Image Ref : DRA 7326.tif

Rev. James H. Reibey, Rector of Denbury, c.1896

The Rev. James Haydock Reibey, shown here with his second wife, was born around 1824 in Tasmania (according to the 1861 and 1881 Censuses). He took his degree at Trinity College, Oxford and, on 11 July 1843, married Charlotte Bridget Clack at Moretonhampstead, the daughter of the Rector there. Early in their marriage, he must have returned to Tasmania with his wife, because both their children were born there (their daughter living for only six hours). He became curate and then Rector of Denbury from 1859 to 1897. Charlotte predeceased her husband, dying at Denbury Rectory on 12 April 1891 at the age of 76. Her death occasioned a lengthy article in the East and South Devon Advertiser, 18 April 1891. She was buried in the family vault: 'It was we believe constructed around 22 years ago for the reception of the body of a son.' According to that article and other records, she was born on 15 March 1815, but two censuses show differing ages; it is clear, however, that she was older than her husband. After Charlotte's death, he shocked his parishioners by later marrying a governess, Annie Selina Morris. She was much younger than him, as is clear from this image. The marriage took place in 1896 in Kensington, but she was widowed by the following year. James Reibey died at the Rectory in 1897 and was buried at Denbury on 14 July at the age of 73. In the 1901 census, his second wife was recorded at Vincent Lodge, Bishopsteignton; that census record shows she was born in Wolverhampton around 1860. She died at Weston Super Mare, still a widow, on 27 March 1914. DRA 0076 DB 064