That is interesting that the Machen family were society folks. Does that mean there was some connection to royalty? I ask because family lore has it that my gg grandmother Jane Smith, (the one who emigrated to the US at age 20) worked as a nanny for "royalty". I am sure many of us descendants of British ancestors think their forebears had some connection to royalty. ;)
..........The Lodge noted at the top of the letter is, I believe Mailscot Lodge, where the Smiths lived.

Hi again Jane,
when I said "society" I wasn't thinking Royalty as such, but more upper/middle class people (aka "posh" or gentry) as appears to be the case with the Machen family - living in rather grand houses with servants etc, all so very different to the vast majority of Forest folk in those times. Of course it's possible Jane Smith did work for genuine "royalty", but just maybe this is family folklore, altho to many locals the privileged few who lived in these large houses would have seemed to be like Royalty in many ways. Maybe she met genuine Royals when they visited her own employer's households ?. I've been looking-up the Machen family and it's perhaps fair to say they were as near as we got to having "royalty" living in the Forest, the family had a huge impact on the lives of many generations of Foresters, initially as Surveyors of the Forest and latterly as major landowners. I'm unable to find a concise history of their lives online, but these links should help.
http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/glos/vol5/pp101-117
https://penarthramblers.wordpress.com/walk-reports/march-2015/joy-leads-the-group-aroun...

Thanks for reminding me of your Mailscott Lodge background and your prior threads. I did wonder if this thread was from the same poster aka your good self (sorry for my poor memory wrt names !), when I saw this Census return last night, but now I realise it's the wrong Lodge. The Reddings Lodge and woodland are mentioned a lot in the above British History links ref the Bicknor area and the Machens. It's the neighbouring page to the 1871 Census to Edward Machen at Bicknor Rectory as posted above. The Census pages suggests an idyllic neighbourhood to this town dweller !

1871 Census, Reddings Lodge, Staunton, Glos.
Given Name Surname Relationship Age Estimated Birth Year Gender Birth City Birth County Birth Country
Joseph Brown Head 35 Woodman 1836 Male Ganarew Herefordshire England
Ann Brown Wife 28 1843 Female Whitchurch Herefordshire England
Emily Brown Daughter 5 Sch 1866 Female Staunton Gloucestershire England
Sidney Brown Son 3 1868 Sch Male Staunton Gloucestershire England
Alexander Brown Son 2 1869 Male Staunton Gloucestershire England
Frank Brown Son 5 Months 1870 Male Staunton Gloucestershire England
Augusta Morgan Servant, Genr'l Domestic 14 1857 Female West Dean Gloucestershire England

References to Reddings Lodge, and the Machen family, can be found in this history of Staunton.
http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/glos/vol5/pp272-284

If the letter could have been written in the first half of the 1880s this might just be a possibility. This is the only TEMPLE I can see who became associated with the immediate area.

BNA Taunton Courier, and Western Advertiser - Wednesday 25 November 1857

MARRIAGES. Nov. 17, Axminster, Devon, by the Rev. Francis Tate, M.A., vicar, the Rev. John Temple, eldest son of Rev. W. S. Temple, rector of Dinsdale, Durham, to Elvira Mary, youngest daughter of the late Charles Bond, Esq., of Axminster-

GR 1861 Census, Welsh Bicknor

John TEMPLE, Head, Mar, 32, Curate of Welsh Bicknor, b. Durham
Elvira M, Wife, Mar, 27, Devon, Axminster
Mary H.S, Daur, 8m?, Devon, Axminster
Charlot BOND, Mother in law, W, 68, Landed Proprietor, Devon, Axminster
Sarah J BOND, Sister in law, Un, 35?, Landed Proprietor, Devon, Axminster
Sophia C BOND, Niece, 7, Devon, Axminster
+ 2 servants

The report of the death of Rev John TEMPLE in the BNA Bridport News - Friday 08 December 1893 gives these details of his life,

DEATH OF THE REV J. TEMPLE
Born 28th May 1828. Son of the Rev William Smoult Temple of Over Dinsdale near York.
Educated at Marlborough and University College Durham
Ordained Deacon in 1851
Ordained Priest in 1853
Curate at Kinington? Devon ? -c1857
Curate in charge of Welsh Bicknor 1857 to 1866.
Curate in charge of Wambrook, Somerset, 1866 to 1882.
Vicar of Bothenhampton, Devon, 1882 to his death in 1893
Wife Elvira died 8th Dec 1885

These are his other Census details,

GR 1871 Census, Wambrook, Somerset, Rectory,

John TEMPLE, Head, Mar, 42, Curate of Wambrook B.A., b. Durham, Durham
Elvira M, Wife, Mar, 37, Devon, Axminster
Mary H.S, Daur, 10, Devon, Axminster
Arthur W, Son, 7, Devon, Axminster
John G, Son, 5, Devon, Axminster
Eleanor S, Daur, 1, Dorset, Wambrook
+ 3 servants

GR 1881 Census, Wambrook, Somerset.

John TEMPLE, Head, Mar, 52, Curate of Wambrook, b. Durham, Durham
Elvira M, Wife, Mar, 47, Devon, Axminster
Mary H, Daur, Unmar, 20, Devon, Axminster
John G, Son, Unmar, 15, Devon, Axminster
Eleanor S, Daur, 11, Dorset, Wambrook
Edward B, Son, 9, Dorset, Wambrook
Gwladys M, Daur, 3, Dorset, Wambrook
Anthony, Son, 1, Dorset, Wambrook
+ 3 servants.

GR 1891 Census, Bothenhampton, The Vicarage

John TEMPLE, Head, Wid, 62, Vicar of Bothenhampton, Durham, Durham
Arthur Walter, Son, 27, Solicitor, Devon, Axminster
Eleanor S, Daur, 21, Dorset, Wambrook
Gwladys M.W, 13, Dorset, Wambrook
Anthony, Son, 11, Dorset, Wambrook
+2 servants

Elvira TEMPLE certainly had a son, Anthony (1880), but if they really were the people in the letter there would be only a short time window for the visit to happen. The implication is that Mary Smith had seen Anthony before so the visit would have had to be more towards 1885 when Elvira died.

I can find no evidence that an Elvira TEMPLE visited America around this time but Anthony seems to have gone to Kelowna BC in 1910 (Ancestry). He was a solicitor like his brother Arthur. Eleanor S. also went to Kelowna to visit her sister-in-law, Mrs A. TEMPLE in 1920 (also Ancestry). She gives her birthplace as Wambrook, Dorset (It's close to the Devon and Dorset borders). All the indications are that this family were very comfortably off.

Hi again Janet,
well, not sure why I'm posting, got me well stumped this time !

I've just spent a while trying to find the death of your Mrs Linnett of Huntsham, thinking it would be easy, yet...
Huntsham is just in Devon, on the border with Somerset, not far from Tiverton which is the nearest town of any size.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huntsham

Well, judging by Ancestry it seems the LINNETT/Linnet name is more associated with the north or middle of England, not the southwest. There are a few Linnett families in the Yeovil area c1870s/1880s, about 30 miles due east so not really Huntsham but is the right county !..., but their ladies seem to live well into the 1900s, or move away from Devon altogether.

??? Sorry !

Re Polly, this is usually considered a nickname for Molly, which is itself a nickname for Mary; do these names fit your family ?.

see https://familysearch.org/wiki/en/Traditional_Nicknames_in_Old_Documents_-_A_Wiki_List#P

Hello!
I’m coming to you again for help. To be honest – I am so confused that it’s difficult to phrase my question.

I am seeking to confirm the grandfather of Richard Smith (1800-1864) of Hillersland (baptized in Dixton). I believe his father and mother were Edward and Elizabeth (Gwilliam) Smith (from the memorial inscription listing Richard’s mother, Elizabeth, died in 1864 at age 93 (which would have made her birth year about 1771), and the parish records for baptism and marriage (there is no death record for Edward that I can find). So I am fairly confident that Edward and Elizabeth are Richard’s parents. The family were listed in the English Bicknor and Christchurch parishes.

When I tried to search for Richard’s grandfather, things get confusing. There is an Edward Smith who died in 1775, the same year his son, Edward was born – and the time frame fits for Richard’s birth in 1800. This is a possibility but not sure as the parish was listed as Staunton near Newent. The mother was Anne Williams (they married 1763 in Staunton). They also had a son born 1774, named Richard.

Could the Staunton Edward could be the grandfather of Richard?

Also, Richard and his father Edward were both lodge keepers. So another part of my question is how did one become a keeper? It almost looks as if the position was passed on from father to son, but I cannot find where Edward’s father was a keeper. And if the elder Edward did come from the Staunton area, is that too far to think the he might be Richard’s grandfather? Also, how would his son Edward ended up as a keeper?

Thank you for your help,
Janet