to Calstock, where it is believed Haughton took up a position at one of the many mines in the area, however, by 1851, the family had moved to Plymouth, living at 24, Park Street, Charles the Martyr.
Haughton and the family moved to Clumland Cottage, Bere Ferrers in the late 1850s so that he was closer to his new job as the mine captain of Morwhellham Mine. By the 1871 census, the family were living at Vinegar Hill Cottage, Bere Ferrers with Haughton listed as being an ‘Inventive Engineer.’ According to his son Silas, Haughton would travel the area giving lectures on his engineering feats. Silas recalled in 1930, that Haughton had been one of the first to perfect plans for the building of a ‘watertight vessel.’ Certainly, in 1855 he had correspondence (above) with the Right Honourable A. Robartes, giving his thoughts on how his ideas could help during the Crimean War.
Mary died in 1881 and Haughton on October 1st, 1883, at the ripe old age of 90 and both were interred in one of the non-conformist chapels in the Bere Alston area (unknown which one). Haughton’s x3 great-grandson is this websites administrator.
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