Mary Pilgrim and my other Pilgrim ancestors

Posted on by Stephen

Mary Pilgrim (1811-1867).
My 3rd great-grandmother.

My Pilgrim ancestors came from Norfolk in East Anglia and joined my family tree when Mary Pilgrim married James Goulty in 1842 – they would be my 3rd great-grandparents. See where they fit in my family tree.

Mary was born illegitimately to Elizabeth Pilgrim on 7 January 1811 at Morley St Peter in Norfolk and was baptised there on 13 January. From a court case in 1814 we know that Mary’s father was a Godfrey Weston, who at the time she was conceived was a managing farm servant in Wymondham, Norfolk (see the details below).

Mary’s mother died in 1815 when she was a toddler so she may have been brought up by her grandparents or another relative. She doesn’t appear again in the records until 1842, when she married my 3rd great-grandfather James Goulty at St John de Sepulchre Church in Norwich, Norfolk, on 25 December. The marriage register glossed over the question of Mary’s illegitimacy and in the space for her father’s name she gave farmer “Godfrey Pilgrim” – a half-truth. Carpenter James and Mary raised their family in Salhouse, a village north-east of Norwich, and you can read more about them here. As the years went by she was known variously as Mary Ann and latterly Ann.

Mary died in 1867 in Salhouse and was buried there on 14 April. James remarried and died in 1898.

Elizabeth Pilgrim (1791-1815) and Godfrey Weston (1785-1862).
My 4th great-grandparents.

Elizabeth Pilgrim had a short life, with a fair amount of disappointment thrown in for good measure. She was born in 1791 and baptised at All Saints Church, Old Buckenham, Norfolk, on 16 October that year to parents Maurice Pilgrim and Mary Claxton (see below). She was baptised again on 30 July 1809 at St Bololph’s in Morley St Botolph, about six miles from her birthplace. It wasn’t unknown for people to be baptised several times – some clergy requested it of newcomers to their parish to be sure that they’d been properly received into the church. She was aged 17 at the time, according to a note in the register.

Elizabeth had two illegitimate children including Mary, my 3rd great-grandmother (above).

Several newspapers reported on the backstory to their birth – the promise Godfrey Weston made to marry Elizabeth and his reneging on that pledge. The Norfolk Chronicle of 26 March 1814 and The Statesman of 28 March 1814 were among the publications reporting on the breach of promise case before Norfolk Assizes. This reported that Elizabeth was the daughter of Maurice Pilgrim, of Morley St Peter, who’d sent her to live with and work as a servant for his Pilgrim relations at Wymondham, Norfolk. It was there that she met Weston, who was a managing farm servant for them. The Statesman reported: “The defendant availed himself of this opportunity to take advantage of the plaintiff’s youth and unwary innocence under the most unqualified promises of marriage.” After being in Wymondham for 40 weeks it was clear she was pregnant, at which point she quarrelled with her relations and returned to her father to give birth to Mary. Weston continued to visit and was treated as part of the family by Elizabeth’s parents while he continued to talk of the forthcoming marriage. Banns – published at Elizabeth’s behest – were read at the local church and no evidence could be brought that he’d objected to them, and it was assumed he was aware of them.

The court heard that Weston was on the one hand telling Maurice Pilgrim that he couldn’t marry Elizabeth because she had no money, while at the same time writing to her saying she was his ‘constant love’ and that if he ever married it would be to her. However, the court was told that Weston then married another woman – Sarah Long – in November 1813. His counsel admitted the promise of marriage to Elizabeth but strove to mitigate the damages by saying Weston had made various payments either voluntarily or as ordered by magistrates. However, damages were still awarded of £150 – a significant sum of money at the time.

Godfrey was young Mary’s father but it’s unclear who was the father of Elizabeth’s other child Alice.

Elizabeth and Alice never got to enjoy the rewards of the court case as mother and daughter died just a few weeks apart in 1815. Elizabeth was buried at All Saints Church in Old Buckenham on 2 April that year. Weston and his wife Sarah Long lived in Wicklewood, Norfolk. He died on 11 September 1862 (read more about his life and family here).

Elizabeth’s children were:

  • Mary Pilgrim (1811-1867), my 3rd great-grandmother. The offspring of Elizabeth and Godfrey – see her details above.
  • Alice Pilgrim (1814-1815), my 3rd great-grand aunt. Alice was baptised at Morley St Peter on 27 November 1814 and died the following year. She was buried in Old Buckenham on 24 May 1815.

Maurice Pilgrim (1753-1839) and Mary Claxton (1749?-1822).
My 5th great-grandparents.

Maurice Pilgrim was baptised on 21 January 1753 at All Saints Church in Old Buckenham, Norfolk, to parents Robert Pilgrim and Elizabeth Chinnery (see below). He grew up in the village and was left £60 in his father’s will, read after his death in 1771.

Maurice married at All Saints in Old Buckenham on 12 February 1773. His bride was Mary Claxton but I’m not sure where she came from – no clues were given to her parentage or home village in the records and there are many candidates.

The Land Tax Redemption records of 1798 showed Maurice in Old Buckenham, occupying land belonging to a John France. A Maurice Pilgrim was also occupying land three miles away in Attleborough – it’s not clear whether these were the same man. It’s likely, however, that Maurice was the man mentioned in a Norfolk Chronicle report of 6 August 1803, which mentioned a meeting held a few miles away in East Harling, Norfolk, with the aim of raising a troop of Yeomanry Cavalry for the local area. Maurice was listed as one of those ‘gentlemen’ who others could join in the force. This reference suggested he was a man of some means, perhaps a yeoman, and the action was doubtless in response to the alarm raised by the Napoleonic Wars in Europe.

Maurice then cropped up in 1814 in the court case referred to above regarding his daughter Elizabeth and the breach of promise she was pursuing against the father of her illegimate child. The reports, including one in the Oxford University and City Herald of 2 April, referred to the Pilgrims as living in Morley St Peter, a short distance from Old Buckenham.

Maurice’s wife Mary died in 1822 and was buried on 9 July at Old Buckenham church. In December 1823, the Norfolk Chronicle of the 20th reported, he was the victim of burglars who broke into his Morley home and stole a quantity of meat and wine.

The Norfolk Chronicle of 2 October 1824 featured a public notice announcing the auction of Maurice’s farming stock and some of his furniture. He died on 20 January 1839, the date mentioned in the Bury and Norwich Post of 30 January 1839, which described him as a respectable former farmer of Morley. He was buried on 26 January at All Saints in Old Buckenham.

Maurice and Mary had a large family:

  • John Pilgrim (1773-????), my 4th great-grand uncle. He was baptised on 21 November at All Saints Church in Old Buckenham, Norfolk, and married Dorothy Roberts there on 7 March 1806. She came from nearby Bunwell, where she’d been baptised on 29 November 1770 to parents Peter and Dorothy Snr. John and his wife had several children but tracing him after their birth has been difficult as there are so many candidates. His wife must have been the Dorothy Pilgrim living a few miles away with farmer Alice Pilgrim in Hall Lane, Winfarthing, at the time of the 1841 census as there were no other women living at this time with her name. It suggests that John had died before the census was taken. Dorothy was buried in Old Buckenham on 25 May 1850. Their children were:
    • Thomas Pilgrim (1806-????), who was baptised on 9 November 1806 in Old Buckenham. It’s been difficult pinning him down but he was in the Kings Lynn Union Workhouse in Norfolk at the time of the 1871 Census, listed as a widowed labourer.
    • Maurice Pilgrim (1809-????), who was baptised in Old Buckenham on 20 August 1809. I’ve not been able to trace him with confidence after this – several boys with the same name were baptised in the area within a year or two of each other.
  • Maurice Pilgrim (1776-1855), my 4th great-grand uncle. Maurice was baptised on 26 May 1776 at All Saints Church in Old Buckenham, Norfolk, although the record stated that his mother’s name was Eliza. I’ve not found a couple that matches so assume this must’ve been an error on the part of the clerk. Maurice married Martha Worman on 24 December 1806 at All Saints Church, Besthorpe, and settled in the village to work and raise a family. Martha was a local girl and was baptised in Besthorpe on 19 February 1786 to parents William and Martha Snr. Several baptism records for Maurice’s children show that he worked as a labourer, no doubt in the fields. Poll Books for the mid 1840s listed a Maurice Pilgrim as eligible to vote in elections as a result of owning freehold lands near Whitehouse Lane in Besthorpe but this may have been one of several other Pilgrims living in the area at the time. The 1841 Census noted Maurice with others working as agricultural labourers in the old hamlet of Roxham in Norfolk. Martha and the rest of the family were back in Besthorpe, where she and Maurice were found in the 1851 Census. They died just weeks apart in 1855, with Martha buried at St Mary’s Church in Attleborough on 12 September and Maurice on 2 October. It’s possible that they’d moved the few miles to the village to live with relatives as they aged. Their children included:
    • Maurice Pilgrim (1808-1890) was baptised in Besthorpe on 10 April 1808 and married Maria Everson of Occold in Suffolk in Attleborough, Norfolk, on 17 February 1831. They raised a family and he was listed variously as an agricultural labourer and then, from the 1861 Census, as a farmer, settling for many years in Shouldham Thorpe in the far west of Norfolk. Maria died on 30 October 1887 and was buried in Shouldham Thorpe. Maurice on 25 December 1890 and was buried in nearby Fincham.
    • Thomas Pilgrim (1809-1868) was baptised in Besthorpe on 12 November 1809. He married Mary Ann Linford in her home village of Flitcham, Norfolk, on 19 July 1832. By 1851 he was working as a yardman for a farmer in Walsham le Willows in Suffolk and living there with his wife and children. Ten years later he was at Attleborough near his home village working as a farm servant. He died in Thetford, Norfolk, on 29 October 1868, by which time he had become a farm bailiff. Mary Ann continued to live in Thetford with an unmarried daughter and died there on 3 January 1895.
    • Alice Pilgrim (1818-????), who was baptised in Besthorpe on 23 August 1818. She married Norfolk-born labourer Robert Leeder in Attleborough on 10 March 1839 and had several children with him but he died young and was buried in the village on 20 May 1846. On 8 May 1851 she wed blacksmith George Baker in Attleborough and had more children. They lived in the village but he died in 1863 and was buried there on 18 October. Alice’s fate is unclear but she was still in Attleborough at the time of the 1871 Census.
    • Evan Pilgrim (1825-1907), who was baptised in Besthorpe on 10 July 1825. He married Ellen Porter (baptised Eleanor) on 12 June 1848 in Fornham All Saints, Suffolk, and in 1851 was living with her family in her home village of North Pickenham, Norfolk, working as a carter. However, he then emigrated to Canada and there’s a degree of mystery to the family dynamics that went on around his move. It appears that Ellen and their children remained in Britain, where she would later describe herself as a widow and then remarry. Evan, meanwhile, married her cousin Susan Porter in Canada on 20 August 1854. It’s likely that both Evan and Ellen married bigamously although it’s likely that they were the only ones (with Susan) who were aware of the fact. Evan and Susan had children of their own and settled in Brantford, Ontario, where he worked as a farmer of more than 200 acres. Susan died of meningitis on 13 April 1902 and Evan on 13 May 1907.
    • Rebecca Pilgrim (1834-1849) was baptised in Besthorpe on 25 January 1834 and was buried there on 7 September 1849.
  • Robert Pilgrim (1779-1865), my 4th great-grand uncle. Robert was baptised on 23 May 1779 at All Saints Church in Old Buckenham, Norfolk, and married there on 29 March 1804. His bride was Ann Ratta, but her ancestry is unclear as I’ve found no person who matches her in the baptism files. As far as I can tell the couple had just the one child. Robert was most likely the man mentioned in the Norwich Mercury of 11 October 1828 in a notice about the sale of a freehold farm at Morley St Peter, a few miles north of his home village, consisting of a farmhouse, barn, cow house, stable and 17 acres. Robert was the tenant. His wife Ann died in 1838 and was buried in Old Buckenham on 5 March that year. Just a few months later the Norwich Mercury of 29 September 1838 printed notice of an auction to be held at Wymondham of Robert’s livestock, agricultural implements, dairy and brewing utensils, some household furniture and other effects. It stated that he was leaving his farm in Carleton Road. The census records showed that Robert went on to stay with his son James and his wife Rebecca at Hapton in Norfolk (1841) and then (1851) Norwich Road, Kirstead. He was described as a retired farmer. After his son’s death Robert went to live at Bunwell in Norfolk, where the 1861 Census recorded him. He died there on 27 October 1865 but his body was taken back to his place of birth and he was buried at Old Buckenham on 2 November. The probate record described him as a yeoman. Robert’s child with Ann was:
    • James Pilgrim (1804-1857), who was baptised in Old Buckenham on 24 June 1804 and married Rebecca Womack in Carleton Road on 12 December 1826. They had at least one child while James worked as a farming steward in Hapton, Norfolk (1841 Census) and later as a farmer of at least 50 acres in Kirstead (1851 Census). He died in 1857 and was buried in Bedingham, Norfolk, on 17 March – an auction notice for animals and household furniture in the Norfolk News of 12 September 1857 suggests this was where his farm was based. Rebecca was recorded as a housekeeper in the 1861 Census and died in 1863, buried in Bedingham on 9 October.
  • William Pilgrim (1781-????), my 4th great-grand uncle. William was baptised on 12 May 1781 at All Saints Church in Old Buckenham, Norfolk, but I assume he died young as another William was baptised by Maurice and Mary in 1786. No record of his death or burial has been found, however.
  • Mary Pilgrim (1783-1815), my 4th great-grand aunt. Mary was baptised on 21 September at All Saints Church in Old Buckenham, Norfolk, and went on to marry Amos Long there on 1 August 1809. He was also from the village and had been baptised there on 16 November 1783 to parents Daniel and Hannah. The couple had children but Mary died young in 1815 and was buried in the village on 8 October that year. Amos, an agricultural labourer, married a second time in Old Buckenham. His new bride on 22 March 1818 was Sarah Potter, with whom he had more children. The 1841 Census recorded the family still in Old Buckenham. He died in 1849 and was buried in the village on 4 September that year. Amos’s children with Mary Pilgrim were:
    • Lydia Long (1809-????), who was baptised in Old Buckenham on 17 September 1809. She married Richard Prentice in Banham, Norfolk, on 14 September 1829 and had a son the following year but what happened to them afterwards is unclear.
    • Robert Long (1812-1842), was baptised in Old Buckenham on 12 January 1812. At the 1841 Census he was listed as a hawker and was living at home with his parents in Old Buckenham. He died the following year and was buried in the village on 9 December 1842.
    • Amos Long (1814-1844), was baptised in Old Buckenham on 14 August 1814. At the 1841 census he was working as an agricultural labourer and living with his parents in Old Buckenham. He was buried in Old Buckenham on 6 April 1844.
  • William Pilgrim (1786-1821), my 4th great-grand uncle. William was baptised on 19 November 1786 at All Saints Church in Old Buckenham, Norfolk, and married Rebecca Seager at All Saints Church in nearby Tibenham on 5 April 1814. She had been born in the village on 15 March 1792 to George and Elizabeth Seager. A baptism record for his son listed William as a labourer. I suspect he was the William Pilgrim buried in Thompson, Norfolk, on 23 July 1821. Widowed Rebecca married bachelor and agricultural labourer James Doe at Moulton St Michael, Norfolk, on 23 November 1823 and went on to have a family with him. William’s one known child with Rebecca was:
    • Francis Pilgrim (1815-????), who was baptised in Old Buckenham on 26 March 1815. I’ve not been able to locate him subsequently.
  • Thomas Pilgrim (1789-1822), my 4th great-grand uncle. Thomas was baptised on 22 March 1789 at All Saints Church in Old Buckenham, Norfolk, and married Mary Long there on 14 January 1812. She too hailed from the village, where she was baptised on 28 April 1793 to John and Mary Long. Thomas and his wife had at least three children who were baptised in the village. Thomas, a labourer, died young in 1822 and was buried in the village on 19 June. Mary remarried on 7 January 1826, her new husband being farmer Enoch Self from Bressingham in Norfolk. They had several children together while census records listed them in Banham and Old Buckenham. Mary died in 1868 and was buried in Old Buckenham on 12 February. Enoch remained in the village and died there in 1890. Mary’s children with Thomas Pilgrim were:
    • Maria Pilgrim (1812-1859), who was baptised in Old Buckenham on 5 July 1812. She married fellow Old Buckenham resident Charles Robinson there on 14 January 1831. A bricklayer, he settled in Mile End, Middlesex, with his wife and children (as shown from the 1841 Census onward). Maria died there in 1859 and was buried in Mile End on 27 March. Charles, who remarried and remained in the area, died on 29 March 1884.
    • Evan Pilgrim (1815-1849), who was baptised in Old Buckenham on 15 January 1815. He married Mary Durrant in nearby Banham on 16 March 1838 but died young at the Guiltcross Union Workhouse in Kenninghall, Norfolk. He was buried at Old Buckenham on 13 January 1849.
    • Ephraim Pilgrim (1817-1819), who was baptised in Old Buckenham on 23 February 1817 and buried there on 7 August 1819.
  • Elizabeth Pilgrim (1791-1815), my 4th great-grandmother. The details of her short life are outlined above.
  • Lydia Pilgrim (1794-1869), my 4th great-grand aunt. Lydia was baptised on 26 January 1794 at All Saints Church in Old Buckenham and then again as a teenager a few miles away at Morley St Botolph on 30 July 1809. It was the practice of some priests to baptise newcomers to their parish so this could be the reason for Lydia’s double. It appears that she had an illegitimate child, baptised Thomas Evan Pilgrim at Morley St Botolph in 1823. She married Edward Smith at nearby Morley St Peter on 30 January 1827. He was said to be from Weasenham, Norfolk, in the census returns but I suspect he was the boy baptised on 23 October 1808 in neighbouring Tittleshall. The couple had at least three children. Edward was listed as a higler or hawker in the 1841 Census, when the family were living in Morley St Peter, but he went on to be a farmer in Besthorpe, Norfolk, according to the 1851 and 1861 censuses. The latter also noted that he was a fowl dealer. Mary died in Besthorpe in 1869 and was buried at Morley St Botolph on 27 July. Edward continued to farm in Besthorpe and he may have been the Edward Smith buried in Morley St Botolph on 2 February 1876.
    • Thomas Evan Pilgrim (1823-1886). Baptised in Morley St Botolph, Norfolk, on 24 August 1823, Thomas was illegitimate. He remained in and around the village for the rest of his life, working as an agricultural labourer. He married local girl Mary Ann Marshall at Wymondham on 26 September 1845 and had children. He died on 23 March 1886 and was buried at Morley St Peter. Mary continued to live in the area, recorded in the 1911 Census living with her farmer son Maurice in Attleborough. She died in 1912 and was buried at Morley St Peter on 29 March that year.
    • James Smith (1827-1897) was baptised in Attleborough on 2 August 1827 and married Hannah Minns, although there is some debate over the date. Some records suggest 1849, others 1851. They raised a family while he worked as an agricultural labourer, fowl dealer (1861 and 1871 censuses) and farmer (1881 Census). James was buried in Attleborough on 24 July 1897. Hannah died on 3 April 1911 and was buried in Attleborough.
    • Mary Ann Smith (1830-????), who was baptised in Old Buckenham on 4 April 1830. I’ve not been able to trace her beyond her living with her parents in Besthorpe at the 1851 Census.
    • Elizabeth Smith (1841-????), who was baptised in Old Buckenham on 15 December 1841. I’ve not been able to trace her with any confidence beyond her living with her parents in Besthorpe at the 1851 Census.

Robert Pilgrim (1715-1771) and Elizabeth Chinnery (1719-1783).
My 6th great-grandparents.

I am pretty certain that the Robert Pilgrim baptised on 22 October 1715 in St Mary’s Church, Kenninghall, Norfolk, is my 6th great-grandfather. The year matches his approximate age at marriage and he settled in Old Buckenham after his wedding, a village just a couple of miles away. Only his father – John – was listed in the parish register.

A marriage licence exists for Robert Pilgrim and Elizabeth Chinnery dated 11 July 1744 and this gave their ages and the planned place of marriage as St Cuthbert’s Church in Thetford, Norfolk. Robert was described as a farmer, both were of Old Buckenham and both single. But I’ve yet to find an actual record of the marriage itself in Thetford. Elizabeth, through sheer lack of alternatives, must’ve been the girl born to Henry and Alice Chenery/Chinnery and baptised in Rushford – a village a few miles south east of Thetford and therefore reasonably close to Robert – on 16 February 1717 (1718 in the new calendar).

Robert and Elizabeth brought up their family, lived and worked in Old Buckenham. His will described him as a yeoman, which was often a sign of someone who farmed their own rather than leased land. He died in 1771 and was buried at All Saints Church in the village on 13 June, listed as a married man.

In his will, signed on 5 June 1771, Robert left his wife their best bed, bedding and furniture and other household goods and furniture that his executors deemed proper and sufficient for her to furnish a room for her dwelling. His executors were then to sell his Old Buckenham home along with his stables, barn and other outhouses, yards, gardens, orchards, meadows, pastures and so on. They were also instructed to sell all the other property and land he held in and around Old Buckenham as well as the remainder of his goods, chattels, corn, cattle implements, husbandry tools and other belongings. Of the profits, £150 was to be invested, with the interest used to support his wife and his youngest child Sarah. After his wife Elizabeth’s death, his investments were to be disposed of and £60 paid to his son Maurice, £40 to his son Robert and £50 to Sarah. £30 was to go to his daughter Elizabeth, wife of Christopher Wingfield, and £20 to daughter Mary, wife of Owen Chinnery.

Elizabeth, described as the Widow Pilgrim, died in June 1783 and was buried in Old Buckenham on 11 June.

The couple had a large family, including:

  • Ann Pilgrim (1745-????), my 5th great-grand aunt. Ann was baptised on 2 January 1746 at All Saints Church in Old Buckenham. I’ve no further records for her but the fact she wasn’t mentioned in her father’s will suggests she had died.
  • Mary Pilgrim (1747-1771), my 5th great-grand aunt. Mary was baptised on 22 November 1747 at All Saints Church in Old Buckenham. She married Owen Chinnery at Rockland St Peter Church, a few miles from her home village, on 12 October 1768. He came from the nearby village of Thompson, where he was baptised on 26 September 1738 to parents Owen and Elizabeth. He was a cordwainer (shoemaker), shown at Rockland as apprentice to master John Foxter in a document listing apprenticeship duties paid dated 22 December 1753. A 1769 apprenticeship document recorded him as a master and resident in Rockland All Saints. The couple had a child but Mary died soon after and it’s likely that she was the Mary Chenery who was buried in Old Buckenham on 15 August 1771 – just a few months after her father’s death. She had little time to enjoy the £20 he’d left her in his will. Owen married again, on 20 November 1775. His new bride was Elizabeth Pettingale/Pettingall. A 1776 apprenticeship document recorded him in Rockland St Peter, master to apprentice John Wright. Owen died in 1816 and was buried on 18 April at Rockland All Saints, the record helpfully giving the names of his parents. Elizabeth was buried there on 16 March the following year. Mary had the one child with Owen:
    • Mary Chinnery (1770-1770), who was baptised at Rockland All Saints on 29 July 1770 and buried there on 16 December the same year.
  • Elizabeth Pilgrim (1749-1785), my 5th great-grand aunt. Elizabeth was baptised on 27 June 1749 at All Saints Church in Old Buckenham and married Christopher Wingfield there on 13 September 1769. He had been baptised at St Ethelbert’s Church in East Wretham, Norfolk, to parents Christopher and Elizabeth Wingfield. Christopher Jnr and Elizabeth settled in Old Buckenham and had children. Elizabeth received £30 in her father’s will after his death in 1771 but she died young and was buried in Old Buckenham on 18 July 1785. Christopher’s second marriage took place a few months later when he wed widow Jane Pilgrim in Old Buckenham on 11 October 1785. They had a child together but Jane died in 1801 and was buried in Old Buckenham on 11 January. Christopher died in 1828 and was buried there on 12 December. Elizabeth’s children with him were:
    • Robert Wingfield (1770-????) was baptised in Old Buckenham on 10 June 1770 but his trail then goes cold.
    • Christiana Wingfield (1771-????), who was baptised on 8 December 1771. Two girls were baptised with this name in Old Buckenham in 1771, making it almost impossible to trace what happened to my ancestor.
    • William Wingfield (1773-1852) was baptised in Old Buckenham on 26 September 1773. He may have married Mary Gray in neighbouring New Buckenham on 24 October 1812 but there were two men by this name in the area and either could’ve been the groom. My William worked as an agricultural labourer, according to the 1841 Census, although the 1851 Census described him as a blacksmith and pauper. Was that an error? He died the following year and was buried in Old Buckenham on 9 November.
    • Elizabeth Wingfield (1777-????) was baptised in Old Buckenham on 16 November 1777. Again, several children by this name were around at the same time making it difficult to determine who was who in terms of records.
    • Sarah Wingfield (1779-????) was baptised in Old Buckenham on 21 March 1779. She married Daniel Freeman there on 23 December 1807 and had a son there the following year but what happened to them is unclear.
  • Robert Pilgrim (1750-????), my 6th great uncle. Robert was baptised on 30 December 1750 at All Saints Church in Old Buckenham and married Margaret Chinnery (another Chinnery marriage!) at Rockland St Peter, Norfolk, on 22 November 1774. The couple had a number of children, who were baptised a few miles from Rockland at St Martin’s in Thompson. I have been unable to find a death date for Robert – he may have remarried and moved away from the area – but Margaret died relatively young and was buried on 4 May 1783 in Thompson.
    • Robert Pilgrim (1775-????).
    • John Pilgrim (1778-????).
    • Diana Pilgrim (1778-1785).
  • Maurice Pilgrim (1752-1839), my 5th great-grandfather. His story and family information is further up this page.
  • Lydia Pilgrim (1755-1766), my 5th great-grand aunt. Lydia was baptised on 13 July 1755 at All Saints Church in Old Buckenham. She died young in 1766 and was buried in the village on 15 January.
  • John Pilgrim (1757-1768), my 5th great-grand uncle. John was baptised on 24 July 1757 at All Saints Church in Old Buckenham. I suspect he was the boy described as “a youth” buried on 15 Jun 1768.
  • Sarah Pilgrim (1762-1818), my 5th great-grand aunt. Sarah was baptised on 11 April 1762 at All Saints Church in Old Buckenham. She married widower John Allden there on 15 February 1780 and the couple remained in the village, raising a family. Sarah was buried in Old Buckenham on 14 September 1818 and John on 12 July 1832. Their known children were:
    • John Allden (1780-????) was baptised in Old Buckenham.
    • Sarah Allden (1790-1792) was baptised and buried in Old Buckenham.
    • Keziah Allden (1792-1862) was baptised in Old Buckenham and married agricultural labourer Thomas Thayne in 1826. They had a family and remained in the village but he died in 1846. Keziah married labourer John Mickleburgh in Old Buckenham in 1852 and died 10 years later.

John Pilgrim (1674-????) and Elizabeth Balls (1684-????).
My 7th great-grandparents.

John Pilgrim’s origins are not certain but the likelihood is he was the child baptised to John Pilgrim and his wife Anna at St Mary’s Church in Attleborough, Norfolk on 16 September 1674. He would spend the rest of his life there and in nearby villages.

He married Elizabeth Balls at St Mary’s in Eccles, Norfolk, on 28 September 1702. She had been baptised in Eccles on 5 March 1684 to parents John and Elizabeth Balls. The Pilgrims went on to raise a large family in Attleborough and Kenninghall, although they later settled in Old Buckenham. Various documents relating to land leases and purchases held at Norfolk Archives describe John as a linen weaver. These documents weave a complex tale but it sounds like the couple inherited, bought and sold a number of properties over the years. Elizabeth’s will, noted below, makes it clear that she was still a significant property owner on her death.

Elizabeth’s mother, another Elizabeth, left her daughter property and lands she had owned in North Tuddenham and East Dereham in Norfolk on her death in 1731. Further legal documents dated 1738 related to properties and land not just at North Tuddenham and East Dereham, but also Mattishall, Barford, Wramplingham and Barnham Broom. John Pilgrim the elder and Elizabeth his wife were listed as deforciants or sellers alongside George Bayfield, his wife Elizabeth and others. The land included three orchards, 65 acres of land, 15 acres of meadow, 35 acres of pasture, three cottages and three gardens.

A mortgage document dated 28 June 1738 also related to land at Tuddenham and East Dereham in Norfolk and noted that £200 was to be paid to Robert Fielden of Norwich, cordwainer, by John Pilgrim of Old Buckenham, linen weaver, and Elizabeth his wife (daughter of Elizabeth Balls of Eccles late widow) along with a number of their relatives – John Balls of Eccles, yeoman (son of Elizabeth Snr); John Pilgrim the younger of North Tuddenham, yeoman; Charles Pilgrim of Old Buckenham, yeoman; Robert Pilgrim of Old Buckenham, yeoman; and Earsham Turner and Elizabeth his wife of East Harling in Norfolk. Samuel Searles of Attleborough, a surgeon, was acting as trustee for John and Elizabeth on the order of the courts. Another mortgage document dated eight days earlier referenced payments of £100 to be made to Fielden by John and Elizabeth Pilgrim and her brother John Balls.

A later document of 1741 also related to Tuddenham and East Dereham property. This Lease and Release (which actually meant sale) was between John and Elizabeth Pilgrim of Old Buckenham and James Leeds of Bawdeswell, tanner. Leeds had to pay £160 to Robert Fielden to discharge the mortgage on the land and tenements included. Leeds also agreed to pay £289 15s to John Pilgrim on the purchase of his and Elizabeth’s estate. It’s worth noting that her mother Elizabeth Balls was referred to as the sister of Thomas Fawkner, vintner of Norwich. Further notes in the document relate to John’s son John the younger renting four acres of the land, which he agreed to “plough and till in a husbandlike manner”.

It’s a bit too complicated to follow but the documents at least prove that the Pilgrims were well-off compared to many.

John Pilgrim’s death and burial dates are unclear and I’ve found no documents that match him. As his will was proved in 1758/9, it’s reasonable to assume he died around this time or a year or two earlier. He left all his land, tenements, real estate, belongings, bonds, money and other possessions in and near Old Buckenham to his wife Elizabeth. This included property and a farm he was buying at the time he wrote his will in 1741.

The same problem with burial records occurs with Elizabeth, who wrote a will in 1758 which was proved in 1760/61. She was described in it as a widow of Old Buckenham, the former Elizabeth Balls spinster, and it’s rather more complicated than her late husband’s.

Her eldest son John Pilgrim inherited all the property and land in or near Old Buckenham that had been left to her by her father John Balls; lands and tenements that she had purchased with her husband from local squire Meux Rant; and a cottage with outhouses and land in or near Old Buckenham known as Stacksford/Staxford that were left to her by her husband. Elizabeth’s son John was to own this on condition that he pay her son Charles Pilgrim £5 per year. John was also ordered to pay her grandchildren Henry Pilgrim, Charles Pilgrim and Diana Pilgrim (Charles’s children) £7 10s to be divided equally. Elizabeth’s son Robert Pilgrim received the property and lands in and around Old Buckenham that she had purchased with her husband from a number of men, including William Scott and William Brewster. He was also ordered to pay Charles’s children £7 10s to be divided between them. Her grandson Earsham Turner was left the large chest in her parlour chamber while her granddaughter Elizabeth, the wife of Thomas Howlett, received her wedding ring, a chest of drawers and large looking glass from her parlour.

Elizabeth and John’s children were:

  • Elizabeth Pilgrim (1703-????), my 6th great-grand aunt. Elizabeth was baptised on 26 June 1703 at St Mary’s in Kenninghall, Norfolk. I have no further confirmed records for her but she wasn’t mentioned in her parents’ wills so may have died relatively young.
  • John Pilgrim (1707-????), my 6th great-grand uncle. John was baptised on 12 January 1708 at St Mary’s in Kenninghall, Norfolk. He is mentioned several times in legal documents referenced above, including his parents’ wills, in which he inherited land and other property. However, there were several John Pilgrims living in the area around this time and working out who was who has been difficult. He may be the yeoman who died in Old Buckenham in 1782 and left a will that mentioned various children, including Henry, Thomas and Elizabeth.
  • Charles Pilgrim (1713-????), my 6th great-grand uncle. Charles was baptised on 30 January 1713 at St Mary’s in Kenninghall, Norfolk. He married Sarah Matthews at St Mary’s in Cranwich, Norfolk, on 26 December 1735, although both were said to be of the parish of Old Buckenham at the time. I’ve not located a baptism for her. They had their children in the Old Buckenham area:
  • Charles Pilgrim

Sources: All BMD and census data, probate, has been gathered from Ancestry.co.uk, FindMyPast.co.uk, FamilySearch.org and the British Newspaper Archive – titles mentioned within the text. NCC will register Gardiner 169 – Pilgrim, Robert, yeoman, of Old Buckenham, no 443. Manor of Thompson records WLS/XXII/5, 413×7. Land and mortgages documents: NRS 3872, 13E6. NRS 3870-3871, 13E6. NRS 3873-3876, 13E6. ANF will register 1731-1737 fo. 64 (1731-1732 no. 132). ANF will register 1755-1759 fo. 400 (1758-1759 no. 73). ANF will register 1760-1763 fo. 139 (1760-1761 no. 122). The History of the County of Brant, Ontario: containing a history of the County, its townships, cities, towns, schools, churches, etc published on Ancestry. Register of Duties Paid for Apprentices’ Indentures

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