Willoughby Staff (?1803-1886). My 4th great-grandmother. Willoughby Staff was from a Norfolk family that married into the Greens. Their descendants were part of my paternal family tree, ultimately coming down to the Finches. The surname may have derived from the Anglo-Saxon stæf, which means stick or pole, and could’ve referred to people who worked with or […]
Mental health
Susannah Symonds (1832-1906) and her family of mariners
Susannah Symonds (1832-1906), Henry George Martins (1828-1857) and Charles Downing (1824-1883). My 3rd great-grand aunt and uncles. Susannah was baptised on 8 October 1832 at St Nicholas’s Church in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, to parents Charles Robinson Witchingham Symonds and Susanna Waters. She was still living at home at the time of the 1851 census and […]
Alfred Dolamore (1835-1910) – death in the canal
Alfred Dolamore (1835-1910) and Elizabeth Dolamore (1836-1904). My 2nd great-grand uncle and aunt. Alfred Dolamore was baptised on 15 February 1835 in Abbots Langley, Hertfordshire, to parents David Dolamore and Mary Ann Walker. He was brought up in and around nearby Leavesden. He was working as an agricultural labourer at the time of the 1851 […]
Isabella Finch (1848-1934) – died in a cycle crash
Isabella Finch (1848-1934) and Jesse Freeman (1846-1923). My 2nd great-grand aunt and uncle. Isabella Finch was christened on 27 August 1848 at St Mary’s in Reigate, Surrey, the daughter of Henry Finch and Jane Bashford. She grew up in the town while her father worked as an agricultural labourer. On 4 September 1870 at St Mary’s […]