Our Bailey Heritage
Part 2
1 A BRIEF HISTORY OF ENGLAND
Many interesting books have been written on the history of England.
Despite the chapter title above, this work does not intend to recount that
history here, but only to give the briefest overview of the movements and
makeup of her people. This may, in part, help us to understand our earliest
known origins. What we think of as the "English" people is really a mixture
of many races.
There were people on "English" soil several thousand years ago when it
became separated from continental Europe. Little is known of these
earliest inhabitants but they occupied these islands before recorded history.
Beginning in about 900 BC a wave of Celtic peoples, who had been moving
westward, across Europe, began settling in the British Isles. Another wave
of Celtic tribes followed in 750 BC and still more followed them in about 500
BC. The Celtic tribes were not united. They fought with other Celts as
readily as they did with the prior occupants. Many of these new inhabitants
settled along the southern coast and on the Salisbury plains of south central
England. From there they spread throughout the islands.
Much of the British Isles was covered by thick forests. Making roads into
the interior was very difficult so most settlements were along the coasts and
rivers.
In 55 BC Julius Caesar invaded England but was repulsed by the Celts.
Though he tried again the next year he was not successful. Thereafter, he
returned to Rome to become the Emperor. It was a century later before the
Romans returned to begin a conquest of the islands under the Emperor,
Claudius. Landing in Kent, at the southeast corner of the island, they
spread their control until they eventually occupied most of what we now call
England. The Celtic tribes were pushed to the north (Scotland), to the west
(Wales) and to the southwest peninsula (Cornwall and Devon). This last
group of Celts were called Britons by the Romans and hence the name of
Great Britain. As the Romans continued to pressure these ancient tribes a
large migration of Britons left the island and sailed across the channel to the
south, where they made a new home in what is now northwestern France.
Even today, this area is known as Brittany.
1
Although they were invaders, the Romans did much to help this island
kingdom. They built the city of Londonium on the Thames River where
today, the remains of the old Roman wall can still be seen near the present
Tower of London. The Romans built villas and towns complete with
mineral baths, temples and amphitheaters. They brought a new form of
civilization to the ancient agrarian Celtic way of life.
They also built a system of roads that criss-crossed England in order to
move their troops as needed. The future Emperor, Hadrian, also built a
wall across northern England in the year 123 AD to keep the invading Scots
out of the Roman domain.
In the fourth century, Rome also brought Christianity to Britain. By then it
was the religion of the Roman Empire. This too was spread throughout the
British Kingdom wherever Rome dominated.
However, shortly thereafter the Roman Empire began to crumble. In the
year 410 the Emperor Honorius told the Britons that in the future they would
have to defend themselves. The Roman legions then began to be
withdrawn and the Empire itself began to decline.
During the Roman occupation histories were kept and much is still known of
this period. After their withdrawal Britain again fell into a dark-age period
where little was recorded of its history or daily life. The Scots and the
Welch began raiding the interior, of what is now called England, to claims
lands left behind by the Romans. To defend themselves from these
armies, the local inhabitants called upon the Germanic tribes along the
North Sea coast to come and help fight off the aggressive Celtic tribes.
The Saxons, Jutes and Angles were only too happy to come but soon
turned on their hosts and conquered the same area they were supposed to
defend. This was not a one-time invasion but a series of immigrating
waves which continued until they achieved total domination. This occurred
between the years 455-600.
The Saxons were from the area of north central Germany between the Elbe
and Weser Rivers. Their friends and allies, the Angles (who lived along the
North Sea coast) and the Jutes (who lived on what is now the Danish
peninsula) saw their opportunity to acquire land and extend their domains
too. The Saxons attacked primarily along the southern coast of England
and occupied the lands generally south of the Thames River. The Jutes
settled mostly in Kent, on the Southeast corner of England and on the Isle of
Wight. The Angles landed on the eastern coast and moved inland
conquering the lands north of the Thames in what is now central England.
It is from the Angles that the word "England" is derived.
2
3
4
It was during this period of Anglo-Saxon incursions, that King Arthur is
supposed to have lived. He claimed to be a descendant of both Roman
and Celtic parentage and led his army against the invasion of these
Germanic tribes.
The Saxons were pagans and with their victory Christianity was lost for a
time. In 597, Pope Gregory again sent missionaries to return the Britons to
Christianity. They landed in Kent where they converted the local King.
He gave them an old building at Canterbury that was left from the Roman
Christian era. Canterbury then became the seat of Christianity in modern
England.
The next major addition to the "English" make-up began in 865 with the
invasion of the Danish Vikings all along the eastern coast. These new
invaders had great success and conquered much of the territory occupied
by the Angles. However, in the year 870 they tried to push into the Saxon's
lands and met the army of Alfred the Great, King of the West Saxons. Here
they met their first real defeat and had to retreat to their newly founded
kingdom along the eastern coast of England. The area occupied by the
Danes became known as the "Danelaw".
While Alfred the Great never occupied all of England, and wars continued
between the Anglo-Saxons and the Danes throughout his life, still, Alfred is
considered to be the first real "King of England". Prior to his time the Island
was just a collection of smaller kingdoms. Under his leadership, most of
the non-Danish kingdoms formed a united coalition of "English" against the
threat of the Vikings.
Viking raids continued for many years all around the British Isles but
especially, for England, along the eastern coast. Most of these were
Danish with some Norwegian Vikings from time to time. In 1016 a Dane by
the name of Canute invaded England. His timing was perfect as the prior
King, Ethelred, had just died. Canute overcame the English opposition
and became King of England. He was a strong and capable ruler but after
his death in 1035 the Kingdom was left with weak leaders and disputes
about the rightful heir. This went on for 31 years until the argument
involved William, Duke of Normandy.
5
The Normans were Viking descendants who, years before, during the
Viking raids on Europe, had invaded the northern coast of France. In an
attempt to appease these terrible Norsemen, the King of France granted
them the coastal lands and the title of Duke in exchange for supporting the
French King as his vassal subject. Still, there was an uneasy relationship
between King and Duke. Although the Normans adopted the French
language, or at least a corrupted form of it, they were still a rebellious and
independent thorn in the side of the French.
In 1066, claiming to have been selected as heir to the dying English King
but rebuffed by a rival claimant, William, Duke of Normandy, amassed a
large army and prepared to attack England. The English knew he was
coming but waited all summer for an attack that was delayed. Eventually,
fighting broke out in the north of England with unhappy dissenters. The
King had to respond and rushed his army to the troubled spot. Here he
quickly ended the trouble but with some loss to his own army and to his
people.
It was at that time that William made his invasion. He landed on the
southern coast and waited for the English army to return. After making a
forced march back to the southern coast the army was tired as they went
into battle at Hastings. The battle was well fought on both sides but in the
end Harold, King of England, lay dead on the battle field and William, Duke
of Normandy, was the "Conqueror".
William fought with an army of about 7000 and after his victory he had even
more friends from the continent come over to help him establish his
domination of his new Kingdom. Norman rule was feudal in nature and
much different than that known in England before. In a relatively short
time, William was able to take his army across England subjugating all of
its people to his rule. As he did so, he created Earls to oversee great
portions of the land with their own armies. Each Earl reigned over his
lands as he chose, as long as he kept the peace, paid his taxes and
supported William with armies when called upon to do so.
Prior conquerors generally treated their subjects like they would their own
people and in a short span of time often became part of the English society
themselves. The Normans however, did not mix with the English (or
Saxons as they were often still called). They considered themselves far
superior and treated the English very roughly. The Normans built strong
castles to defend themselves from their new subjects. They spoke
Norman-French and created an elite class distinction to set themselves
apart from the lowly Saxons.
The Norman invasion of 1066 was the last great successful conquest of
England by a foreign power. Although it took many years, eventually these
Norman rulers and their allies also became "English". The English people
of today then, are primarily a mixture of Celts, Romans, Anglo-Saxons,
Danes, Vikings and Normans along with the descendants of those who
occupied the islands even before the Celts.
7
The people we will discuss in this book lived primarily along the southern
coast of England in the Counties of Sussex and Hampshire. Hampshire is
part of what was once the ancient Kingdom of Wessex (West Saxons) while
Sussex derives its name from the South Saxons. This area, along with
Kent, the County to the East, was often the location where invading armies
were met in battle and a lot of blood has soaked into these lands.
About ten miles inland from the southern coast of England, a line runs from
Hampshire County, eastward into mid-Sussex County. This line is marked
by a sudden drop in elevation from a plateau down to the coastal plains, or
the "South Downs" as they are known. The towns that our ancestors
inhabited lie along the coast on the South Downs. Most of these towns in
Sussex are small fishing villages but in Hampshire there are great harbor
towns such as Southampton and Portsmouth.
8
In west Sussex, on the Arun River, not far from the villages of our ancestors,
lies the Castle of Arundel. It was commissioned shortly after the invasion
of William the Conqueror and built by Roger Montgomery, Earl of
Shrewsbury. Later, it became the home of the Duke of Norfolk, Earl
Marshall of England. It has been enlarged through the years to its current
size. This Castle, and its occupants, would have overlooked much of the
area where our ancestors lived. No doubt, the humble peasants in the
surrounding towns dreaded the appearance of the overlords of the castle.
These powerful barons levied heavy taxes on the people, took their sons to
be soldiers, at times could be cruel to the peasantry and gave them nothing
in return. The best the commoners could hope for was long periods of time
without seeing their overlords.
In the County of Sussex we find the Saxon names of Duffeld (or Duffield)
and Staker; but we also find the French name of Boniface. These and
others have mixed together within our ancestry and have been passed
down to make us what we are today.
In the middle ages records were not kept of the common people. Even the
ancestry of the great nobles was poorly maintained. What records were
kept were in an effort to trace one's lineage back to a King in an attempt to
merit a better marriage, lands and titles. With such a selfish motive, the
accuracy of even those records is questionable.
It was not until the reign of King Henry VIII that the Church of England
began keeping records of the christenings, marriages and burials of its
parishioners. These records were not for ecclesiastical purposes but
rather so King Henry could raise taxes. Not trusting his political Barons to
turn over the monies to which he felt he was entitled, he asked the Church
to keep records of all christenings, burials and marriages so he could keep a
census and levy the proper tax within each County.
Parish records began in the mid-1500's in most areas. Without linking up
to royalty, we are not likely to push our family research back earlier than
this. Some parishes were slow to start, others lost some, or all, of their
early records and most are difficult to read as the writing style of the time
was much different than we are used to today. It was at this point in time
that our language was changing from late Middle-English to early
Modern-English. Many of the old records have been damaged by water or
smoke through the years and are now quite difficult to read. However, two
examples of early parish records will be shown here to give the reader an
idea of what these records look like today. Although they may appear
unclear at first, these are actually fairly clear.
10
12
2 DUFFIELD
[Pedigree charts #11, 14 & 15]
Felpham is a small village on the Sussex coast about eight miles southeast
of Chichester. Today, this small hamlet lies enclosed within the larger
town of Middleton-on-Sea. It was in Felpham where our earliest known
Duffield ancestors lived. At that time this name was still spelled in the
germanic fashion as Duffeld. The name may have been derived from the
"forest floor".
John Duffeld was born about 1550. We're not sure where but probably
in Felpham before the parish record began. The first knowledge we have
of him was on 8 June 1572 when he married Jone (Joan) Gawine in the
Felpham parish [GS: 919,107]. Jone also seems to have been from
Felpham but we don't know the names of either of their parents. There
were a number of Gawne (Gawine) family members in the parish, so much
so that without a definite statement of relationship, we are unable to
determine to which family she belonged.
Some of the very earliest records of the Felpham parish include a burial for:
John Duffeld 30 May 1588
Katherina Duffeld 25 Dec 1589
We don't know who these people were for sure but since there seems to be
only one Duffeld (Duffield) family in Felpham after those dates (our John
and Joan Duffeld) it seems very likely that these were the parents of our
John. No relationship was stated in the record but if they were our
ancestors, it seems likely that they were both born about 1520-30 in
Felpham.
John and Jone spent their whole lives in Felpham. John was buried there on
5 Oct. 1593 and Jone (Joan) on 6 Mar. 1606. They had six children
christened in the Felpham parish:
13
John Duffeld 21 Dec 1572
* Roberte Duffeld 29 Jan 1575
Joane Duffeld 25 Oct 1578
Thomas Duffeld 4 Sep 1580
William Duffeld 4 Sep 1580
Dorothe Duffeld 26 Sep 1585
The twins, Thomas and William, were both buried in Felpham on the day
after their birth. The two oldest sons, although they each married away
from Felpham, returned here to raise their own families.
The town of Walberton is about five miles north of Felpham. Here lived the
family of John Peter and Joan Sebage. The fifth of their ten children was a
daughter named Joan Peter. She was christened on 13 Apr 1575 in
Walberton [GS: 992,178].
By 1599 Roberte Duffeld had arrived in Walberton where he met the
Peter family and he and Joan Peter were married there on 9 July 1599.
After their marriage, this couple returned to Felpham to make their home.
We know of only three children for this couple and all three were christened
in the Felpham parish:
* Robert Duffield Jr. 24 Aug 1600
Thomas Duffeld 23 Jan 1602
John Duffeilde 28 Sep 1606
The mother, Joan (Peter) Duffeld (Duffeild) was buried in Felpham on 28
Dec. 1608. This was just about two years after the birth of her youngest
child and seems to indicate the likelihood that she died in childbirth with her
fourth child. No baptism nor burial record was made for the infant
however.
We have neither a marriage nor a death record for Thomas but both Robert
and John grew to manhood and married in Felpham parish. John married
Rebecca Baldwin on 24 Apr 1628.
Robert Jr., our ancestor, married Marye Gawne (Gawine--perhaps a
cousin) in Felpham on 15 June 1628. Young Robert Duffield and his wife,
Marye Gawne, had only three children that we have found. Their
christenings were also recorded in the Felpham parish records:
14
* William Duffield 13 July 1630
John Duffill 22 Jan. 1631/2
Edward Duffield 25 Nov. 1635
No burial record has been found for either parent. It is possible they
moved to another parish. Robert probably had at least one or two
subsequent marriages. The Felpham parish records the following burials
that were probably part of Robert's family but again, we can't be certain:
Margaret Duffield, the wife of Robert 23 Mar. 1643/4
Edward Duffield, the son of Robert & Margaret 26 Apr 1644
Elizabeth Duffield, dau. of Robert & Alice 9 Oct 1646
William Duffield (son of Robert and Marye Duffeld--1630) did not
remain in Felpham. We're not sure where he met and married his wife.
Her name was Frances __________. They moved to Binsted where they
had two children christened. Binsted is about five miles northeast of
Felpham and about half a mile east of Walberton. The following children
were christened in Binsted parish [GS: 918,481]:
Mary Duffeild 15 June 1657
* John Duffield 15 Dec 1659
The parish register says that Mary was born on 17 May 1657 but lived only
two months and was buried there on 26 July, 1657. Frances, the mother of
these children, died young, perhaps in child birth sometime between
1659-1664. William then married a second time to Alce (Alice)
___________. They had one son christened in Binsted parish:
Thomas Duffeild 12 Oct 1664
John Duffield (born 1659) married a girl by the name of Anne
___________ sometime before 1679. We do not know her maiden name
nor where they were married. They moved to Oving, a town about six
miles northwest of Felpham and about two miles due east of Chichester.
The Oving parish lists the christening of their two children [GS: 918,463]:
Richard Duffield 13 July 1679
* Elizabeth Duffield 15 Aug 1682
The oldest boy, Richard, lived only about ten days and was buried there on
25 July 1679. Little Elizabeth was probably born about January 1682.
Her mother, Anne, died as a result of the birth and was buried in Oving on
15
15 Jan. 1682. With the grief in the household and perhaps with disease as
well, John didn't take Elizabeth to the church to be christened until she was
about eight months old, which was not an uncommon occurrence at that
time.
John needed some help in raising his tiny daughter. He soon found that
help when he married Ann Pink in Oving on 2 June 1683. At that time, little
Elizabeth was about one and a half years old. They were married 36 years
but had no known children. Sometime after 1700, they moved into the city
of Chichester where Ann Pink Duffield died in 1719. Her husband brought
her back to Oving for burial on 7 July 1719. He however, continued to
reside in Chichester for two and a half more years. He too was brought
back to Oving for burial next to his two wives on 8 Jan. 1722.
Elizabeth Duffield was born and raised in Oving and it was there that
she married Henry Staker on 29 Oct. 1700 when she was 18 years old.
This couple had ten children. The first six were born while they still lived in
Oving. Sometime between 1712-16 they moved to Binsted where their last
four children were born. Their youngest child was born there in 1721, just
shortly before the death of Elizabeth's father back in Chichester. More will
be given on this family in the Staker genealogy in Chapter 3.
16
3 STAKER
[Pedigree charts #5, 10 & 13]
The Staker family is featured in the historical time line shown in Appendix A,
at the end of this book. This family resided primarily in the village of
Yapton. This small hamlet lies about two miles south of Binsted and about
three miles inland from the sea. It is primarily an agricultural area.
Richard Staker was our earliest known ancestor in this family. He was
probably born about 1530-40. We don't know where he was born but it
was probably at, or near, Yapton. We don't know who or when he married.
The parish record began in the mid-1500's but the pages of this book are
very worn, water stained, torn and generally difficult to read. One of the
first "easy-to-read" pages is for the "Baptizings" of 1562-64 and was given
above on page 11 of this book. The baptism of our ancestor, Edward Staker,
is the last entry in 1563. Notice too that the years ran from April 1 to March
31 and not as they do now, from Jan. - Dec. Although we are generally not
accustom to that writing style, the penmanship in this record is much clearer
than most old parish registers and so is shown here as a good example.
The entry is marked by an arrow and says: "Edward the sone of Richard
Staker was baptized the 2nd day of March."
The earliest entries for our family were for the christenings of Richard's
children. (His wife's name was not given, as was often the case in early
records.) [GS: 919,118]:
girl Staker about 1559 Yapton
Anne Staker 1 Nov 1560 Yapton
Johanne Staker 13 Mar 1561/62 Yapton
* Edward Staker 2 Mar 1563/64 Yapton
Adam Staker 16 Apr 1567 Yapton
Thomas Staker 19 Jul 1569 Yapton
17
The burial records of Yapton contain the following early entries for Stakers:
Thomas Staker 22 July 1569
Johana dau. of Richard Staker June 1573
Rich'd Staker 22 June 1599
Mary Staker 1614
It's obvious who the Richard and Johana listed above are and we're
confident that Thomas was the infant son of Richard, but we don't know of
any Mary Staker. She could have been Richard's wife but that is pure
speculation without the necessary support to prove it.
Edward Staker remained in Yapton most of his life. He was married in
Westbourne parish on 21 July 1587 to Anne Mylle. Together, they had
either four or five children christened:
* Henry Staker 14 July 1588 Yapton
son Staker 14 Mar 1589 Yapton
Thomas Staker 1589 Walberton
Margaret Staker 20 Mar 1591 Yapton
Richard Staker 12 Sep 1596 Yapton
It's not clear whether child #2 and #3 are the same child or perhaps twin
brothers. One (name not known) was christened in Yapton on 14 Mar
1589; while Thomas Staker was christened at about the same time (date
not specific) in the neighboring parish of Walberton. The town of
Walberton was about two miles from Yapton but they were adjoining
parishes.
The Mother of this family, Anne Mylle, passed away shortly after the birth of
the last child shown above, sometime between 1596-1603. She may have
died in child birth or it may have been due to some terrible illness.
In 1603 England was again devastated by the "Black Death" or Bubonic
Plague. This was a horrible sickness that was usually fatal. The Plague
was carried by rats and transmitted to people by flea bites. An infected
person would begin to hemorrhage internally causing their bodies to
develop large "black spots" much like internal bruises. Their lymph nodes
would also swell with the poison from the disease. It was a painful way to
die and was the cause of much fear and anxiety in England at that time.
18
We don't know the cause of her death but, our Grandmother, Anne Mylle,
died sometime prior to 1603. Edward then married his second wife, Alice
Marwicke, on 19 May 1604 in Yapton,. Their three children were
christened in the Yapton parish:
Edward Staker 1604 Yapton
Sarah Staker 1609 Yapton
Grace Staker 26 Apr 1612 Yapton
Henry Staker (born 1588 to Edward Staker and Anne Mylle) was married
to Ann Patching on 22 July 1616 in West Chiltington, Sussex County.
They made their home in Walberton where the christenings of three children
were recorded [GS: 992,178]:
* Edward Staker 14 Dec 1617 Walberton
Ann Staker 16 Sep 1622 Walberton
Margarett Staker 27 Mar 1628 Walberton
We know of no other children for this family but the dates are such that there
could easily have been other children.
Edward Staker spent most of his life in Walberton, probably as a farmer.
However, as young men often think the "other pasture is always greener",
Edward left Walberton and went back to the home of his ancestors in
Yapton to find a wife. He was married there on 14 Jan. 1639 to Susanna
"Susan" Ameares. We can't find any information about Susanna's parents
nor her birth. After their wedding, they returned to Walberton where they
had five children christened:
* Henry Staker 14 Jan 1640 Walberton
Edward Staker 28 Jan 1642 Walberton
Susanna Staker 7 Sep 1645 Walberton
William Staker 17 Jun 1648 Walberton
Thomas Staker 28 May 1650 Walberton
19
Henry Staker seems to have spent almost all of his life in Walberton. He
lived to be 72 years old and died in the neighboring village of Binsted about
half a mile from his birth place. Henry was 28 years old when he married
Joane Nash on 21 Feb 1668 in Walberton. All nine of their children were
christened there:
Edward Staker 12 Dec 1669 Walberton
Mary Staker 21 Mar 1670/1 Walberton
Anne Staker 13 Sep 1672 Walberton
Susan Staker 16 Jan 1673/4 Walberton
* Henry Staker 1 Apr 1675 Walberton
Richard Staker 23 Aug 1676 Walberton
William Staker 14 Apr 1678 Walberton
Thomas Staker 12 Feb 1681 Walberton
John Staker 21 Jan 1683 Walberton
Many of this family seem to have moved westward to villages nearer
Chichester. We find that three of these children were married in
Aldingbourne and one in Oving. The oldest son, however, was married in
Tortington, which is just east of Binsted and Walberton. The parents,
Henry and Joane (Nash) Staker, eventually settled in Binsted.
In those days there were a lot of diseases and plagues in England that took
a heavy toll in the days of primitive medicine. There must have been such
an epidemic in the summer of 1712 as we find that Henry and his wife,
Joane, were both buried on the same day, 21 Aug. 1712 in the Binsted
parish.
Young Henry Staker (born 1675) grew up in Walberton but by the time he
was 25 years old he was in Oving. There he met and married Elizabeth
Duffield on 29 Oct. 1700 (Elizabeth's ancestry was discussed in Chapter 2).
Henry and Elizabeth had ten children. Their first six were born in Oving
between 1703 and 1712. In that year Henry's parents both died in Binsted.
Henry may have inherited some land there as he moved his family to
Binsted sometime between 1712 and 1715. The christening records for
their last four children were found in the Binsted parish between the years
1716-1723 [GS: 918,463 & 918,481]:
20
Name Christening Parish
John Staker 1 Apr 1703 Oving
Anne Staker 15 May 1705 Oving
Joan Staker 4 Sep 1707 Oving
Elizabeth Staker 23 Aug 1709 Oving
* Jane Staker 25 Jan 1710/1 Oving
Susannah Staker 15 Dec 1712 Oving
Anne Staker 3 Apr 1716 Binsted
Edward Staker 4 May 1718 Binsted
Susanna Staker 4 May 1721 Binsted
Grace Staker 14 Feb 1722/3 Binsted
The Oving records also contain the burial of "Ann", the daughter of Henry
and Elizabeth Staker on 22 July 1711. Their second child listed above
would have been six years old at the time of her death. The fact that they
named two daughters Susanna or Susannah would indicate that the older
of these two girls also died young, sometime before 1721. At the most, she
would have been about eight years old when she died. We have not found
a record of the burial for the older Susannah. It may have been the deaths
of these two young daughters that help Henry and Elizabeth decide to move
away from their sad home in Oving and start a new life in Binsted.
Henry Staker was buried on 2 Dec. 1726 in Binsted. At that time he was
only 51 years old and his youngest daughter, Grace was almost five. A
year and a half later, his widow, Elizabeth Duffield Staker, married for the
second time on 18 July 1728 in Binsted. Her new husband was Richard
Groome of Arundel. She was 46 at the time of her second marriage and
we are currently unaware of any children by this marriage.
Jane Staker (born 1711) would have been less than five years old when
her family moved to Binsted. She was married there on 19 Oct. 1731 to
Edward Boniface. They had seven children christened in Binsted but it
appears that two of these died young. (More will be given on this family in
Chapter 4 in connection with the Boniface family.)
21
4 BONIFACE
[Pedigree charts #5, 9 & 12]
The name: Boniface, is of French origin. It is not common in England and
most of the people of that name lived in Sussex County near the southern
England shore. The earliest record found for any Boniface in that general
area is of the marriage of a John Boniface and Ann Martyn in the parish of
Bolney in 1544. This is a very early date as most parishes didn't begin
keeping records until after 1550 and many not until 1600.
Bolney is a small parish just about in the middle of Sussex County. It is
about twenty five miles east of Chichester and about ten miles north of
Brighton. We can't trace our ancestry back to this couple. In fact, we
can't even find the christening records for any of their children. They may
have moved to a neighboring parish that had not yet started keeping
records. Most Boniface families lived very close to this area though, and
were probably closely related.
The next record found for someone of the same name, was about a
generation later when a John Boniface had his two children christened in
Ditchling. Ditchling is a small parish about five miles southeast of Bolney.
Their mother's name was not mentioned but the following christenings were
recorded:
Joan Boniface 4 Oct 1576 Ditchling
* John Boniface 25 Mar 1579/80 Ditchling
This young John Boniface (1580), we believe, was our direct ancestor. We
know our, John Boniface, was born at about that time. However, we
cannot prove that these are the same man.
Our earliest known Boniface ancestors, was John Boniface of Albourne,
Sussex County. Albourne parish is about three miles south of Bolney and
about four miles west of Ditchling (see the parish map at the beginning of
this book). This was certainly close enough, geographically, to be
confident that this was all part of the same family.
22
Albourne is also about 25-30 miles east of Walberton. That distance is
great enough that we would normally not be able to connect such a family to
our Boniface ancestors in Walberton. However, there are several
indications that this was, indeed, the same family.
John Boniface of Albourne was born about 1579/80. We don't know his
wife's name for sure. In Albourne parish he had four children christened
[GS: 919,107]:
William Boniface 6 Sep 1607 Father: John
Mary Boniface 26 Nov 1611 “ John
Thomas Boniface 15 Dec 1615 “ John
* Edward Boniface 27 May 1618 “ Jo
This family appears to have moved from Albourne to Walberton sometime
between 1618 and 1630. No other Boniface's appear in the Walberton
parish before 1630. We know that a William Boniface married "Alce
Eagles" on 29 May 1632 in Walberton and raised his family near there, in
Aldingbourne.
A Thomas Boniface married Margaret ________ and had two children
buried in Walberton as infants in 1640 and 1641 and another child
christened there in 1642.
Our ancestor was Edward Boniface of Walberton. We believe he was
probably the same as that shown above as a son of John Boniface of
Albourne and that the William and Thomas, listed in the Walberton parish,
were his brothers.
As further support, the Walberton parish record lists the following burial
record [GS: 992,178]:
7 Dec 1639 John Boniface
We can't prove that this was the father of our Edward Boniface but both the
time and place seem to indicate that it is a likely prospect. John Boniface's
wife was named Mary. In the neighboring parish of Eastergate, we find the
following burial record believed to be that of the wife of John, and the
mother of our Edward Boniface [GS: 992,172]:
23 Oct. 1637 Mary, the wife of John Boniface of Walberton
23
Edward Boniface of Walberton, as discussed above, is believed to be the
son of John and Mary Boniface and was christened in Albourne on 27 May
1618. His wife's name was not recorded. We know of only two children
for this family, both christened in the Walberton parish [GS: 992,178]:
Henry Boniface 21 Aug 1647 Walberton
* John Boniface 17 Sep 1649 Walberton
The oldest son, Henry, died at birth and was buried on 24 Aug. 1647. The
fact that the second son was named John, also hints at the possible
relationship with the Boniface family in Albourne. It must however, be
admitted that "John" is a fairly common name and does not prove the
relationship.
John Boniface (born 1649) grew up in Walberton. We don't know where
or when he married Elizabeth ___________ but it was probably about
1670-72. Their first child is believed to have been born in Aldingbourne.
This was also the town where his uncle, William Boniface, moved and
raised his family. Aldingbourne is a little village and parish about three
miles west of Walberton. Later the family moved to Eastergate (the parish
between Aldingbourne and Walberton) where their next two children were
christened [GS: 918,246 & 992,172]:
Anna Boniface 15 July 1673 Aldingbourne
* John Boniface Jr. 8 Apr. 1675 Eastergate
Elizabeth Boniface 18 Apr. 1681 Eastergate
The family seems to have remained in Eastergate although no record has
been found there for the burial of John Boniface Sr. The following burial
record does appear in the Eastergate parish [GS: 992,172]:
24 Oct 1701 Elizabeth, wife of John Boniface
John Boniface II (born 1675 in Eastergate) seems to have spent his
entire life in Eastergate although he may have travelled to a neighboring
parish to find a wife. There is no record of his marriage in the Eastergate
parish.
24
It was common at that time for a young man to venture into the surrounding
towns to seek his fortune and his wife. The marriage was almost always
performed in the bride's parish but then the couple returned home to the
parish of the new husband to make their home and raise their children. So
also with young John and Mary __________ Boniface. They were married
sometime around 1700-02 but we do not know where.
Eastergate parish contains the record of the baptisms for the following
children of John and Mary Boniface [GS: 992,172]:
Name Christening Spouse Married at
Elizabeth 20 Sep 1703 Henry Binsted Eastergate
John III 23 Dec 1704 Eliz. Treagoss Aldingbrne
Mary 23 Aug 1707 Fran. Whitcomb Eastergate
* Edward 10 Mar 1709 Jane Staker Binsted
Thomas 18 Sep 1712
George 7 May 1715 Eliz. Treagoos Aldingbrne
Anne 4 Nov 1717
William 8 May 1721 Jane ?
John Boniface II was buried in Eastergate parish on 2 Sep. 1727. A Mary
Boniface (probably his widow) was buried there less than a year later on 4
July 1728. At the time of Mary's death, their oldest child would not yet have
been 25 years old and the youngest was only seven.
The two oldest children in this family were already married by the time of
their mother's death. There was a marriage performed in Eastergate
parish of a Mary Boniface and a Francis Whitcombe on the same day as the
burial of Mary Boniface, the mother of this family. We have thought that
this was the marriage of Mary, the daughter listed above, however, Mary is
a common name and we wonder if a daughter would go ahead with her
marriage plans on the same day as her Mother's burial. We are now
uncertain as to who the Mary was who married on that date but it may have
been some distant relative.
The younger children may have gone to live with one of the older siblings
who had recently married. Being orphaned so young would have been a
terrible thing for these children.
25
Our ancestor, Edward Boniface, was the 4th child in the family. He was
19 years old when his mother passed away. Three years later he married
Jane Staker on 19 Oct 1731 in Binsted parish [GS: 918,481]. (See
Chapter 3 for more on the Staker family).
All seven of Edward and Jane Boniface's children were born in Binsted.
The french name of Boniface was unclear to some early English scribes.
When the family first moved to Binsted, where this was not a common
name, the parish priest heard the name and it sounded like "Bonnyface" to
him. And, he often recorded it as such in his records.
The first of their children was a set of twins: Elizabeth and John. Young
John, however, did not live long and was buried six days later. Their next
child, Jane, also died as a young child. The christenings for their first
seven children in Binsted were as follows:
Name Christened Spouse Married at
* Elizabeth 2 Jun 1732 John Wheatley Chichester
John 2 Jun 1732
Jane 15 Nov 1733
Edward 28 Mar 1735 Agnes Allen Treyford
John 8 Jul 1736
Jane 9 Jul 1738 John Tuff Treyford
Ann 6 Mar 1739 James Hunt Treyford
Sometime shortly after 1739 this family appears to have moved to the
parish of Treyford-Didling. This is actually two parishes that combined
their registers for both the village of Treyford and of Didling. They are
located about two miles north of Chichester on the uplands overlooking the
South Downs. In this parish record, there is an interesting entry. It was
not recorded in the same handwriting as the original record but was added
later in a different handwriting. These christening entries are as follows
and we don't know if this is part of our family or not [GS: 1,041,569]:
9 Feb 1741 John, son of Edward Bonny, laborer
3 Jul 1744 James, son of Edward Bonny, laborer
26
Surely the ages are such that this could be two more children of the same
family. Back in Binsted their name was recorded as Bonnyface and
someone could have made a further error in their new community. We
know that this family moved to this parish sometime around 1740. There
were no other records found for a "Bonny" family. We searched for the
death record in either parish for the second son named "John". It seems
unlikely they would have named a third son John unless the first and second
one died. We were unable to find such a burial record. The Mother's name
was not given for these two boys. We will not include them in our family
group sheet, primarily because of the spelling of their last name but we
recognize they could have been part of our family.
We think Jane Staker Boniface (the Mother of this family) lived to be about
54 years old and was buried in Eastergate parish in Sussex County. There
is no record in Binsted parish nor in Treyford-Didling of her burial but in the
Eastergate record [GS: 992,172] there is an entry dated 14 Oct. 1765 for the
burial of "Edward Boniface's wife". There could have been other Edward
Boniface's but this could also refer to our Jane Staker Boniface. After
burying his wife, Edward Boniface returned to Treyford-Didling, where
several of his children were living. He died and was buried there on 3 Dec.
1767 at the age of 58. His oldest daughter, Elizabeth Boniface
(Bonnyface) married John Wheatley on 29 Sep 1750 in All Saints Parish in
Chichester. (See Chapter 6 for more information on the Wheatley family).
27
5 GREGG
[Pedigree charts #5 & 8]
Boxgrove is a small hamlet about three miles northeast of Chichester.
Some of its earliest records show that a family by the name of Grygg, or
Grigge, lived there. The record begins about 1575 with the marriage of
Stephen Grygg and Joan Sherington. That is followed two years later by
the marriage of Elizabeth Grigg, the daughter of John Grigg and Thomas
Star (Baker). Then we find the christenings of their children, along with the
children of a John Grygg Jr. and a Henry Grygge. It seems most likely that
these individuals were brothers and sister. At least John Jr. and Elizabeth,
were children of a prior John Grigg and we suspect that Stephen and Henry
were also his sons.
Henry had only one child in Boxgrove and then may have moved away.
John and Stephen both raised their families here.
Stephen Grygg and Joan Sherington would have been born about 1550-55
and probably in Boxgrove before the records began. They had the
following eight children baptized in Boxgrove [GS: 992,172]:
Elizabeth Grygg 8 Oct 1576
Richard Grygge 20 Sep 1578
Agnes Grigg Apr 1580
Marryan Grygge Oct 1582
Joan Grigge 20 Sep 1584
John Grigge 9 Apr 1587
Mary Grygge 25 Apr 1589
Anne Grigge 1 Oct 1591
From this generation, again there were only two sons, Richard and John.
We can identify their families as they were baptized in the local parish.
Richard married Eleanor Norris on 24 Nov. 1606 in Boxgrove. She was the
daughter of John Norrys and Anges Gennyns (Jennings).
28
Eleanor (Elinor) was christened in Boxgrove on 1 Nov. 1581. She and Richard
Grygge had the following children christened in Boxgrove:
Scibbele (Syble) Grige 20 Sep 1607
Charity Gaige or Grige 26 Mar 1609
Joan Grigge 27 Jan 1610/11
Sarah Gaige or Grige 15 Dec 1611
Daniel Grigg 18 Jul 1613
Steeven ( twin) Grig 1 Nov 1615
Agnis (twin) Grig 1 Nov 1615
Ralph (twin) Grigge 30 Mar 1619
Mary (twin) Grigge 30 Mar 1619
Elizabeth Grigg 29 Jun 1623
Again, there weren't many sons in this family to carry on the name but there
were three, Daniel, Steeven and Ralph. Then it appears that most of the
Griggs moved away from this parish. There are no entries at all for any
Griggs for the next 20 years. Then there are only a few entries in the
1650-60 period and then nothing till 1703.
We don't know where this family went but we believe these were our
ancestors. We say that because of the name "Ralph Grigge" as shown
above. Ralph was not a common name at that time and helps us to trace
our family back to Boxgrove.
The only other mention we have found for someone with a name like that in
this area was the marriage of a Ralph Greige and Mabell Upfold on 30 Sep.
1655 in Tangmere, which is adjacent to, and on the south side of Boxgrove.
Ralph, the son of Richard (shown above) would have been about 36 years
old at that time. That seems older than we would expect but it could still be
the same man. He may have married late or this could be a second
marriage for him. We cannot connect this Ralph to the above Richard with
certainty; neither can we connect him to our own ancestor, Ralph Gregg.
Sometime around 1655-65, our ancestor, Ralph Grigg or Gregg, was
born somewhere in Sussex County. He could have been a late son, or
early grandson of one of the above Grigges. We have not found any
record of his birth but feel certain that he was tied to the above family in
some manner. We find him first when, as a young man (age not known) he
strolled into the town of Pagham in Sussex County before 1686.
29
This is the first we have encountered the village of Pagham (pronounced
like "Bag um" would be if we changed the B for P). If we had to designate
one town as the Bailey family homeland, it would certainly be Pagham. In
this tiny hamlet most of our ancestral lines came together to form our family.
Pagham lies about four miles south of Chichester and about half a mile
inland from the sea on Pagham Harbor. Originally, it was primarily a
fishing village but today the harbor is mostly used for recreational boating.
This is a scenic area with temperate climate and good farm land.
It was in Pagham were Ralph (Ralfe) Gregg married Mary Collins on
24 Oct 1686. Mary was the daughter of John Collins and was christened
on 24 Dec 1661 in Eastergate. We don't know her Mother's name but it
may have been "Ann".
Ralph and Mary made their first home in Pagham where their first eight
children were christened [GS: 416,708]. They then moved to Boxgrove
(the ancestral home of the Grigge's) where their last two children were
christened [GS: 504,433]:
John Gregg 20 Feb 1687 Pagham
Mary Gregg 22 Apr 1690 Pagham
Ralph Gregg 1 Sep 1691 Pagham
Mary Gregg 10 Nov 1692 Pagham
Richard Gregg 22 Mar 1695 Pagham
William Grigge 9 Apr 1697 Pagham
Elizabeth Gregg 23 May 1699 Pagham
* Susannah Gregg 13 Oct 1700 Pagham
Ralph Grigge 28 Sep 1703 Boxgrove
Stephen Gregge 13 May 1705 Boxgrove
In Pagham their name was usually spelled "Gregg" but when they moved
back to Boxgrove, the local parish priest knew them as "Grigge". We
suspect that Ralph spent some time in this area as a youth and that this
move was a return to his old home town.
30
While still living in Pagham their third child, Ralph, died and was buried on 6
Nov. 1691. No record of the burial of their oldest daughter, Mary, was
found but with the next daughter also being named Mary, it seems likely that
the older daughter also died young. We have not found a record for the
burials of either parent. They may have moved again to another location,
perhaps to settle closer to one of their married children and their
grandchildren.
As an additional tie of our Ralph Gregg of Pagham and Boxgrove to the
earlier Grygg family of Boxgrove, compare the names of Ralph's sons with
those men we believe to be his direct ancestors:
Grygg ancestors Ralph Gregg's sons
John John
Stephen Ralph
Richard Richard
Ralph William
Ralph
Stephen
Susannah Gregg, the youngest daughter of Ralph and Mary (Collins)
Gregg, was born in Pagham and christened there on 13 Oct. 1700. She
was just a child, less than three years old, when the family moved to
Boxgrove. Here she grew to young womanhood in this farming community
within walking distance of the large city of Chichester.
At the age of 23, Susannah was married in St. Andrews parish in Chichester
to John Wheatley on 23 Apr. 1724 [GS: 504,430]. After the wedding, they
made their home in Pagham. This was John's hometown as well as
Susannah's birthplace. Here they had their five children christened
between 1725-33.
John Wheatley died and was buried in Pagham parish on 14 May 1741 and
Susannah Gregg Wheatley was buried there on 11 Apr. 1755 [GS:
918,478]. (More on this family will be given in Chapter 6 with the Wheatley
genealogy.)
31
6 WHEATLEY
[Pedigree chart #5]
We're not sure where our Wheatley ancestry lived before coming to
Pagham. Our earliest known parents in this line were John Sr. and
Susanna Wheatley. They would have been born sometime before 1660
(probably 1650-60). Neither do we know when or where they married but it
would have been sometime prior to 1680.
John Wheatley Sr.'s father might also have been another "John Wheatley".
There are some gaps of missing information in the Pagham parish register.
However, in 1662 (when we think our John Wheatley Sr. was just a young
lad) there is a record for the burial of [GS: 1,041,596]:
Annie, the daughter of Jo. Wheatley 22 Nov 1662
This Annie may well have been a sister to our John Wheatley Sr. but we
can't prove that at this point. "Jo." was used as a standard abbreviation for
the name John.
Our John Sr. and his wife Susanna could have had older children
somewhere other than in Pagham. The first record however, that we have
been able to find of them is for the christening of their daughter, Jane.
They had five children christened in Pagham parish [GS: 538,661]:
Name Christening
Jane 25 Mar 1680
Mary 20 Feb 1683
John 12 Oct 1690
* John Jr. abt 1692-98
Hannah 2 Sep 1699
32
The information on this family is obviously sketchy and there were, no
doubt, other children not listed above. The gaps between them certainly
allow sufficient time for other children to be born. We were not able to find
a christening date for the John Jr. listed above. However, the parish record
indicates that both Mary (1683) and John (1690) died young. We have
later parish records for the christening of the children of a John Wheatley
(our ancestor--John Jr.) in Pagham. We know of no other Wheatley family
in Pagham at that time. Since we know that the first child named John, in
this family, died young, we "suspect" they named another child John, as
was often done in those days, especially when he was the namesake of his
father.
We also know that our John Wheatley Jr. was specifically known as "John
Jr." which is a sure indication that his father was also named John. We feel
confident that he belongs to this family although we lack specific proof due
to the gaps in the parish register.
The parish record also lists the burial of a James Wheatley in Pagham on 9
May 1722. We don't know the age nor relationship of this James to our
Wheatley family. He may have been a son of John Sr. and Susanna but
we have not listed him as such as we have no other knowledge of him.
Susanna was buried in Pagham on 22 Nov 1713. At that time her oldest
known child would have been about 33 and the youngest was about 14.
John Sr. married again on 10 May 1715 in Pagham. His new wife was
Anne Madley. They had one daughter [GS: 136,163]:
30 July 1715 Anne, daughter of John Sr. & Anne his wife
John Sr. would have been at least 55-65 years old at that time. This
daughter was not quite four years old when her father died. He was buried
in Pagham on 21 May 1719.
33
John wheatley Jr., as mentioned above, was surely a son of John Sr.
and Susanna, although we have no proof of it other than his name
containing "Jr.". He was probably born between 1692-98 in Pagham. He
married first, Sarah Bound, on 16 Apr. 1715 in Pagham. John Jr. and
Sarah had one child christened in Pagham [GS: 1,364,163]:
20 Feb 1715/6 John, son of John Wheatley and Sarah
This same son was buried there on 3 March 1715/6. No other christenings
were found for this family. Sarah died young, perhaps in childbirth, but if so
the child also died without being christened. She was buried on 20 May
1722.
John Wheatley Jr. was now alone again with no children nor wife for the
next two years. He then married his second wife, Susanna Gregg (see
Chapter 5) on 23 April 1724 in Pagham. This couple had five children
christened in the local parish:
Susannah Wheatley 30 Apr 1725
* John Wheatley III 31 Jan 1726/7
Mary Wheatley 2 May 1728
James Wheatley 20 Oct 1730
James Wheatley 23 Jul 1733
The first James Wheatley (1730) died before his second birthday and was
buried in Pagham on 25 June 1732. The younger James grew up and
married twice. First to Anne _________ about 1752. They had one
daughter named Ruth in 1753. His wife Anne then died and he married
Betty Bridger on 9 Oct. 1756. They had three daughters in Pagham: Betty,
Mary and Susanna. This family then moved to Elsted, Sussex County
where they had five more daughters and one son, named John, who died as
a baby and was brought back to Pagham for burial on 10 June 1771.
James died in Elsted in July 1789. His body was also brought home to
Pagham for burial on 10 July 1789.
The father of this family, John Wheatley Jr., remained in Pagham until his death.
He was buried there on 14 May 1741. His wife, Susannah Gregg Wheatley,
was buried near him 14 years later on 11 Apr. 1755.
34
John Wheatley III was born about January 1727 in Pagham to John
Wheatley Jr. and Susannah Gregg. He married Elizabeth Boniface (see
Chapter 4) on 29 Sep. 1750 in All Saints parish in Chichester. They
returned to Pagham where their three children were christened:
* Elizabeth Wheatley 30 Jul 1751 [GS: 539,019]
Susannah Wheatley 13 Dec 1752 [GS: 538,661]
Ann Wheatley 13 Jan 1755/6 [GS: 918,478]
We think this family also moved to Elsted in Sussex County sometime after
1756. Elsted is about ten miles north of Chichester and just to the west of
Treyford-Didling. (His brother, James, moved to Elsted about 1763.)
John III was buried in Pagham on 17 June 1777. He would have been
almost 50 years old at that time. His widow, Elizabeth Boniface Wheatley,
eventually moved to Ford on the Arun River, about three miles south of the
castle. Here she died at age 86 after living alone as a widow for 41 years.
She was brought back to Pagham to be buried near her husband on 27
June 1818 [GS: 918,478].
Elizabeth Wheatley (1751) was the oldest daughter of John Wheatley
III and Elizabeth Boniface. She was raised primarily in Pagham but may
have spent several years in Elsted. She married Jacob Wyer (Wier or
Wire) in Pagham on 16 Oct. 1770. (More will be given on this family in
Chapter 7.)
35
7 WIER
[Pedigree chart #5]
Jacob Wyer (Wier or Wire) was born about 1739. We do not know where
he was born but the Pagham parish register stated he was 78 years old at
his burial on 25 Sep. 1817 [GS: 918,478].
Jacob was probably a farmer as he lived in the little farming community of
Nytimber (or Nyetimber) just north of Pagham. Our Bailey ancestors
farmed in this same area.
He came to Pagham as a young single man. Here he met Elizabeth
Wheatley (see Chapter 6) and they were married in the local parish on 16
Oct. 1770. They had nine children, all christened in Pagham [GS:
918,478]:
Name Christened Spouse Married at
Elizabeth Wier 10 Sep 1771 Thomas Baker Pagham
Jacob Wier Jr. 4 Mar 1773 Amy
Jane Wire 15 May 1774
Maria Wire 29 Jun 1777 Richard Prior Pagham
Joseph Wiear 14 Mar 1778 Maria Viney S. Bersted
John Wiar 19 Nov 1780
Sarah Wiear 8 Jun 1783
Ann Wire 29 May 1785
* Grace Wier 22 Jul 1787 William Horner Pagham
Little Sarah Wiear lived only half a year and was buried in Pagham on 20
Dec 1783. The next daughter, Ann, had a sad and short life. At the age of
19, she had a baby out of wedlock. This child was given the name of Jane
Wier and christened in Pagham on 4 Nov. 1804. However, the baby did
not survive and was buried there on 12 Nov. 1804. Evidently, the young
mother also contracted an infection or some other complication and she too
was buried there two months later on 5 Jan. 1805.
36
There is not a lot of consistency in the spelling of the family surname but we
have listed the children as their names appear in the parish record.
The family continued to farm in Nytimber and attended the Pagham parish.
Jacob "Wier" Sr. lived to be 78 years old and was buried in Pagham on 25
Sep. 1817. His widow, Elizabeth (Wheatley) Wier was buried there on 21
Nov. 1821, in her 71st year.
Grace Wier was the youngest child of Jacob Wier Sr. and Elizabeth
Wheatley. She spent her entire life in the Nytimber area just north of
Pagham. Here she met and married her husband, William Horner, on 3
Oct. 1805. He too was from Pagham and probably farmed in the Nytimber
area.
Grace and William had nine children christened in Pagham. Each of these
was about two years apart. She died in 1824, about two years after the
ninth baby was christened. This probably means she died in childbirth with
a tenth baby who did not survive long enough to be christened.
Grace was only 37 years old at her death. Her nine children ranged in age
from 2 to 18. (More will be given on this family in Chapter 9 with the Horner
genealogy.)
37
8 LOCKYER
[Pedigree chart #4]
Two small parishes, Birdham and West Wittering, occupy most of the shore
line along the southeast side of Chichester Harbour. The tiny hamlet of
Birdham lies about four miles southwest of the city of Chichester. This is a
favorite spot for yachting and landscape painting. The old parish church
dates back to 1545. It has a low and narrow door and according to legend,
the Devil was kicked out and the door was blocked off so as to prevent his
reentry.
West Wittering is a very small village on the east side of the mouth to
Chichester Harbour and about three miles southwest of Birdham.
Originally, this was a fishing village which evolved into a residential and
holiday resort community. This was once the location of the palace of the
Bishop of Chichester.
Not much is currently known of our Lockyer (Lockier) family. They resided
in both of these communities at different times. Our earliest known parents
there were William Lockyer and Anne (or An) Aps. They were
married in Birdham on 17 May 1704 and had the following children
christened in the Birdham parish [GS: 1,238,825]:
Wm. Lockyer 22 Sep 1706 Birdham
Ann Lockyer 26 Sep 1708 Birdham
* Wm. Lockyer 24 Jun 1711 Birdham
The first child, William, died as an infant. His next brother, the man
believed to be our ancestor, was given his name, as well as the name of
their father.
We feel this younger William was the same man who married a Sarah
_________ about 1728. He would have been only 17 or 18 years old at
that time. We find no other William Lockyers in the area.
38
William and Sarah Lockyer lived in the neighboring parish of West
Wittering. Here they had two children christened [GS: 416,742]:
* Ann Lockyer 1 Dec 1728 West Wittering
Susanna Lockier 26 Apr 1730 West Wittering
Nothing else in known of either of the first two generations of Lockyers.
Ann Lockyer grew up in this area and was married in Birdham parish to
Willm. (William) Horner on 27 June 1748 [GS: 919,118]. (More will be
given on this family in Chapter 9 on the Horner family.)
39
9 HORNER
[Pedigree charts #1 & 4]
Our Horner family history begins with the wedding of Willm Horner and
Ann Lockyer in Birdham parish on 27 June 1748 [GS: 919,118]. Birdham
was the hometown of our Lockyer ancestry (as previously discussed in
Chapter 8). This couple did not remain here long. Instead, they moved to
West Wittering where their first two sons were christened [GS: 416,742],
and then back to Birdham where their third son was christened [GS:
1,238,825]:
* John 22 Oct 1749 West Wittering
Richard 24 Sep 1752 West Wittering
Wm. (William) 27 Apr 1755 Birdham
At this point we know nothing further of William or Ann (Lockyer) Horner. If
they had other children we don't know who they were nor when or where
they were born.
Sometime around 1777, John Horner, the son of William and Ann
Horner, married Sarah ______________. We don't know where they
married but they settled in Pagham to raise their family of nine children.
The parish record has some gaps and does not contain the christenings of
the three oldest children but we believe they too were born and christened
in the Pagham parish.
The oldest child, William, died in 1855. In the 1851 census, he was 73
years old and still living in Pagham. He told the census taker that he was
born in Pagham. Since we know that he, as oldest child, as well as the six
youngest children, were all born in Pagham, we feel confident that the other
two children were probably born in Pagham also.
The parish record only contains the christenings of the six youngest
children [GS: 416,742]:
40
Name Christened Spouse Married or Buried
* William 1778 Grace Wier 3 Oct 1805 Pagham
Sarah abt 1780 buried 25 Nov 1797 (age 17)
Richard abt 1782 Susan Chessel (or Chapel) Pagham
Jenny 24 Apr 1785
Ruth 14 Oct 1787
Mary 11 Oct 1789 buried 11 Feb 1796
Henry 21 Apr 1791 buried 14 Apr 1803 (12)
John 15 Sep 1793
James 20 Sep 1795
A few months after the birth of the last child, another epidemic swept
through the area. Six year old Mary died and was buried on 11 Feb. 1796.
The father, John Horner, was buried just a month later on 16 Mar. 1796.
Seventeen year old Sarah, died a year and a half later and was buried on 25
Nov. 1797. Five years later, Henry was buried on 14 Apr. 1803.
William Horner (born 1778 in Pagham) seems to be the oldest child in
that family. He lived his entire life in Pagham. He was about 27 years old
when he married Grace Wier on 3 Oct. 1805 in Pagham. They had the
following nine children, all born in Pagham [GS: 918,478]:
Name Christened Married Place
* Sarah "Sally" 15 Mar 1806 Thomas Binstead Pagham
Mary 27 May 1807 Charles Fogden Pagham
William 20 May 1809 Charlotte Grenaway Pagham
Eliza 19 Apr 1811 William Edwards Pagham
John 28 Nov 1813
Frederic 21 Mar 1817 buried 7 Apr 1817
Henry 11 mar 1818
Jane 29 Jul 1820
James 20 Oct 1822
The Mother, Grace (Wier) Horner, was buried in Pagham on 14 July 1824.
Since that was just two years after the birth of the youngest child, she may
have died in childbirth. If so, that baby did not survive long enough to be
christened. It's hard to imagine the transition from the emotional joy and
anticipation of another baby, to the sudden realization that neither Mother
nor child would be returning home.
41
When Grace died, she left a large family for William to manage on his own
with children ranging from age 18 to 2. We have no record of William
Horner ever marrying again. He was 46 years old when his wife died. He
lived to be 77. In the 1851 census, he was a "lodger" boarding with a
family in Nytimber, a farming community near Pagham. At that time he
was listed as a 73 year old widower, a pauper and Ag (farm) laborer.
There was no such thing as Social Security or pensions to help take care
of an old man, other than the generosity of his children. William had
worked for others on their farms and in his old age was still trying to care for
his own needs although it seems this was a difficult task. William died in
Nytimber and was buried in the Pagham parish on 19 Apr. 1855.
Sarah "Sally" Horner was the oldest child in her parent's family. She
was 18 years old when her Mother passed away. That must have been an
agonizing time for the whole family but Sally was in the midst of her own
wedding plans. The wedding may have been delayed for a time but she
was married in Pagham a month after her Mother's passing, on 10 Aug.
1824. Her husband's name was Thomas Binstead. They couldn't delay
the wedding too long as their first child was born shortly thereafter. Tom
and Sally (Horner) Binstead had five children christened in Pagham parish
[GS: 918,478]:
Thomas 28 Nov 1824
William 14 Apr 1826
Frances "Fanny" 2 Dec 1827
Harriett 24 Sep 1829
Henry 2 Jul 1831
About six months after the birth of the youngest child, there must have been
an epidemic in the area. Sally's husband, Thomas Binstead, succumbed
and was buried in Pagham on 11 Jan. 1832. Six months later, her
youngest child, Henry, also died and was buried there on 8 July 1832. We
think her youngest daughter, Harriett, also died young although we don't
have a date for her burial. We're not sure what became of the oldest boy,
Thomas. We know that William survived and raised a family in Pagham.
"Fanny" (age 13) was the only child, from this marriage, still living with Sally
in the 1841 census.
42
1832 and 1833 were terribly lonely years for Sally Horner Binstead. She
was still a young woman but had experienced some of the hardest trials in
life. She found a friend in a young man named Joseph Bailey Jr. He too
had lived all his life in the Pagham area and he had also just lost his Mother.
Joseph and Sally probably knew each other from their youth. Joseph
however, was eight years younger than Sally. They began a courtship
which culminated in their marriage on 7 Dec. 1833. Sally was 27 years old
and Joseph Bailey was 19.
At the age of 19 it would not have been easy for young Joseph to assume
the responsibilities of manhood in taking care of a wife and at least two or
more of her children. In addition, they had another child, Benjamin Bailey,
christened on 29 June 1834 and another child about every two years
thereafter for a total of eight children of Joseph Bailey's. This brought the
total number of live births for Sally Horner to 13.
The family continued to farm in Nytimber and were members of the Pagham
parish. On 8 June 1841, they were still living there when the first English
census was conducted [Sussex Co., Pagham parish, Enumeration Dist #9,
page 12; GS: 474,674]. Two months later, another epidemic ravaged the
countryside. This time Sally and Joseph lost their two oldest boys.
Benjamin (age 7) was buried on 24 Aug 1841 and his younger brother,
Joseph III, (age 3) was buried just five days later, on 29 Aug 1841. It is
possible that Sally may have lost her daughter Fanny Binstead at this time
also as we find no more mention of this young girl after that date.
Joseph and Sally were left with just two of their children: Helen "Ellen" (age
5) and Daniel (our ancestor, age 1). The old home now contained too
many unhappy memories and Joseph and Sally decided to make a new
start in another area. They moved to Selsey, the southern-most point of
land in Sussex County and about four miles southwest of Pagham. Here,
two more children were christened into their family before they moved
again. This time they travelled about five miles north to Sidlesham where
they had at least one more child. Joseph and Sally remained in Sidlesham
for the rest of their lives. Sally died there sometime between 1881-85.
Joseph was buried there on 1 Oct. 1885. (More will be given on this family
in the Bailey genealogy in Chapter 10.)
43
Old photo of the village of Pagham, Sussex, England
The old windmill is still standing.
photos provided by Roy Ballard, a distant Bailey cousin in England
Modern photo of the old windmill in Pagham today.
Church of England -- Parish church -- St. Thomas A’Beckett
Pagham, Sussex, England
