Devon Notes and Queries, 119 82. William Brewer. — Can any of your readers help me in discovering the history of a certain William Brewer, described in a private paper I have as of Devon and Somerset, a Warden or Ranger in the King's Forest, which forest I take to mean Exmoor ? He got into trouble by annexing some red deer, and in 1740 fled to Wales. I know what happened to him after 1740, but I cannot find out where he came from, in Devon or Somerset. I believe Exmoor was let in 1740 ? If I knew to whom, very likely William Brewer would be mentioned in their papers and leases. There was a family of Brewer living at Tolland, according to Collinson*s History of Somerset^ who were descended from the Brewers of Chard. I should be glad if any of your readers could tell me of any histories of Exmoor which would help me in my search. Moorman. 83. F1NNIMOR8 AND Filmorb. — ^These two Devonshire names are to be chiefly found in two several localities, the one being the valley of the Exe, and the other north and south of Barnstaple. There are of course, other isolated examples in diflerent parts of the county, Axminster, Dartmouth, etc. The two names are interchangeable and both are found in the county in the sixteenth century. In the Barnstaple and Bide- ford district the spelling Finnimore is almost exclusively found, and it is not improbable that from this district have migrated those Finnimors now settled in County Wicklow. In the Exe district were settled the Finnimores of Halberton, from whom comes the Anglo-Indian family of that name. About Lympstone and Topsham were the Filmores, a still existing family, though they have left the County, and there is good reason to believe that from this family descended the American family, of whom President Fillmore was the most distinguished ornament. The early, that is the pre-reforma- tion, history of the Finnimores and Filmores in Devonshire is really at present unknown, and I would welcome any references to them before the sixteenth century as well as any tending to prove the exact connection of President Fillmore's family with Devonshire. The oldest references I have are of the early thirteenth century when we find that Gilbert de Finemera, who evi- dently derived his name from Finmere in Oxfordshire, was
Page:Devon & Cornwall Notes & Queries.djvu/170
This page needs to be proofread.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4e/Devon_%26_Cornwall_Notes_%26_Queries.djvu/page170-1024px-Devon_%26_Cornwall_Notes_%26_Queries.djvu.jpg)