Good Morning
It does seem strange.Hugh would have been their only child before Elizabeth died of TB 10.1.1812.
And the marriage does seem to come after the baptism and neither are in Shebbear itself.
The marriage in Monkleigh is the bride's parish fine.But the Black Torrington baptism 3rd of April 1803 really seems to be the same couple ,it beggers belief if not.
It's not as though the Pettles are very poor.John is renting in 1798 but he is a yeoman on his marriage in 1770 and maybe not the richest in the county but hardly a pauper.
I have seen oldest sons especially removed from their father's Will. Usually the estate has already been settled on them.As one Will put it " our Eldest Son and Daughter have had their share already". If the Son is already settled in an Estate or Profession, there would be no need to support him ,whereas an unmarried daughter ,younger children yet to be trained or married would need more. Usually it's along the lines of money to maintain the children and set them up in an apprenticeship.
Obviously not the case here .
But it does tend to happen more if the Father is more affluent. I've had one eldest son removed from any inheritance because he had run up so many debts, selling the family estate and the newly built Cotton Mill, would still not cover the debts ,so the estate went to the younger son and the Mill was sold to support the First son's wife and children.
I've also seen an eldest son Charles Rix given £5 not to contest the Will and the whole Corkcutter business given to the second son Henry ,the other children getting £1000 each. That was in 1820.What ever poor Charles did ,he died in poverty ,after failing to set up a wine merchants business. The family seem to be quite Machivellian and that was only the start of the problems.
Unfortunately families fall out.Technically it looks like Hugh junior was illegitimate and would have little call to challenge the Will. I can't see another Hugh Brant and son anywhere in the area.It has to be them.
It could be they fell out over Hugh junior's marriage to Jane Squire who couldn't read and write .Perhaps Hugh had been sent off To Bath for a sensible medical reasons and came back with a wife that Hugh Senior just didn't approve of. William Tucker was one of the witnesses ,a relation of John Tucker mentioned in the will perhaps.
The family do look like the right one.
Ciderdrinker
