Willoughby Staff and my other Staff ancestors

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 […]

Frances Ann Witchingham and my other Witchingham ancestors

Frances Ann Witchingham (1773-1847). My 5th great-grandmother. Witchingham is a reasonably common surname in Norfolk and may well derive from the village of Witchingham, north-west of Norwich. Over time the name has been spelled in a variety of ways including Wychingham, Wichinham, Withingham and even Wichengim. View where the Witchinghams are in my current family […]

Elizabeth Wetherill (1713-1799?) – businesswoman of Norwich

Elizabeth Wetherill (1713-1799?) and Edward Peterson (1714?-1783). My 7th great-grand aunt and uncle. Elizabeth was baptised on 1 February 1713 at St Nicholas’s Church in Great Yarmouth, her parents being schoolteacher Thomas Wetherill and Mary Corpe. Her brother William Wetherill’s will referred to her as Elizabeth Peterson and mentioned her children but I’ve not found […]

Thomas Goulty (1778-1857), Norfolk husbandman

Thomas Goulty / Goughty (1778-1857) and Sarah Russell (1779-1865). My 4th great-grand uncle and aunt. Thomas was born in 1778 and baptised at St Swithin’s Church in Frettenham, Norfolk, on 11 October that year. His parents were Charles Goulty and Elizabeth Quantrel. His surname was spelled in various ways in the parish records, from Goulty […]

Frederick Elijah Wetherall (1814-1906) and his family tragedies

Frederick Elijah Wetherall (1814-1906) and Lucy Sarah Lloyd (1815-1869). My 4th great-grand uncle and aunt. Frederick was born on 30 July 1814 and baptised at St John Timberhill, Norwich, Norfolk, a day later – his parents were Thomas Wetherill and Rebecca Brooks. He grew up in the city with his family but followed them when […]

Harriet Wetherall (1801-1859), who married a leading artist

Harriet Wetherill (1801-1859) and Thomas Lound (1801-1861). My 5th great-grand aunt and uncle. Harriet was born on 11 June 1801 and baptised on the 16th at St Nicholas’s Church in Great Yarmouth. Her parents were James Wetherill and Mary Proctor. She grew up in the coastal town without knowing her father, who’d died just weeks […]

William Brooks Wetherill (1820-1903) – transported to Australia

Hobart in the 1840s

William Brooks Wetherill (1820-1903). My 5th great-uncle. William Brooks Wetherill was born on 7 March 1820 to Thomas Wetherill and Rebecca Brooks and was baptised on the 12th at St John Timberhill in Norwich, Norfolk. He was found guilty of burglary and sentenced to 10 years’ transportation to Australia. He grew up in Norwich with […]

John Stoliday (1817-1896), his wife Catherine and the courts

John Stoliday (1817-1896) and Catherine Smith (1822-1910). My 3rd great-grand uncle and aunt. John Stoliday was born on 25 April 1817 and baptised on 8 June that year at All Saints’ Church in Rackheath, Norfolk, to parents James Stoliday and Mary Gay. John grew up with his parents and siblings in and around Rackheath and […]