A DEVON woman's research into her family tree has led her to Tavistock and she is hoping to track down descendants of her great-great-grandparents.

Sheryle Lewindon has uncovered some fascinating facts during her journey into her family history including the illegitimacy of her grandmother and her descent from Romany Gypsies and she is hoping readers can help her find the missing pieces.

Sheryle's great-great-grandparents were Sarah Gamlin (born 1859) and John Redstone (born 1854), a wagoner, who married in 1880 and settled in Tavistock. They had eleven children, one of whom died, whose names included Thomas, John, Ivy, Frederick, Henry, Lotty, Charles, Lucy and William. In the 1911 census, the couple lived in Gold Street, Tavistock, and had six rooms, which was quite a luxury then.

Thomas Redstone was the first born, in 1882, but died at the age of 32 in world war one.

Sheryle's great-grandmother was Lucy who went on to marry gamekeeper James Lake, also from Tavistock, in 1915, and had five children with him.

Five years before, in 1910, Lucy gave birth to an illegitimate daughter Dorothy who is the grandmother of Sheryle and this is a mystery the researcher would love to find out more about.

'We don't know if it was a love affair or something else happened,' said Sheryle.

'Lucy was a maid in a great big house and in those days an illegitimate child was usually sent away to be brought up by another member of the family or adopted because of the shame attached to it.

'But my great-great-grandmother Sarah looked after Dorothy from birth until the age of nine, after which she went to live with her mother and stepfather, which suggests to me they were very kind people. Dorothy was educated at an elite ladies' boarding school from the age of five to 16 and it is rumoured that her father paid for this.

'We believe it must have something to do with the big house and I would love to find out what happened.'

Sheryle thinks there are about 30 descendants of Sarah and John living in Tavistock and there is some connection with Moores builders in the town.

She has also tracked down the Gamlin name to Romany Gypsies who migrated from Ireland and settled in Somerset.

'I have been researching my family for eight years and it would be great to fill in the gaps,' she added.

'In today's society it is normally the grandmother that holds the extended family together but once they pass away the siblings usually focus on their own families.

'I would like something to hand down to my children and their children to say this is where we came from otherwise history is lost. I am hoping the people of Tavistock can help me in my quest.'

If anyone can shed any light on the history of the Redstone family contact Sheryle on email: [email protected]">[email protected] or phone 07894 394105.

l Scott McKenzie is also trying to trace his family ancestors. His great-great-grandfather John Easterbrook was born in Tavistock in 1860 and his brother William born in 1856. They were both tin miners.

Scott understands that they had to leave Devon because the tin mines were closing down so they moved to Kilmarnock, Scotland to become coal miners. He thinks they may have worked at Wheal Betsy, an old tin mine near Mary Tavy, which closed down in 1877.

If anyone can shed any light they should contact Scott at: [email protected]">[email protected]