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 made such tools. In some instances, the name may also have referred to a place.

Willoughby was brought up in the Norfolk village of Hickling, although her baptism record is missing. She was probably born in around 1803. I believe I have her ancestry right, as explained on her own page, but one of her aunts also went by the name Willoughby – which is an unusual christian name. She married Norwich native William Green (1799-????) in 1822 and they went to live on the coast at Great Yarmouth. But after William died, the date of which is unclear, Willoughby went to London and then on a marathon trip to Utah in the USA as a follower of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints – commonly referred to as the Mormon Church. One of her daughters went with her.

Willoughby remarried in Utah and lived there for the rest of her life, dying in 1886. Read more about Willoughby and her journey in life here.

See where Willoughby fits into my family tree.

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John Staff (1777-1839) and Susanna Saunders (1773-1843).
My 5th great-grandparents.

There’s a degree of assumption about John Staff being my 5th great-grandfather because the baptism record of his daughter Willoughby (above) is missing. However, census records for her noted that she came from Hickling, a village to the north of Great Yarmouth on the Norfolk Broads. She would’ve been born in about 1803 based on the age recorded by the enumerators. Staff families were living in Hickling at the time. A John Saunders Staff was baptised there in 1806 to John and Susanna Staff (nee Saunders) and a girl called Susanna was baptised in 1813 to Samuel and Kezia Staff. But as the latter couple didn’t marry until 1811, the likelihood is that John and Susanna were Willoughby’s parents. One of John’s sisters also had the unusual christian name of Willoughby.

John was most likely the child baptised on 17 August 1777 at St Mary’s Church in Stalham, Norfolk, a few miles from Hickling and about 10 miles from the birthplace of his future wife. His parents were Robert Staff and Mary Pergall (see below). He married Susanna Saunders on 11 October 1799 at All Saints Church in Walcott, on the Norfolk coast about five miles north of Stalham. At that point, as noted on the marriage record, John was living in Hickling.

Susanna – sometimes known as Susan – was baptised on 5 September 1773 at All Saints Church in Skeyton, the daughter of William Saunders and his wife Rachel. The surname was sometimes spelled Sanders.

The couple baptised their first children in Hickling but then moved to the coast at Great Yarmouth, where they had more offspring. At least one of the baptism records there listed him as a fisherman but other documents referred to him as a waterman, a term usually referred to those who worked on boats but mainly on rivers.

John died in 1839 and was buried in Great Yarmouth on the 26 November. Susanna was recorded living in Row 128 at Great Yarmouth in the 1841 Census with Hannah Staff and her children. Susanna died in 1843 and was buried in Great Yarmouth on 30 March.

John and Susannah’s children were:

• Willoughby Staff (?1803-1886), my 4th great-grandmother. See above for her details.
• John Saunders Staff (1806-????), my 4th great-grand uncle. John was born on 2 March 1806 and baptised the following day at St Mary’s Church in Hickling, Norfolk. I’ve not been able to trace him with confidence after this.
• Robert William Saunders Staff (1809-?1811), my 4th great-grand uncle. Robert was born on 24 December 1809 and baptised on the 27th at St Nicholas’s Church in Great Yarmouth. He must’ve died young as a later child was baptised Robert.
• Robert Staff (1812-1891), my 4th great-grand uncle. Robert was born on 17 June 1812 and baptised on 22nd at St Nicholas’s Church in Great Yarmouth. His wife was Charlotte Thompson but I’ve not yet found any record of a marriage between them anywhere in Britain. She was born on 18 May 1811 and baptised on the 21st in Great Yarmouth to Jeremiah and Sarah Thompson. Their first child was baptised in Yarmouth in 1834 and they were living in George Street, Yarmouth, with their growing family at the time of the 1841 Census, Robert listed as a labourer. Ten years later their address was at North Quay and Robert was working as a coal heaver – a job that involved unloading coal from carts and wagons. He was shown in that job in the 1861 and 1871 censuses, when the family were living at Bessey’s Buildings. I suspect Charlotte died in 1876 and was buried on 16 December in Great Yarmouth New Cemetery, with her address given at the time as Row 42 in Great Yarmouth. However, the Yarmouth Gazette and North Norfolk Constitutionalist edition from 16 December reported on her inquest, which suggested she’d been living further south in Lowestoft, Suffolk. Charlotte had lived nextdoor to a Sarah Millington, the wife of a mariner, for about five weeks and she told the hearing that Charlotte had recently complained of pains in her side but otherwise seemed in tolerably good health. Sarah said that on the day of her death Charlotte had been at her home and was scrubbing a meat board when she collapsed in the yard. Still alive, she took her into her house but she died about 15 minutes later. A doctor told the inquest that he thought Charlotte had died of heart disease. There was no mention of her husband Robert in the report, so were they living apart for a time? Were there difficulties in the marriage? The 1881 Census gave Robert’s address as Row 42 but 10 years later he was lodging with his daughter Eliza in Exmouth Road, Yarmouth, living on his own means. He died there a few months later and was buried in Great Yarmouth New Cemetery on 3 October 1891. The couple had a large family:
  • Robert Staff (1834-1888). Robert was baptised in Great Yarmouth in 1834 and married Elizabeth Ingram in nearby Gorleston in 1855. They continued to live in the area and had children while Robert went to sea as a fisherman. By 1881 they were living in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, but at separate addresses. Robert was boarding, listed as a labourer, while Elizabeth was working as a nurse elsewhere in the town. He died in August 1888, the result of an accident at work. The Horncastle News of 8 September 1888 reported on the inquest. Robert died from a fractured skull after an accident on board the SS Norkoowa. He was in the hold helping to unload sleepers when one fell back and knocked him over, causing the injury. He died about an hour later. It was said that sleepers did occasionally fall back into the hold and men had to be aware of the risk. Elizabeth remained in Grimsby and died in 1914.
  • Charlotte Eliza Staff (1836-1861). Charlotte was baptised in Great Yarmouth in 1836 and was buried there in May 1861.
  • William Jeremiah Staff (1838-1899). William was baptised in Great Yarmouth in 1838 and went to sea as a fisherman as a young man. In 1867 he married Yarmouth-born Maria Agnes Davey, settled in the town and had a family with her. In the years after the 1891 Census, in which William was described as a mariner, the couple moved to Essex. He was buried in Chingford Mount in 1899, while Maria went on to live in East Ham with one of her daughters and her family. She was buried there in 1912.
  • Maria Elizabeth Staff (1840-1920). Maria was baptised in Great Yarmouth in 1840 and worked as a silk winder before her marriage in 1864 to Matthew George Young, a sailor also from Yarmouth. By 1871 they had a daughter but the Yarmouth Independent of 7 October 1871 reported that Matthew had been sentenced to six weeks hard labour for refusing to perform his duties on the smack Lotus having been engaged for an eight-week trip. Young, the mate, and others were overheard talking about safety on the vessel before refusing to work but their concerns were dismissed. The 1891 Census showed them living in County Durham, at Hedworth, Matthew still as mariner, but 10 years later they were back in Yarmouth. He died there in 1918, Maria in 1920.
  • James Staff (1842-1856). James was baptised in Great Yarmouth in 1842 and was buried there in November 1856.
  • John Thomas Staff (1843-1924). John was baptised in Great Yarmouth in 1843 and married local woman Eliza Ulph there in 1864. They had children and John worked as a mariner but he then became the landlord of the Clarence Tavern in Yarmouth. However, the Yarmouth Mercury of 19 April 1890 reported on bankruptcy proceedings, with John more than £300 in debt. He had gone into business in 1874 as a smack owner in partnership with a William Lamb but his partnership was dissolved in 1878. He took another boat and mortgaged it to buy Lamb out, then took a beerhouse in 1888 even though he wasn’t solvent. He was also losing money on his boat, while borrowing to try to cover his debts. John somehow recovered and remained at the Clarence at least until the 1921 Census. Eliza died in 1909 and John in 1924.
  • George Hobby Staff (1846-1904). George was born in Great Yarmouth in 1846 and worked as a fisherman from his teenage years. He didn’t marry until 1890, when his bride was Middlesex-born widow Sarah Chilvers nee Gray. They lived in Yarmouth and by 1901 he was listed in the census as a general labourer. He died in 1904. Sarah stayed in the area and died in 1922.
  • Mary Hannah Staff (1848-????). Mary was born in Great Yarmouth in 1848 and married fisherman Edward Leggett, from just over the border in Suffolk, in Yarmouth in 1878. But I’ve not found records that clearly match her after this.
  • Thomas Henry Staff (1849-1920). Thomas was born in Great Yarmouth in 1849 and was already a sailor when he married Jessie Elizabeth Moss there in 1869 (she was aged just 17). They lived in the area all their married lives and had children while Thomas remained at sea. He received the Mercantile Marine Medal for his service in the First World War. Jessie died in January 1920, Thomas later in the year in November.
  • Eliza Eleanor Staff (1851-????). Eliza was born in Great Yarmouth in 1851 and married block maker Charles Wooden there in 1884. In 1891 he was staying temporarily in Clacton, Essex, while working on the extension of the pier there. I suspect he died in 1897. Eliza’s fate is a little mysterious. She may have died in 1898 but a woman who matches her was living in Yarmouth in 1901.
  • Charles Alfred Staff (1853-1872). Charles was born in Great Yarmouth in September 1853 but he died young and was buried there in 1872.
• William Saunders Thomas Staff (1819-????), my 4th great-grand uncle. William was baptised on 10 July 1819 at St Nicholas’s Church in Great Yarmouth. I’ve not been able to track him down with confidence after this.

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Robert Staff (?1739-1805) and Mary Pergall (1738-1811).
My 6th great-grandparents.

When and where Robert Staff, my 6th great-grandfather, was born is a mystery. According to the age given at his burial, he would’ve been born in about 1739 but no existing baptism records in the Norfolk area come close to matching this. If they do, they can be discounted for a variety of reasons. Perhaps a record went missing, or he came from outside the county?

The first thing known about him was his marriage to Mary Pergall, sometimes Purgall, on 10 October 1759 at St Mary’s Church in Stalham, Norfolk. She came from nearby Ingham, where she was baptised at Holy Trinity Church on 26 February 1738. Her parents were John Purgall and Phyllis, nee Randal.

They settled in Stalham and had a large family. There’s some confusion over what he did for a living. The Norfolk Chronicle of 8 August 1778 referred to an auction planned for Robert Staffe’s house, known as the Maid’s Head Inn in Stalham. And an edition of the paper published on 2 March 1793 publicised a meeting of blacksmiths to be held, again at Robert Staff’s house – the Maid’s Head. His will also referred to him as an innkeeper. But a 1798 Land Tax record noted Robert as the owner and occupier of land in Stalham, with a sum assessed of 18s, while an 1802 poll register recorded him in the village as a farmer. Perhaps he held down two jobs? Alternatively, these may have been two different people.

Robert died in May 1805 and was buried in Stalham on the 26th. He left all his estate, the inn and his possessions, except six rods of land, to his wife. Mary was buried in Stalham on 2 January 1812 and after that the Maid’s Head and the land Mary inherited was sold by auction (Norfolk Chronicle 8 February 1812). The pub was sold in one lot with two acres of land, while two further lots went under the hammer including a parcel of land that had been enclosed from the old village common. According to her late husband’s will, the proceeds were to be divided among his children.

Robert and Mary’s children were:

• Thomas Staff (1765-1833), my 5th great-grand uncle. Thomas was baptised at St Mary’s Church in Stalham, Norfolk, on 10 February 1765. He married Sarah Neave at St Peter’s Church in Smallburgh, Norfolk, a few miles to the east of his home village, on 23 May 1785. Sarah had been born in Smallburgh on 21 October 1764 and baptised on the 28 October that year to parents William and Elizabeth. The couple settled in Stalham and had a large family but Sarah died young in 1806 and was buried in the village on 11 May. Thomas went on to have problems in business. The Norfolk Chronicle of 6 May 1815 carried a public notice in which Thomas, a boatman of Stalham, reported that he’d assigned all his estate and effects to William Atkins of Ridlington, Norfolk, a farmer, for the equal benefit of Thomas’s creditors. Creditors were asked to send their demands to Atkins instead of Thomas going forward. The same paper of 15 July 1815 mentioned the sale by auction of a staith boat-house with warehouse in Stalham in the occupation of Thomas Staff, along with two wherries, a cow, a cart and some other goods. I assume this was Atkins or others selling what was Thomas’s property in order to fund his debts. The following year the Norfolk Chronicle of 20 July 1816 published notice of an auction of the Maid’s Head Inn in Stalham in the occupation of Thomas Staff, along with an adjoining piece of land of just over one acre. This sounds like he’d taken the property after his mother’s death in 1812 (mentioned earlier). It’s unclear how Thomas coped after all these blows but he lived until 1833 and was buried in Stalham on 8 December. Thomas and Sarah had children including two sets of twins but many, tragically, died very young:
  • Eleanor Staff (1786-1788) was baptised and buried a toddler in Stalham.
  • Ann Staff (1787-1859) was baptised in Stalham and married village native William Saul there in 1814. They raised a family, baptising their children in Stalham, and he worked as a sawyer and carpenter. The 1841 and 1851 censuses showed them living in Norwich, where William died in 1856 and Ann in 1859.
  • Thomas Staff (1789-1808) was baptised as a twin of Sarah and buried in Stalham.
  • Sarah Staff (1789-1791) was baptised as a twin of Thomas and buried in Stalham as a toddler.
  • Sarah Staff (1792-????) was baptised in Stalham and married James Clements there in 1813. He was from the parish of Lessingham at the time of their wedding. I’ve not been able to find records I’m confident with after this.
  • Elizabeth Staff (1796-1797) was baptised and buried as a baby in Stalham.
  • Robert Staff (1798-1798) was baptised and buried within days as a twin of William in Stalham.
  • William Staff (1798-1798) was baptised and buried within days as a twin of Robert in Stalham.
    
• Ann Staff (1767-1787), my 5th great-grand aunt. Ann was baptised at St Nicholas’s Church in Dilham, Norfolk, on 24 May 1767. This was just a few miles from Stalham, where the family had settled. She was buried in Stalham on 10 June 1787, described as the daughter of Robert and Mary Staff.
• Willoughby Staff (?1768-1801), my 5th great-grand aunt. No baptism record has yet been found for Willoughby but she was buried at St Mary’s Church in Stalham, Norfolk, on 23 August 1801 as the daughter of Robert and Mary and said to be aged 33.
• Phyllis Ann Staff (1773-1840), my 5th great-grand aunt. Phyllis was baptised at St Mary’s Church in Stalham, Norfolk, on 22 August 1773. She married widower John Snelling, of Barton Turf in Norfolk, on 5 October 1791 and for a few years they settled in the village. Where John was baptised, and when, is still something I’ve not pinned down. They had a large family, although a number of their children died young, and lived in Stalham and Great Yarmouth judging by the baptism records. One baptism record described John as a boatman, which may have meant that he worked on river boats or helped with mooring at the docks. The couple later returned to Stalham, where John was buried aged 66 on 12 June 1831. Phyllis was buried there on 17 June 1840. Their children were:
  • John Snelling (1792-?1800) was baptised in Barton Turf and must’ve died before 1802, when another child was baptised John. However, I’ve yet to locate a burial record.
  • James Snelling (1793-?1800) was baptised in Barton Turf and again must’ve died young, as the couple baptised another of their children James in later years. I’ve yet to locate a burial record.
  • Ann Snelling (1795-1879) was baptised in Barton Turf in 1795 and married Henry Neve / Neave there in 1812. He was from Stalham, and was baptised there in 1791. He worked as a waterman or boatman. The couple had children and lived, according to baptism records and census returns, in Stalham, Hautbois and Horstead in Norfolk. Henry was buried in Horstead in 1866, Ann in 1879.
  • Mary Staff Snelling (1796-1823) was baptised in Stalham in 1796. She married Thomas Bates of Happisburgh, Norfolk, in Stalham in 1814. They had children and he worked as a shoemaker but Mary died young in 1823 and was buried in Lessingham, where the young couple had settled. Thomas prompty remarried.
  • Elizabeth Snelling (1798-1798) was baptised and buried as a baby in Stalham in 1798.
  • Elizabeth Snelling (1800-1800) was baptised and buried just a few months later in Great Yarmouth in 1800.
  • John Snelling (1802-1802) was baptised and buried just a few months later in Great Yarmouth in 1802.
  • Robert Snelling (1803-1804) was baptised in Great Yarmouth in 1803 and buried there almost a year later in 1804.
  • Robert Staff Snelling (1807-1888) was born and baptised in Stalham in 1807 and married Margaret Harbard in 1838. Census returns generally put her place of birth as Hull, Yorkshire, in around 1812 but I’ve yet to find proof and it may be that for one or both this was a second wedding. The couple raised a family and moved around in Norfolk but later settled in Yorkshire, where the 1871 Census placed them in Sculcoates. Robert was usually listed as a paper or cardboard box maker. Margaret died in 1875, Robert in 1888, both in Yorkshire.
  • Hannah Staff Snelling (1808-1811) was baptised in 1808 in Stalham and buried there in 1811.
  • James Staff Snelling (1811-1824) was baptised in 1811 in Stalham and buried there a teenager in 1824.
  • William Staff Snelling (1814-1877) was baptised in 1814 in Stalham. His first marriage was to a woman called Sophia, with whom he had at least one child, but I’ve yet to locate a record of their wedding. After she died, William married widow Mary Ann Trett in 1868. He worked as a shoemaker and lived in Stalham for many years, before moving to Filby in Norfolk, where Mary Ann had been baptised in 1815. The probate record showed that he later worked as a gardener. He was buried in Filby in 1877. Mary Ann died in 1893.

• Robert Staff (1775-1839), my 5th great-grand uncle. Robert was baptised at St Mary’s Church in Stalham, Norfolk, on 17 September 1775. He married Hannah Withers there on 6 July 1795 and, while she was said to be of the same parish, I’ve not found a baptism record for her anywhere that I’m comfortable with. The couple settled in Stalham and had a family there, with Robert working as a shoemaker. An apprenticeship record dated 21 February 1805 recorded him (cordwainer Robert Staff Jnr) as master of William Doughty. Further details of Robert’s life in the village came from much later Poor Law and Settlement documentation related to his son John. Dated 1854, this detailed the care, expense and responsibility for John who, in the brutal terminology of the time, was “confined as a lunatic”. It went into his family history in order to prove that the cost of his care should fall on the parish of Stalham rather than on authorities in Middlesex or Surrey. The records showed that Robert had acquired a copyhold estate in the village in 1804, which he held from the Manor of Linford (the copyholder) for more than 20 years. The land included a house, in which John was born in 1814. Robert was still in Stalham in 1832 but a poll book record that year noted he was entitled to vote through owning a freehold house and land near the staith, which was perhaps a quay on the River Ant. In 1835 he was recorded voting in the election for two knights of the shire and one of those votes went to Richard Gurney, of the famous Norfolk Quaker family, who was a liberal and reformer. This fits with what we know of Robert, who had his later children baptised at a non-conformist church. He died in 1839, his death registered in the Norfolk district that included Stalham. Hannah was recorded in the village in the 1841 Census, living on independent means, but her death was registered in 1848. The following year the Norfolk Chronicle of 16 June 1849 reported on a forthcoming auction of a substantial dwelling house of brick and tile formerly the residence of Robert Staff (who I assume left it to Hannah to live in until her death). It was said to have a large, well-planted garden, an orchard and outbuildings, held copyhold of the Manor of Stalham Hall. Robert and Hannah’s children were:
  • Phyllis Staff (1795-????) was born in Stalham on 25 September 1795 and baptised there. She married tailor Thomas Mason at St Gregory’s in Norwich on 10 October 1819, settled in the city and raised a family. Thomas died young in January 1834. Phyllis (often Phillis) worked as a dressmaker and tailoress and was living in the city at the time of the 1841 Census. She married twice-widowed police officer John Morter (sometimes Mortar) at Norwich Register Office on 1 November 1851. He came from Hickling in Norfolk, born in 1796, but remained living in Norwich. He joined the Norwich police in 1837 and remained with them until his retirement in 1861. He apprehended James Rush, who killed Isaac Jermy, the Recorder of Norwich (a judge), and his son also called Isaac at Stanfield Hall at Wymondham in Norfolk on 28 November 1848. Rush was the Jermys’ tenant farmer, was heavily in debt and had devised a plan to defraud them of their property and lives. John arrested him at his farm hours after the incident. Rush was hanged the following April. John Morter died in Norwich on 7 October 1871 but I’ve yet to locate a death record for Phyllis.
  • Ann Staff (1797-1797) was born and baptised in Stalham on 15 July 1797 and buried there days later on the 19th.
  • Ann Staff (1798-????) was born on 18 June 1798 and baptised on the 21st in Stalham. She married James George there on 31 December 1821 but I’ve not been able to pin them down with confidence after.
  • Mary Staff (1800-1878) was born on 14 October 1800 and baptised on the 19th in Stalham. She married John Platten on 29 July 1822 at St Gregory’s in Norwich. He was born in Hoveton in Norfolk in 1796. They settled around the Norfolk Broads, where their children were baptised in such villages as Hickling and Wroxham. He worked as a waterman. Census returns placed them as residents of Wroxham, where John died in 1857. By 1871, Mary was being described as an owner of cottage property in the census. She died in Wroxham on 26 December 1878.
  • Hannah Staff (1802-????) was born on 27 September 1802 and baptised on 3 October in Stalham. She married Robert Thomson in the village on 25 July 1822 but what happened to them after that is a mystery.
  • Robert Staff (1804-1884) was born on 19 December 1804 and baptised on the 30th in Stalham. He married three times. His first wife, who he wed on 12 October 1824, was Stalham local Sophia Grey (1807-1830). His second was Elizabeth Neave (1814-1860) from Sutton in Norfolk – their wedding was on 29 October 1835. He then married Elizabeth Green nee Howell in Stalham on 16 March 1865. She was born in Ludham, Norfolk, in 1820. Robert had a number of children and worked as a butcher, living in East Ruston as well as Stalham. Robert was buried in Stalham on 30 September 1884.
  • Martha Staff (1807-????) was born on 18 April 1807 and had her birth registered at Ingham Baptish Church. I’ve not located her subsequently.
  • Sarah Staff (1809-????) was born on 27 February 1809 and had her birth registered at Ingham Baptish Church. She married Robert Platten at Ingham in Norfolk on 25 July 1831. She was living with her mother and several children in Stalham at the time of the 1841 Census and she may have been the woman in Ingham at the 1851 – a widowed pauper. This Sarah was said to have been born in Hickling, but that could’ve been an error. I’m unsure what happened to her or what Robert’s fate was.
  • Rebecka Staff (18111-????) was born on 22 October 1811 and had her birth registered at Ingham Baptish Church. I’ve not located her subsequently.
  • John Staff (1814-1854) was born on 15 March 1814 and had his birth registered at Ingham Baptish Church. He worked initially as a blacksmith but then joined the Coldstream Guards in February 1835. During his years with them he served in Quebec, Canada, where the French community had rebelled against British rule in the late 1830s. John was recorded there in 1841 but his service may have been longer. He married Caroline Fitness in Westminster, London, on 25 July 1844 – his address given as Wellington Barracks. The record noted that his father was a smith also called John but this must’ve been an error as everything else fits. She was from Wrotham in Kent, born in 1825. In 1851 they were living in Chelsea with their children. John was discharged from the army on 11 July 1854 after 19 years of service as medically unfit through “mental derangement”, described as a member of Colonel the Hon G Upton’s Company. Records stated that despite his mental health problems, he was a good soldier, trustworthy and sober. He was granted a pension but was admitted to the Peckham House private asylum in Peckham, Surrey, on 15 July – the two Middlesex county asylums being full. As noted above under his father, there then began a debate between the authorities in Westminster and in Stalham over who should pay for his care under the Poor Law rules. It ultimately fell on Stalham. However, John did not live long and died at the Peckham asylum on 4 September 1854. He was buried in Camberwell five days later. Caroline remarried and died in 1905.

• John Staff (1777-1839), my 5th great-grandfather. See above for details of John’s life and family.
• Stephen Staff (1779-1852), my 5th great-grand uncle. Stephen was baptised on 2 January 1780 at St Mary’s in Stalham, Norfolk. He married Suffolk native Mary Teasel at St Peter’s in Ridlington, Norfolk, on 14 October 1801. They settled on the Norfolk coast at Happisburgh and baptised their many children there or at the Baptist Chapel in Ingham. An 1817 poll book noted that Stephen was the owner of freehold property in Happisburgh, while a poll book for 1844 recorded that the freehold house and land was on the Yarmouth road. They family were recorded in Happisburgh in the 1841 and 1851 censuses. Stephen worked as a shoemaker, like many others in his wider family, and an apprenticeship record for 1804 showed him as master of apprentice Samuel Harris. Stephen died in 1852 and his estate was auctioned in Stalham a short time later on 13 July (Norfolk Chronicle of 10 July 1852) – a freehold house with sitting room, kitchen, dairy, cellar and three bedrooms, a shoemaker’s shop with chamber, a barn, stable, cow-house and garden of 19 perches. Also going under the hammer were two pieces of arable land. His wife Mary died in November 1856 and the notice in the 15 November 1856 edition of the Norfolk News stated “after a life of consistent piety, she died happy in the Lord”. Stephen and Mary had a number of children but they’ve been very difficult to trace generally:
  • Mary Staff (1804-1834) was baptised in Happisburgh on 24 July 1804. She married George Tilman there on 27 June 1823. He worked for the preventive service – in other words he was a customs officer. Mary died young and was buried in the village on 21 January 1834. George’s fate is unclear but a man by this name was buried in Happisburgh in 1824 and it appears Mary had no children after that year.
  • Elizabeth Staff (1805-????) was baptised in Happisburgh on 24 November 1805 but I’ve not been able to pin her down with confidence after that.
  • John Staff (1807-????) was baptised in Happisburgh on 30 August 1807 but I’ve not been able to find records that fit him afterwards. There were quite a few men by this name born in the county around the same time.
  • Stephen Staff (1809-????) was baptised in Happisburgh on 9 March 1809. He has also been impossible to trace. An 1851 Census return referred to a man by this name with a similar age but he was said to have been born in Bunwell.
  • Robert Staff (1810-1877) was baptised in Happisburgh on 18 November 1810 and married Londoner Elizabeth Peak in Camden, Middlesex, on 3 September 1840. The couple settled in Hoxton, Middlesex, and raised a family, while Robert worked as a carpenter and builder. He died on 4 July 1877, Elizabeth on 20 December 1888.
  • Joseph Staff (1812-1834) was baptised in Happisburgh on 30 August 1812 and buried there on 20 August 1834.
  • Jeremiah Staff (1813-????) was baptised in Happisburgh on 3 October 1813 but, like many of his siblings, disappears from the records afterwards.
  • Jesse Staff (1815-????) was born on 14 March 1815 and had his name registered at the Ingham Baptist Chapel. He then falls off the radar.
  • Thomas Staff (1817-????) was born on 6 March 1817 and had his name registered at the Ingham Baptist Chapel. I’ve not located him after this. Several boys were born with this name around the same time in the county.
  • Maria Staff (1819-?1840s) was born on 24 October 1819 and had her name registered at the Ingham Baptist Chapel. She married John Saul in 1840. He came from Stalham, where he was baptised in 1819. They were recorded with her parents in Happisburgh at the 1841 Census and they had at least one child but Maria died at some point later in the decade (no record has yet been found). John, a carpenter, remarried and died in Norwich in October 1893.

• Mary Esther Staff (1782-1782), my 5th great-grand aunt. Mary was baptised on 7 April 1782 at St Mary’s in Stalham, Norfolk, and was buried on 11 July that year.

Sources: Birth, marriage, death and burial records including civil registrations from the General Register Office, census returns, apprenticehsip and other records at Ancestry.co.uk, Findmypast.co.uk and Norfolk Family History Society.
British Newspaper Archive (titles in text).
Robert Staff will National Archives ref IR 26/391/25.
Norfolk Constabulary archives.
Jermy murders.
London Selected Poor Law Removal and Settlement Records, 1698-1922 (The London Archives via Ancestry).
National Archives military records for John Staff ref WO 12/1747, WO 97/210, WO12/1752 and WO 23/35.