The Spudplucker Clan

Nestled deep in the Southfarthing lies the tiny hamlet of Myrtle Burrows, no more than a handful of hobbit-holes. It was established around two hundred years ago by Jethrodoc Spudplucker, and named for his beloved wife Myrtle. There the Spudpluckers lived a quiet and happy life, with at least one hobbit of each generation serving as a Shirriff.

Over time however, the size of the family dwindled as there were few children and those that married often moved away. Most of the burrows were closed up until eventually just a single household remained, and they had but one son. Thus on the shoulders of young Barrodoc rested the future of the Spudplucker lineage.

Barrodoc's cousins had married into good Shire families in the East and West Farthings. His parents opened negotiations with the Tooks to make a match for him with their daughter Judicea, and they were to be introduced at the Farmers Faire in Bywater. Fate had other plans however, and young Barro became smitten with Judicea's best friend Hevva Brandybuck!

After a long and tumultuous courtship, Barrodoc and Hevva married and set up home with her family in Buckland where they raised a large family of Spudpluckers. Too large in fact, and Brandy Hall has become very crowded in recent times. To make room for the next generation of Brandybucks, the Spudpluckers decided to clear and refurbish Myrtle Burrows.

The old hobbit-holes had lain empty for two generations and become very overgrown. In the intervening decades the new village of Elderglen has been founded close by, with the high road to the waterfalls passing right by the Spudpluckers' ancestral burrows. This new community looks set to thrive as the clan's new neighbours have already established a fine museum and there is talk of a festival of games later in the year...