On August 21st 1700, William Stettaford of Sampford Courtenay completed the sale of a number of properties on the southern slopes of Dartmoor to Sir Francis Drake of Buckland Monachorum. Several documents were used in this transaction, some of which still survive in the Devon Record Office.

The sheet of parchment measures 32" x 27"

It seems probable that the mortgage redemption was triggered by yet another death - that of William Oxenham of Oxenham who made the original loan in 1697. Records show that a will in this  name was proved in the Court of the Archdeaconry of Exeter in 1699. Through the sale negotiated with Sir Francis Drake,  William Stettaford was able to repay the sum he owed (plus interest) to the grandson and heir of this William Oxenham who, as sole executor, was winding up his grandfather's estate. His name also was William Oxenham.

(No longer in the ownership of the Oxenham family)

	It establishes the Stentiford families as Yeoman farmers and substantial land owners before the year 1700.
	It lists the family holdings in such detail that even today, they can be accurately identified.
	It links the families of the southern slopes of Dartmoor with those who went across the Moor to the north after the King's Survey of 1609 (See Issue 27). At this time, new leases and fresh opportunities were created in the area around Okehampton.
	It connects our families with one of the great Devon families - the Oxenhams of Oxenham, South Tawton. William Oxenham would not have lent so large a sum to someone he did not know and trust. Perhaps he knew and trusted the family as a whole - there were also Oxenhams in the area around Meavy just as there were Stettafords in both areas.
	It clears up some of the most entrenched problems regarding the various forms of the name by listing a number of family members and drawing attention to the fact that not only could there be variations in spelling their names, they could also be known under an alias.
	It contains a list of people named on the individual leases, adding to available  information about the families in this area of Dartmoor.

But there is more! Tucked away in the Sampford Courtenay Parish Registers is corroborative evidence supplied by a man called Roger Gostwick (also spelt Gostwyke). Like John Stutworthy (or Stoteworthie), he was a pioneer. After Henry VIII drove out the monks and priests of the Roman Catholic Church, the Universities he then established took over the training of a new kind of priest who could be trusted to see that the people of England were well and truly indoctrinated in the Protestant faith and understood their duty to the King.  Gostwick, a Devon man, entered King's College, Cambridge in 1586. On 13 Jul 1609, he was appointed Rector of Sampford Courtenay by the Warden and Fellows of King's who held the living. He continued in that post until 1647, marrying twice and bringing up a large family close to his parishioners in the heart of the village. In his parish registers, beside the names of our family members, he kept a careful note of details such as the connections with Walkhampton, so we find further support for the information on this sheet of parchment.