Edward was the last child born to Christopher and Mary Hunt, he arrived in April 1684 and probably brought up either in Barnstaple or on the small holdings of East Down at the home of his grandparents.
At this time Devon had seen a population drop that led to a major change in the structure of the rural society. One of these changes was the growth in the number
of yeoman farmers or land-owning peasants, another was the move away from arable farming and into pastoral farming, Edward had possibly gained a small piece
of land in Braunton as there was more of a profit to be made farming animals. The landscape began to fill with flocks of sheep and herds of cattle as they required a smaller labour force than arable cultivation had. Edward would have been one of the first to notice the very beginnings of the change to the country's landscape, the blocks of strips of land in the Great Field had begun to be enclosed. Eventually, legal property rights to land that was previously considered common became
subject the 1773 Enclosure Act.
As previouslystated it was probable that Edward had gained a block of this land in Braunton, for we know that he had met and married Ann Hordon of Braunton
in 1700.
At this time Devon had seen a population drop that led to a major change in the structure of the rural society. One of these changes was the growth in the number
of yeoman farmers or land-owning peasants, another was the move away from arable farming and into pastoral farming, Edward had possibly gained a small piece
of land in Braunton as there was more of a profit to be made farming animals. The landscape began to fill with flocks of sheep and herds of cattle as they required a smaller labour force than arable cultivation had. Edward would have been one of the first to notice the very beginnings of the change to the country's landscape, the blocks of strips of land in the Great Field had begun to be enclosed. Eventually, legal property rights to land that was previously considered common became
subject the 1773 Enclosure Act.
As previouslystated it was probable that Edward had gained a block of this land in Braunton, for we know that he had met and married Ann Hordon of Braunton
in 1700.
The Hordons of Braunton were a well established family, probably millers as there is a Mill named after them and there is a Hordon’s Bridge that crosses the Cean Stream. Edward and Ann were married at St Brannocks church on the 29th October 1700. By1718 they had had five children, Elizabeth, Mary, Charles, Ann and
my ancestor Richard, and just like the Hunt children of the previous generation, all but Richard disappear from parish records, as do Edward and Ann.
my ancestor Richard, and just like the Hunt children of the previous generation, all but Richard disappear from parish records, as do Edward and Ann.