SANDS/WILKIN and SEXTON

[Davran]

Coincidentally, two different sides of the family originate in Norfolk.

SANDS - earliest record I have is George bc1787 Foulsham, married Frances bc1798 Billingford. Both living in Foxley 1841/51.

Their son, George, b1819 Foxley married Mary Ann WILKIN bc1819? Guestwick.

Mary Ann is a stumbling block as she was the illegitimate daughter of a Robert Smith (from marriage cert), so I have been unable to discover her birth date - both bride and groom were 'of full age' on marriage cert (17/7/1842 Foxley).

I have all available census info for their descendants.

SEXTON - This family originates from Hainford.
George 1825-1898 was the son of Samuel 1803-1875 and Mary bc1805. Samuel was probably the son of John d1828 and Ann Alcock 1770-1849 (married Hainford 1793). I have the siblings of George and descendants, but need corroboration of Samuel's parents etc.

[Geoffers]

SEXTON - This family originates from Hainford.
George 1825-1898 was the son of Samuel 1803-1875 and Mary bc1805. Samuel was probably the son of John d1828 and Ann Alcock 1770-1849
Well, it took some sorting but I think I have an answer to this part. The answer goes on a bit, bear with me......

I began by looking at what you have provided and checking this against census information. All Census returns show Samuel as being born in Frettenham. A birth in Frettenham suggests a baptism either there, in Horstead (Stanninghall is in Horstead parish, but several people born there show themselves as born in Frettenham) or in Hainford (neighbouring parish). I've checked the parish records for all three places and could not find a baptism for your chap from 1790-1830.

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[Geoffers]

part 2.....

So, I then looked at the information you provided, yes there is a John SEXTON who married Ann ALCOCK:

entry 99, Hainford register
14 Oct 1793, banns
John SEXTON, widr, otp, X
Ann ALCOCK, sw, otp, X
wit: Richard FUTTER, sig - John WEBSTER, X

They did have several children up to 1800, but none were baptised after then. Had the family moved, or did someone die? Checking the parish registers there is a burial for John SEXTON in 1828 aged 85 - seems a bit old for having children in 1800, but not impossible, especially as the John who married in 1793 was a widower.

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[Geoffers]

part 3....

There is also a burial in 1800:

Hainford, burial
John SEXTON, 8th Sept 1800, aged 49.

Could this be the husband of Ann and so the reason why no more children were born after 1800? Could the assumption that Samuel was the son of John be incorrect? As an aside, you could easily check this, search NROCAT:
http://nrocat.norfolk.gov.uk/dservea/Index.htm
enter 'SEXTON' in the first field and in the category field, selct 'Probate' then search. You'll see that John Sexton's will is available at the NRO, you could order a copy and see if your Samuel inherited anything.

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[Geoffers]

part 4.....

Anyway, I went back to Frettenham, the parish of his birth according to census returns, e.g:

1851 census
HO107/1811 f215 p22
Church Lane, Hainford
Samuel SEXTON, hd, mar, 47, Farmer 12 acres Emp no Labs, bn Frettenham
Mary SEXTON, wf, mar, 46, farmer's wf, bn Hainford
James SEXTON, son, unm, 20, ag.lab, bn Hainford
Mary SEXTON, dau, 8, scholar, bn Hainford

I looked at other baptisms of Sextons in Frettenham. There are several
1806, Benjamin, 1809, Joseph, 1812, Mary. All the children of James + Elizabeth.

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[Geoffers]

part 5......

James had first married at Hainford:
entry 69, Hainford register
21 Oct 1782, banns
James SEXTON, sm, otp, sig
Phoebe SKIPPER, sw, otp, X
wit: John (WILSON??) X - (Eliza??) FOULGER, X

They baptised several children, James in 1783 at Hainford and Phebe, 1787 in Frettenham, William 1793 in Frettenham, John 1796 in Frettenham, before Phoebe was buried:

Frettenham register, 1800
"SEXTON, Phoebe the wife of James Sexton, labr, was buried Septr 14th - aged 33 years."
(NB The age is unclear, when indexing the register I originally interpreted this as 38, but would now say it reads '33').

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[Geoffers]

part 6.....

The widowed James remarried:
entry 69, Frettenham register
29th Dec 1805, banns
James SEXTON, widr, otp, sig (NB sig very similar to earlier marriage)
Elizabeth LOVEDAY, sw, otp, X
wit: Francis FOULGER, sig - (Jemmima??) FOULGER, sig

If you're still with me, I wondered if perhaps Samuel was their son and had been baptised in Elizabeth's home parish.

The 1851 census shows she was born in Salhouse:
HO107/1811 f234 p13
Frettenham
Eliza SEXTON, hd, wid, 73, bn Salhouse
Joseph SEXTON, son, unm, 41, ag.lab, bn Frettenham
Eliza SEXTON, dau, unm, 32, bn Horstead
Ann SEXTON, dau, 4, bn Frettenham
Loisa SEXTON, dau, 9mth, bn Frettenham

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[Geoffers]

part 7.....

I would guess there has been an error in the transcript and in fact Joseph was married to Eliza the children were theirs, but I haven't checked this and may be wrong.

So, Eliza(beth) was born in Salhouse. Is there baptism for Samuel SEXTON in Salhouse in 1805? No! (Though intriguingly a John Loveday married a Phoebe Sexton there in 1806).

So where and when was Samuel baptised? James was widowed in 1800 and didn't marry for 5 years, this is quite a long period to stay single. Could in fact James have known Eliza for some time? Could she have been his housekeeper - possibly:

Frettenham baptisms, 1802:
"LOVEDAY - Samuel the illegitimate son of Elizabeth Loveday was baptised August 1st."

I can find no corresponding burial for Samuel Loveday. So, if you've stayed awake this long, there's the theory. James Sexton married Phoebe Skipper, she died. James probably had a housekeeper, Elizabeth Loveday. They probably had an illegitimate son, Samuel before marrying in 1805.

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[Geoffers]

part 8.....


SANDS.....George, b1819 Foxley married Mary Ann WILKIN bc1819? Guestwick.......Mary Ann is a stumbling block as she was the illegitimate daughter of a Robert Smith (from marriage cert), so I have been unable to discover her birth date - both bride and groom were 'of full age' on marriage cert (17/7/1842 Foxley).
You would be lucky to locate a birth date between 1813 and 1837, baptism is probably the best you can hope for. Try the parish registers for Guestwick and see what you come up with.

Geoffers

[Davran]

Thanks very much Geoffers! I will inwardly digest all that. Great.