My great great great to grandfather was John Hurman I do not know where or when he was born. He first appears in the records at Burnham-on-Sea in around 1816. I do know that he married Ann Knight on 13th February 1816 in Saint James, Bristol, England. I believe Ann Knight was the daughter of George Knight and Julia and was born in December 1788 in Burnham-on-Sea. Parish records show that she had two children George and William and who were born before her marriage to John Hurman. It is unclear as to who the father was but I believe him to have been John. These children were apprenticed in 1818 to Charles Puddy. I believe Paddy was a farmer in the area.

John and Ann had several children, they were:

John Hurman born 1816

Joseph Hurman born June 1819

Jane Hurman born July 1821

Mary Hurman born December 1823, she died April 1858

James Hurman born November 1825 he died September 1905 at Weston Super Mare

Abraham Hurman born January 1828

Sarah Hurman born March 1833 died March 1833

Sarah Hurman born July 1833

I have traced to most of the lives of the children with the exceptions of John, Joseph, Jane and Sarah. I am descended from Abraham.

Ann Knight died in 1845 I believe she is buried in the parish Church at Burnham-on-Sea. What happened to the family from there on is difficult to establish. John disappears for a while and returns on the census in 1871 and then in 1880 when he died in Weston-super-Mare.

Family tales would indicate that John was a sailor involved at sea with the Nelson's fleet. I have been unable to research this aspect as yet. It is also reputed that all but one f his brothers perished at sea. Clearly he returned to Burnham-on-Sea for some reason. How and why he met Ann Knight will always be a mystery. However I believe that his family are connected to the Hurman family that were based in Huntspill.  The Huntspill parish registers show a lineage of almost 200 years.

There is also one story that I would like to obtain further details of. It relates to a pub or in within the town of Burnham-on-Sea. For the sake of clarity of I shall relate the story, as I know it.

My late uncle Cyril Hurman worked for the bus company as a driver between Weston-super-Mare and other towns in the area. I believe the company was known as Bristol Blues. Cyril Hurman died in 1950 so already this story is 50 years old. During the years between the war until his death Cyril often drove a bus to Burnham-on-Sea. On many occasions he would to have lunch within the town. He told of an occasion when for a change he took his lunch in a local pub. He had not apparently walked far from the bus terminus within the town of Burnham-on-Sea. Whilst in this pub he noticed a plaque, or scroll upon the wall. What he read was that any Hurman who visited the establishment would be given a lunch and a beer upon satisfying the landlord and of his identity. It appears that this was a covenant of the premises in recognition of a Hurman saving the life of the landlord's daughter. It appeared to have been there for some time. He said he visited the premises on a number of occasions. However no one else in the family has ever done so.

Obviously the incentive of lunch and beer is nice, however I would really like to trace the establishment and uncover the tale. I have visited the local library and one in Taunton without success.