PORTER1 - Heigham, Banningham, Hindolveston, West Tofts, Snetterton and North Lopham
Associated Names - HARRIS
JOHN PORTER of Heigham [and Foxley?]
John Porter [A22?] resided in Heigham in the period 1670-1674 according to the Hearth Tax Exemption Certificates and, with his wife Elizabeth, had a daughter Susan baptised there 22 September 1672. He may also be the same person as John Pooter who married Ann Bunn 25 August 1674 in Heigham and the John Porter who witnessed ............John Porter was a member of the Jury in Heigham Manor at its Court Leet in October 1677 and so must have had freehold or copyhold property in the Manor2. He could, therefore, have been the father, or brother, of Francis, below. His whereabouts after 1677 are currently unknown.
FRANCIS PORTER of Heigham and Banningham
Francis Porter, b. c. 1644 but whose parentage is not yet established3, married Susanna Alison4 20 January 1668/9 in Banningham [S.Erp.]5 [D22]. No children have yet been found for Francis and Susanna and there is no other evidence of their residence in Banningham6. A reference7 to “Goodman” Porter and his wife Susanna in Ingworth, which is next to Banningham, likely referred to Francis and his wife, particularly as Francis was conditionally admitted to land in Ingworth in 1686 (see below). At some point Francis and Susanna possibly moved south to Heigham, next Norwich and, if so, it is likely that Susanna died sometime in 1678 or 1679 because...
Francis Porter married, likely secondly, Mary Harris or Harne8 21 July 1679 in Heigham9 [D7] and likely had the following:
- Martha baptised 2 Oct. 1680 in Norwich St. Giles10 ;
2. Mary baptised 17 Sept.1682 in Norwich St. Giles11, married John Starling12 26 Sept.1710 in Heigham and they had
- Mary b.c. 1711 who married James Moyse/Moy, by license13, 7 June 1728/9 in Wood Norton but both parties of Hindolveston and died . The Banningham Court Rolls show that Mary Moy, formerly Starling, surrendered to her will on 28 July 1733 (MCR 31 July 1734),
- Mabel baptised 2 Feb. 1712/13 in Banningham who married John Powell of Banningham 10 February 1729/30 in North Walsham [at age 17?] and had a son William born in 1730 before Mabel died prior to the Banningham Manor Court of 31 July 1734,
- John baptised 17 March 1713/4 in Banningham but died and was buried there 7 August 1714, and
- John born posthumously and baptised 19 April 1715 in Banningham but died and was buried there 30 Aug. 1715.
John Starling, Mary's husband, died and was buried in Banningham 5 December 171414 and Mary succeeded to his lands in Banningham on 13 October 1716, although likely as trustee for her daughters. She married 21 October 1717 in Banningham to John Rump/Rumpe of Oxnead and, as Mary Rumpe wife of John, was buried 16 January 1727/8 in Oxnead15. A Banningham Manor Rent Roll 1706-13 shows that she had married John Starling and then John Rump and also refers to Mary Starling the wife of James Moyse, her eldest daughter;
- Frances baptised 10 Dec. 1683 in Norwich St. Giles;
- Sarah baptised 12 Nov. 1685 in Norwich St. Giles16 but buried there 4 May 1687;
- William baptised 11 March 1687/8 in Norwich St. Giles17;
- Margaret baptised 5 July 1691 in Norwich St. Giles; and
- *Samuel born about 169118 (see below).
At the Ingworth Manor Court of 20 April 168619 Francis Porter of Banningham was admitted to land in Ingworth Manor called Meadow Lane on the conditional surrender of John Littlewood (he married Beatris ___ there in 1658) for a “loan” by Francis of 23 pounds 4 shillings payable in a year and, upon satisfaction of the loan, he returned the land to John Littlewood at the court of 11 April 1687.
Mary, the second wife of Francis Porter, died before 1707 and she may have been the Mary Porter who was buried in Norwich St. Giles 20 June 1693, although there is no indication as to whether she was the wife of Francis, a widow or a child.
Francis Porter, widower, married thirdly by license20 to Mary Riesing [Rising], a widow from Bradfield [Tun]21 on 14 July 1707 in Banningham [E57]. As both Francis and Mary were probably in their late 50s or 60s it is unlikely that they had any children from this marriage.
Mary Porter died and was buried in Banningham 27 April 1710.
Francis died and was buried 31 December 1710 in Banningham, 8 months after the burial of his wife. The bond for administering the intestate estate of Francis Porter was, on 10 January 1710/11, provided by his son Samuel, Yeoman of Heigham by Norwich22.
SAMUEL PORTER & GRACE MOY [F80] of Banningham and Hindolveston
Samuel Porter was probably born about 1691, calculated from his age at death, but his birth or baptism have not yet been located23. He married by license24 Grace Moy, 30 March 1717 in Banningham. Grace was 21 at the time and Samuel at least 26 and both were single. The license read "both of Banningham" although Grace had been born in 1695 in Hindolveston25 and Samuel’s baptism is not in the Banningham Parish Registers26. They had at least the following children:
- MARY baptised 5 January 1717/8 in Banningham and married27 Riches28 Akers (also Acres) from a very old and well established family in Hindolveston and Schoolmaster of Hindolveston, in Norwich, St. Mary Marsh 7 Aug. 1736. Of their children baptised in Hindolveston29 (Robert 1738, Mary 1740, Thomas 1743, Susannah 1745, Frances, Elizabeth and Riches) only Robert Riches (d.1816) and Anne [Susannah] (m. Matthew Hawkes d.1811) survived. Richard died there 9 Nov.177730 and Mary died 17 June 1783 and was buried 2 days later in Hindolveston, aged 65. Richard, usually named “Riches” in contemporary records, was the headmaster of a 100 pupil school in Hindolveston in the 1750s and 1760s31.
- ROBERT [G41] baptised 28 June 1719 in Banningham and likely the Robert Porter who married Elizabeth Yarham 11 May 1741 in Hindolveston. They had a daughter Elizabeth baptised 1 November 1743 in Hindolveston, but no other children of theirs were found in the parish register there or elsewhere in Norfolk. A Robert Porter was buried in Hindolveston 1 Dec. 178232 and for the next several years the widow of Robert Porter received assistance from the parish. Elizabeth Porter, widow, aged 70, was buried in Hindolveston 4 April 1789 and her age matches up very well with the Elizabeth Yarman who married Robert Porter in 1741. However neither Robert, his wife nor daughter Elizabeth were referred to in the 1743 wills of his father Samuel or the 1755 will of his brother Thomas suggesting that Robert may have moved away from Hindolveston after the birth of his daughter in 1743 and only returned to the parish sometime later, or had fallen out of favour with the family. As the eldest son, he would likely have inherited the lands of his father, but those appeared to have gone to his next brother Samuel.
- SAMUEL [G84, G98] baptised 5 November 1722 (or 1721?)1 in Hindolveston and married Hannah Woodrow 1742 in Sustead [EpN - 6 miles east of Hindolveston]2, the groom and bride both from Thurning [Eyn - next to Hindolveston], and had at least the following children:
- John [G111] - bapt. 28 March 1743 in Hindolveston and married Hannah Nobbs in 1768 in Hindolveston and had at least 7 children in Hindolveston, Hackford, Salle and Gunthorpe (see below);
- Mary - bapt.c. 1745? and was a spinster in Norwich in December of 1782 when her father made his will and ....;
- c. Hannah - bapt. 20 March 1746/7 in Swannington3 and married 8 March 1778 in Norwich St. Edmund to John Hitchcock4 and had at least a daughter Hannah5 baptised there 29 August 1779 and a son John baptised in St. Saviour 27 April 1783 although John Hitchcock, senior died and was buried in St. Saviour 12 Nov. 1782, aged 436 and Hannah Hitchcock, widow, married 6 Jan. 1790 in Norwich St. Benedict to James Newbey, and was likely the Hannah Newby widow buried in St. Saviour 16 July 1809 aged 60; and
- Ann - bapt. 21 Aug. 1758 in Aylsham and was in East Harling in 1788 to witness the marriage of her cousin Thomas there, but was not referred to in the 1782 will of her father.
Hannah Porter, the wife of Samuel, died and was buried in Aylsham 2 October 1763. Samuel remarried to Martha Atkins 2 December 1763 in Aylsham, the groom “from Hindolveston”7. Samuel and Martha appear to have had no children together.
Samuel Porter, a carpenter, died and was buried 10 January 1783 in Hindolveston8. He left his estate to his son John and two daughters - Mary Porter and Hannah Hitchcock and to his widow. Martha Porter, Samuel’s widow, remarried in 1783 in Cawston to Richard Brown and died there in 1799 aged 68.
Samuel had likely inherited land in Hindolveston from his father or, more likely, his brother Thomas but sold it in 1766 to Henry Nogus9. Samuel and Hannah were in Hindolveston in 1743, Swannington (south of Aylsham and Cawston) in 1746 and Aylsham from 1758 to 1763 before he returned to Hindolveston after the death of Hannah.
- JOHN [G43]10 baptised 29 September 172311 in Hindolveston and married Mary Barcham 5 June 1744 (he was still 20) in Edingthorpe and died in North Lopham in 1813. (see below)
- FRANCIS baptised 14 February 1726/7 in Hindolveston but died and was buried 17 January 1727/8 in Hindolveston12.
- THOMAS baptised 25 July 1729 in Hindolveston but died and was buried __ February 1755 in Hindolveston, unmarried13.
- ANNE baptised 13 Aug. 173114 in Hindolveston and married by licence to Thomas Jary15 in Barford in 1752 (at the time she was from Marlingford where her mother and step-father were living) and lived in Hindolveston where Thomas was a grocer. They had at least three children who were baptised in Hindolveston (James 1753 d. 1771 aged 18, Thomas 1755 but died, and Anne 1758 m. 1782 in Hindolveston to Thomas Porter, her 1st cousin and the son of John Porter and Mary Barcham). They also had a son Thomas bapt. 11 May 1761 in Colby, m. 1788 in East Harling to Mary Deeks16 and died 15 Feb. 1818 in Hindolveston. Anne Jary died and was buried 21 May 1822 in Hindolveston “aged 92".17
- CATHERINE baptised 3 Sept. 173318 in Hindolveston but probably died as an infant as she was not referred to in the wills of her father or brothers.
1Hindolveston Parish Register - Loose-leaf page #5
2Currently I am unable to re-locate this record in the Sustead PR. Q-MLB?
3Also in Swannington at about the same time was the burial of Abigail Porter the wife of Henry [E1] 19 Jan. 1748/9 (they married in 1705 in Hindolveston).
4Both single and of the parish. I initially transcribed this from her father’s will as Hitcheon
5Possibly she married Robert Woods 7 Feb. 1810 in St. Benedict and had issue, including a son John in 1815, in Norwich St. Paul. She may have died 1 Nov. 1846 aged 64 [all per familysearch.org]
6No will located.
7From MLB? - to check as not on Marriage Record or Banns.
8His will (Peculiar, Dean & Chapter, 1780-1790 p. 129 #31) made 28 Dec. 1782 and proved 14 Jan. 1783, provided for his wife Martha, son John of Sharrington, daughter Mary Porter spinster of Norwich (St. Edmund?) and daughter Hannah Hitchcock, widow, and appointed his brother-in-law Thomas Jary, Grocer and Draper of Hindolveston as executor.
9Hindolveston Manor Court Rolls 11 Nov. 1766
10Initially, as a consequence of a “note”, I had recorded him as born in Bawdeswell (5 miles south, next to Foxley), but I can now find no confirmation of that. John Porter, the son of John and Hannah, was baptised in Bawdeswell 10 June 1723.
11I earlier had recorded his baptism as 28 March of 1723 but according to the placement of the entry on loose leaf page 3 in the parish register confirms the Transcript at the NFHS which recorded the date as 29 September 1723.
12However, an entry at MyHeritage as of 2020, attributes a Francis Porter born 1724, married in 1757 to Susannah Flitt of Hindringham and died in 1787 in Hackford, as the son of Samuel Porter and Grace May [sic].
13His will, Dean & Peculiar 1755 Book 17 p.24, written 20 Jan 1755 and proved 29 Feb. 1755, left his estate to his mother, Grace Muriell [sic] and after her death equally to his siblings Samuel, John, Mary Akers and Anne Jary. His brother John was appointed executor.
14AT. The Hindolveston Parish Registers, which are in deplorable condition, appear to contain no Baptisms from Nov. 1730 to 1738. A NFHS transcription has the date as 29 August.
15Thomas Jary, grocer and son of Thomas Jary, died in Hindolveston 1 November 1793 aged 73 [PR & TR] and by his will left his estate to his wife Anne, his son Thomas and his daughter Anne the wife of Thomas Porter. He was the Thomas Jary, a Grocer of Hindolveston, who was bondsman for Thomas Porter of Snetterton to marry Ann Jary in 1782 in Hindolveston.
16Ann Porter (his cousin and daughter of Samuel and Hannah) was a witness. Mary Jary, widow of Thomas, nee Deeks, died in Hindolveston 13 March 1849 aged 83.
17Thomas Jary of Hindolveston, born 1755 the son of Thomas and Anne, was the witness to the marriage of William Newson of Snetterton to Susanna Newell in 1796 in Melton Constable.
18AT. The mother’s name was not given.
Samuel Porter was likely the Samuel Porter who was admitted (?) at the Heigham Manor Court of 12 October 1710 several months before the death of his father Francis. His name has not been located elsewhere until he appears in Banningham on 30 March 1717 when he was married Grace Moy.
The first two children to Samuel and Grace (Mary and Robert ) had been born in Banningham and between 1719 and 1721 the family moved to Hindolveston51 where their next 5 children were baptised from 1721 to 1732. At the time of Catherine birth in 1732, Grace was only 38 years old.
Samuel had been a juror in the Hindolveston Manor Court in 1724 so likely owned copyhold land in that Manor.
On 15 October 1743 Samuel Porter was buried in Hindolveston52. In his will Samuel Porter, husbandman, left money to his son Samuel, all goods and chattels53 to his wife Grace and his son John, and otherwise made provision for the schooling and maintenance of his two under-age children - Thomas and Ann. There was no mention of his eldest daughter Mary Akers and none of his eldest son Robert54 or his youngest daughter Catherine who had probably died before the making of the will. When his son Thomas died in 1755, single, his will mentioned only his mother Grace Mallett, his brothers John and Samuel, and his sisters Mary Akers and Ann Jary.
Grace Porter, widow, waited almost three years before marrying James Mallett55of Scarning56 [Lau] at North Elmham [Lau] on 10 July 1746, by License57, and moved with him to Marlingford [For] (west of Norwich between Colton and Bawburgh). James died there in 175158 and Grace remained there until at least 1752. She was still alive by 1755 when her son Thomas made his will59 but her burial was not recorded in the Hindolveston registers.
Of the eight children of Samuel Porter and Grace Moy it would appear that there were likely only two sons to carry on the lineage of Samuel Porter, Senior - his second son Samuel and his third son John who married Mary Barcham (whose lineage continues below).
Of the first, Samuel Porter and his wife Hannah Woodrow seem to have had only one son as follows:
- JOHN [G111] bapt. 28 March 1743 in Hindolveston son of Samuel and Hannah. He married Hannah Nobbs in 1768 in Hindolveston and they had at least the following children:
- a son SAMUEL baptised in December of 1768 in Hindolveston60 and still alive in 177261;
- a daughter Ann born before 28 April 1772 who married in Sharrington [Hlt] 21 April 1801 to John Smith62 of East Dereham;
- a son JOHN63 [H5] born in Hackford [?] and baptised 3 Oct. 1773 in Sall64, who married Ann Farthing 1796 in Cley, and had the following children in Cley: Hannah 1796; Mary Anne 1798 (m.Cley 1822 to Charles Doy and had at least 2 sons, Samuel Porter Doy in Cley in 1824 and Charles in Wells in 1826); Maria 1800; Robert 28 Feb. 1804 but died 18 Sept. 1805; Robert65 born 13 July 1806; and John born 27 Feb. 1811. Anne Porter d. 15 Feb. 1845 in Cley aged 7466 (Obit, Norfolk News via Genuki.Norfolk);
- a daughter Mary baptised in Sall 6 Sept. 177267 but was buried there 23 Feb. 1773;
- another daughter Mary born back in Hindolveston in 1777 [?68], married Henry Gogle of Cley in Sharrington 27 Oct.179669;
- a daughter Sarah who was buried 20 Oct. 1779 in Gunthorpe; and
- a son William who was baptised 16 Dec. but buried 21 Oct. 1781 in Sharrington.
John was likely the John Porter who apprenticed in Hackford in 1763 to ________. After his marriage in 1768 John and his family lived in Hindolveston until 1777, Hackford in1772, Sall from 1772 to 1773, Gunthorpe in1779 and Sharrington in 1781. He was an ale-house keeper and shoemaker of Sharrington [Hlt - 4 miles North of Hindolveston] in December of 1782, the time of his father’s will.
John Porter died 19 September 1785 in Sharrington70 and Hannah Porter, widow, died in Sharrington 16 Feb. 1814 aged 66 with administration of her estate granted to her son John, shoemaker of Cley71.
It would appear then that John (b.1743) had only two surviving sons who had the potential to carry on the Porter line - Samuel born 1768 and John born 1773 and so far only John Jr. (b.1773) seems to have had sons of his own: Robert (b.1806) and John (b.1811).
JOHN PORTER & MARY BARCHAM of Hindolveston, Lynford and Snetterton
JOHN PORTER was baptised 28 March 172372 in Hindolveston [Eyn] the fourth child and third son of Samuel Porter and Grace Moy and there he likely learned to read and write73 from his uncle Riches Akers the schoolmaster in the village. He married74 MARY BARCHAM (b. 1721 Edingthorpe to William Barcham and Mary Bacon) on 5 June 1744 in Edingthorpe75.
Of their children76:
- MARGARET bapt. 24 ____77 1745 Hindolveston, but buried in West Tofts 5 September 1757.
- WILLIAM [G5] bapt. 14 Sept. 1746 in Hindolveston and married78 4 October 1770 in West Tofts to Frances Shickell79. They settled in Eccles where had at least 10 children, although no male child appears to have survived to adulthood. Frances died in 1806 in Eccles and William died there two years later in May of 180880. Of their daughters: Mary (b.1774) married John Gates81 (the brother of the wife of Mary’s cousin Samuel Newson Porter) in 1800 in Larling82 and was buried 21 June 1847 in East Harling [see Gates]; Anne (b.1782) married in 1798 in Eccles to James Juler83, a watchmaker from Watton; Maria (b.1785) married in 1806 in Eccles to Richard Palmer [he d. 1832] and in 1833 in Old Buckenham to John Beales of there and died and was buried in Old Buckenham 1 Sept. 1847; and Susan[nah] (b.1786 d. 1853- see will) married by license84 8 Aug.1808 in Eccles to John Wellingham.
- JOHN born 16 June85 and bapt. 13 Aug.86 1748 in Hindolveston, appears not to have married87 and was living in St. Stephens Parish Norwich in 1797 although he later moved to Great Yarmouth. He died 3 October 1802 in Snetterton, and, as “John Porter, Gent”, was buried there 4 October 1802 aged 5688. His will89 divided his likely considerable estate, including 550 pounds in “5% funds”, amongst his surviving 3 sisters and 3 brothers.
- MARY bapt. 3 June in 1750 Hindolveston. She married 10 Oct. in 1774 in Kenninghall to John Green (b c. 1749). John Green, Sr. died in Bressingham "aged 36" and was buried there 2 May 178590 and Mary who was 35 at the time of John’s death, remarried 16 June 1790 in North Lopham to Robert Whitebread who was also aged about 40 and likely widowed. Robert died and was buried in Bressingham 21 Nov. 1825, aged 7391. Mary Whitebread of Kenninghall92 was buried in Bressingham 25 July 1835, aged 85.
Mary and John Green had 6 children, all born in Bressingham:
-John 1775 married Elizabeth Linstead in 1804 in Kenninghall and farmed 30 acres there until 1851 and died in Kenninghall 30 December 1854, aged 7993;
-Charles 1778 married Sarah Chapman 8 June 1800 in Bressingham94 and lived in North Lopham on the Green next to Samuel Porter in 1841 and was there in 1851 and 1861 as a retired tailor, widowed;
-Mary Porter Green 1780 married Jeremiah Woodcock in 1805 and moved to Attleborough, but she and her husband died 2 years later95 leaving only a son Robert;
-Richard 1781 but possibly died or emigrated before adulthood;
-Thomas 1783 married 19 January 1808 in Roydon to Elizabeth Muskett and had at least 7 children baptised in Burgate Suffolk where, in 1851 he was a farmer of 84 acres living with his wife and servants and died there 17 March 1861; and
-Samuel 1784, but died in November of that year.
*5. SAMUEL [H61][b. c.1753 location n/k] married (by Licence) 8 Jan. 1779 in Roydon to Mary Newson. Died 26 May 1838 in North Lopham, aged 85. [See below]
- ANNE [b. c.1755 location n/k96] married97 16 Oct. 1776 in North Lopham to Robert Womack98 [b. 1756 in North Lopham to Robert and Elizabeth Womack] and had at least 699 children in North Lopham: Robert baptised 14 Jan. 1778100 d.1829; John and Elizabeth both baptised 5 Jan. 1781, both died 1803; Micah [or Michael] born 1783 m. Elizabeth Womack and Elizabeth Drake and died 4 Sept. 1857 in South Lopham; William Bircham [Barcham] Womack born 13 May 1781; and Rebecca101 born posthumously to Robert Womack, deceased, on 27 July 1785. The last two children were baptised 14 May 1786. Robert Womack Jr. died 5 Feb. and was buried Feb. 7, 1785 (aged 28) in North Lopham and his widow Anne on 12 October 1790 married Thomas Newson of North Lopham102, the brother of Mary Newson the wife of Samuel Porter. Thomas Newson died 8 June 1802103 in North Lopham and on 5 March 1805 in nearby Blo Norton Ann Newson, widow of North Lopham, married James Murton104, a widower from Blo Norton. After 1808 her son Micah Womack lived on the property owned by her father John Porter in North Lopham and occupied by Anne and her family from at least 1781. Anne died and was buried 20 June 1816 in North Lopham, “widow aged 61"105.
- SARAH [b. c.1757 location n/k106] married107 6 October 1779 in Snetterton to her cousin Charles Turner (b. Paston 1753 to Charles Turner & Elizabeth Barcham - their mothers were sisters) before returning to Edingthorpe and Paston to raise their family. They had at least 4 surviving children: John, Elizabeth, Caroline and Charles. Charles died in 1834108 and Sarah died in Paston 21 July 1842 aged 83109, leaving everything to her daughter Caroline the wife of John Bush.
- THOMAS [H68] born in Lynford110 and bapt. 26 Aug. 1759 in West Tofts and married111 11 Sept. 1782 in Hindolveston to Anne Jary112, at which time he was living in Snetterton. Thomas was one of 5 ratepayers in Snetterton who paid for Poor Relief in 1796 (his land being assessed at £381) and was variously a Churchwarden (1794) and the Overseer of the Poor (1797-1800, 1805) there before the family apparently moved to Grimston (1807-1817) and Westacre (1810-1811), about 18 miles NW (in Freebridge Lynn) of Snetterton.
Thomas and Anne had at least 8 children113, of whom three boys and two girls survived to adulthood, viz: Thomas [90] (b.1786) who married114 Marianne Waters in Westacre in 1810 115; William (b. 1788) who died, apparently unmarried, 1810 in Westacre; Samuel who married Anne Bird and died without children in 1865 in Old Buckenham116; Mary Anne (b,1787) who likely married Joseph Gates in 1808 in Larling but raised their family in Grimston; and Mary/Maria (b.1791) who married Thomas Jackson 29 November 1807 in Grimston117.
Thomas Sr. died after 1817 and is possibly the Thomas Porter of East Harling, aged 80, who was buried in Snetterton 5 March 1840. [Where is his will?]
- RICHARD bapt. 30 May 1761 in West Tofts, did not marry and died and was buried 10 July 1785 in Snetterton aged 24.
At the time of his marriage in 1744, John was residing in “Hilderston” (Hindolveston). John and Mary lived in that parish until at least 1750 and had their first four children baptised there, then at least two, but likely three, either in Hindolveston but baptised by dissenters118 or in another parish which has not yet been determined119. Their last two children were baptised in West Tofts [Grm] and, since at the baptism of son Thomas in 1759 they were said to be of Lynford120 they likely lived in Lynford from at least September of 1757 to at least May of 1761. They may then have moved to Kenninghall because Samuel, their third son, was apprenticed there in 1766. The family next appeared in Snetterton [Shp] where they lived from at least 1767 to 1784121, apparently in the “old” or Snetterton Hall122. The East Harling Church Wardens' Accounts for 3 January 1785 show a payment of 5 shillings to Robert Knights "for staying a year at Mr. John Porters of Snetterton". John was a Churchwarden in Snetterton in 1778 and Parish Assessor in 1784.
The puzzling question is why John and Mary Porter, with at least four children ranging in age from about 7 (and possibly younger if the next three were born in the area around Hindolveston) to 12 would relocate 21 miles south across Norfolk to settle in Lynford (West Tofts) before 1757? Although it is possible that the three children without a record of birth or baptism were born in some mid-point parish, it is still a significant distance to travel in mid 1700s. Also, why at some point before 1767123 did the family move again, this time 11 miles to the east to Snetterton?
Mary Porter (nee Barcham) died in Snetterton 20 April 1783, aged 62, and was buried there 23 April 1783.
John remarried124 on 14 December 1784 in Starston (east of Pulham and north of Harleston) to Mrs. Elizabeth Kemp (the widow of Robert Kemp125) and they lived for some time in Starston where he was an Overseer in 1786 and a Churchwarden in 1788 and 1791126. John Porter also owned land in East Harling from about 1781 to 1814127 and they likely lived there in 1811 because John's second wife Elizabeth died on 16 January 1811 and although she was buried in Carleton Rode (where the family of her first husband had lived since at least 1600), she was said to be from East Harling. It would appear that after her death, or perhaps as early as 1802128, John had resided in North Lopham129.
John Porter died about 6 April 1813 “aged 90", probably while residing in North Lopham with his eldest surviving son Samuel or his daughter Anne Murton, and was buried 10 April in Snetterton. Administration of his estate (he died intestate) was granted 9 August 1813 to his eldest son Samuel130. He and his first wife Mary are memorialized on a granite slab within All Saints Church in Snetterton131. John’s occupation was never explicitly recorded but, judging by the extent of his land holdings, he would have at the least been considered a yeoman.
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SAMUEL PORTER & MARY NEWSON
Samuel Porter was born about 1753 and on 10 January 1779 in Roydon he married, by License132, Mary NEWSON (born 1755 in Roydon to Robert Newson and Susan HEATH - see elsewhere) and they had the following children:
- MARY baptised 18 June 1780 North Lopham and married, by licence, John Wells133 of Garboldisham in North Lopham on 29 October 1799. Four of their children were born in Garboldisham - John 1801, Samuel Porter 1804, George134 10 Sept. 1807 and Susan 15 April 1810 (who was unmarried as of 1841). On 25 Oct. 1808 a son Samuel Porter Wells, infant, was buried in Banham135 but his parents were listed as from Garboldisham. Five other children - Samuel Porter136 in 1812, Robert137 in 1814, Emily Porter in 1816 (m. Robert Aldrich in 1837 in Kenninghall), Mary Jane in 1819 (m. Zedekiah Long in 1841 in Kenninghall) and Francis Clarissa 29 March 1822 were born in Kenninghall where John Wells was a grocer and shopkeeper. By 1808 John Wells had become bankrupt138 but in 1826 he occupied a large shop in Garboldisham owned by his father-in-law Samuel Porter, but which was in that year sold by Samuel’s assignees in bankruptcy. John also appears to have become bankrupt again in 1826139. In 1841 John was a maltster and shopkeeper in Kenninghall presumably widowed and living with four unmarried children: Samuel, Robert, Susan and Jane, and his granddaughter Susan Wells. Mary Wells likely died 4/4 1839 Guiltcross RD140.
- 2. SAMUEL NEWSON born (c. 1782141) married Mary Gates in Larling on 16 March 1803 (see below).
- JOHN born 31 August baptised 6 September 1789 North Lopham, married Mary Elliott142 in Roydon 10 July 1811 and had a family of at least 4 - William b. and d. 1812, Jane b. 1814 and d. 9 Dec. 1830143, Anne b. 1818 (m. Robert Rush 13 Dec. 1838144) and Eliza Elliott bapt. 2 April 1826 (m.Charles G. Vyse145 3/4 1846 Guiltcross RD). He therefore left no male heirs. Like his father, John was a Grocer and Mercer or Draper146. Certainly by 1854 the family was Wesleyan Methodist because they appear in the North Lopham Wesleyan Chapel Seat Rent Account Book in that year and Mrs. J Porter is listed in the accounts from 1855 to1863. John died 24 September 1862 at North Lopham147 and was buried there 28 September 1862 and Mary died sometime after 1863.
- SUSAN born 10 July baptised 13 July 1799 North Lopham, married Thomas Wharton (b. 1797) 14 April 1820 in North Lopham148 and by 1841149 was living in Gt. Ringstead St. Andrew and St. Paul where Thomas farmed 700 acres [!] at Church150 Yard Farm. They had at least 7 children151. Susan died in Gt. Ringstead 23 February 1849 and Thomas died there 13 Dec. 1878.
Samuel Porter had apprenticed 1 October 1766 at the age of 13 to James Foster of Kenninghall, a Grocer152. He likely completed his apprenticeship by 1773 and married six years later in 1779. He and Mary probably had at least 4 children born in North Lopham but, possibly because Mary had converted to Methodism in about 1780153, only 3 of the children’s baptisms are recorded in the North Lopham Parish Registers: Mary in 1780, John in 1789 and Susan in 1799. Samuel Newson Porter was born in about 1782 but his baptism has not yet been found.
From about 1795 to 1824 Samuel was one of the two Church Wardens for North Lopham154 and was variously a Shopkeeper and Grocer155 (1784 to 1801), Insurance Agent (from 1800 to at least 1818156), Treasurer of the Lopham Association (hemp and linen producers157), Innkeeper (c.1814)158, Banker (in 1801, 1822 & 1826), a Banker, Dealer and Chapman (Dec. 1825) and at various times a farmer. Some of his businesses he operated in partnership with his son John but on 13 September 1819 he dissolved their partnership in the General Shopkeepers business and personally assumed all its liabilities159. He seems to have been well respected in the community and between 1801 and 1817 was appointed as an executor by the wills of at least 6 North Lopham inhabitants160.
From 1784 to 1800 Samuel took on at least four apprentices in North Lopham: 1784 - James Sare apprenticed to Samuel Porter, Shopkeeper; 1791 - John Wells apprenticed to Samuel Porter, Grocer (John was later to become Samuel’s son-in-law); 1797 - Edmund Palmer apprenticed to Samuel Porter, Grocer (an Edmund Palmer married a daughter of Samuel’s brother William); and 1800 - Joseph Gates (in 1808 Joseph married Marianne Porter, the niece of Samuel Porter being the daughter of his brother Thomas and Joseph was a brother of Samuel’s would-be daughter-in-law Mary Gates who married Samuel Porter in 1803). In the Norwich and Bury Post of 22 April 1818 Samuel advertised for an apprentice in his Grocery and Drapery business.
In 1784 Samuel signed the Assessment Rolls for North Lopham (he would have been about 31). In 1796161 he was shown on the same rolls as the owner of four parcels in North Lopham, two occupied by himself162, by 1801 he owned five parcels, by 1813 six and in 1815 was assessed for seven parcels. In addition to the nearly 130 acres of land owned by Samuel in 1826 in North Lopham, he also owned a shop and extensive premises in Garboldisham163 and a further 6 large parcels in East Harling164.
At some point between 1823 and 1825 Samuel seems to have suffered severe financial difficulties165 to the extent that, on 26 December 1825, a Commission of Bankruptcy was issued against him. On 10 January 1826 Samuel Porter, banker of North Lopham, was declared bankrupt166 and on 3 March 1826 committed to the gaol at Norwich Castle167. All of his properties168 were advertised for sale by his assignees in bankruptcy in May of 1826 including his main residence with 8 acres in North Lopham, described as a “newly-erected brick and slated MANSION, quite equal to the residence of a family of respectability”.
Mary died in North Lopham and was buried there 13 January 1837, "aged 80". Samuel Porter, “formerly a shopkeeper169”, died 26 May 1838 in North Lopham, aged 85,170 and was buried there 30 May 1838.
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SAMUEL NEWSON PORTER & MARY GATES
Samuel Newson Porter married171 Mary Gates (b.1782 in Larling to John Gates and Lucy Rose) 16 March 1803 in Larling. No record has yet been found of any children born before Mary in 1813172, who was followed by Susan in 1815, Jane in 1816, Samuel in 1818 and lastly John in 1822, all in North Lopham. Samuel and Mary had at least the following children:
- MARY baptised 11 Sept. 1813 North Lopham and married John Boggis/Boggess173 a widowed harness maker, on 19 May 1837174 in North Lopham. They had at least one child175 there before moving south in about 1840 to Suffolk to live at Walsham Le Willows (ENE of Ixworth), Cockfield176 [Cosford RD] (8 m. s. of Bury St. Edmunds) in 1861 and then finally Haughley (near Stow Market) at the time of the 1871 & 1881 censuses. By 1861 they had 3 children: Ann (1845), Mary Ellen (2/4 1847 - Stow) and William (1850) although a daughter Mary Ellen was the only child shown with them in 1871 and 1881, together with a granddaughter Caroline177. Mary and Caroline Boggis were still in Haughley in 1891 with Mary’s married daughter Mary Ellen Murten178. Mary Boggess died in Haughley on 20 December 1892, intestate179, her husband predeceasing her on 29 May 1882180. [Q wills?]
- SUSAN baptised 5 Feb. 1815 North Lopham and married William Gooch in North Lopham on 15 January 1834. They had at least 7 children there181: William (bapt. 15 Feb. 1835), Daniel (1837, d. 4/4 1871 in North Lopham aged 34), Sarah (1840), Eliza (1843 died 1846), Thomas (1845), Edmund (1850) and John (1853). William Gooch, a wheelwright in 1851 and a carpenter and tailor182, died in February 1879183 in North Lopham and Susan is likely the Susanna Gooch who died 2/4 1880 in the Lewisham RD (London), aged 63 (p. 554). In 1881 their son Thomas, his wife Emily and 2 children are in Hammersmith, London, while the youngest son John184 and his wife Eliza and 2 children remained in North Lopham. [Q wills?]
3.JANE baptised 10 Nov. 1816 North Lopham but buried in Illington 4 January 1817.
- SAMUEL baptised 3 May 1818 and married Esther Talbot (b. Gissing) on 5 November 1839 in Kenninghall and had their first child, Mary Ann, baptised there in April 1840. In 1841 Samuel was a shoemaker in North Lopham, by 1851 had become a Carrier and Baker there, by 1861 was a farmer and Inn-keeper with 1 servant and in 1863 ran the Bell, a Public House in North Lopham. They had at least 5 children, the last 4 in North Lopham: Mary Anne (born March baptised 27 April 1840 d. 3/4 1843); Elizabeth (2 July 1844185) John (born January 1844 and baptised 7 April 1844); George (1/4 1848) and Mary Anne (1/4 1850). Mary Anne and John were baptised by the Wesleyan Methodist Diss Circuit but George and the second Mary Anne were both baptised 7 April 1850 in the North Lopham parish church. Between 1863 and the summer of 1869 the family, clearly suffering financially, had moved to Worksop, Nottinghamshire where Samuel and his two sons worked in the local coal mines. In 1881 and 1891 Samuel and Esther were living by themselves at 26 and 86 Sandy Lane, respectively, in Worksop and in 1901 Samuel was living with his son John at 96 Sandy Lane, his other son George being at 110 Sandy Lane.
Esther died 3/4 1899 and Samuel 2/4 1903 both in Worksop.
Of their surviving children:
4.1 Elizabeth - ?
4.2 John Porter (b. 1843) married Elizabeth Bateman186 4/4 1869 in Worksop Notts. From 1871 to 1901 the family were recorded mostly at Sandy Lane187, Worksop, although in 1901 Elizabeth had gone to Witham, Lincolnshire to assist in the birth of her new grandchild. In 1911 John was still living at 96 Sandy Lane although he was widowed and, in the main, retired, aged 66. That census indicated that he had 7 children of whom 6 were still living188. He was said to be a retired “waggon inspector, underground” in the colliery although the word “retired” had been substituted by another hand, not his own. Elizabeth Porter died in Worksop 3/4 1909, aged 63, and John Porter died in Worksop 3/4 1917, aged 73.
John and Elizabeth had the following children, all born in Worksop:
- John - born 2/4 1870 and married 4/4 1894 in Worksop to Mary Catherine Mallender (b. c. 1869 in Thurlstone, Yorkshire).
-In 1901 John and Mary C and their son Arthur Granville (born 4/4 1895 in Worksop and married 3/4 1920 in Selby to Ethel Sykes) were living in Barnsley St. Mary, South Riding Yorkshire. Living with them was John W. Mallender 34 also born in Thurlstone and likely Mary’s brother. John was listed as a wood turner and brush maker.
-In 1911189 John, 40, and Mary Catherine, 41, were living at 6 Water Lane in Selby, West Riding Yorkshire with their four children: Arthur 15, Ernest 7 (b.1/4 1904), John William 5 (b. 3/4 1905) and Reginald 3 (b. 4/4 1907), the last three born in Barnsley. John was listed as a wood turner.
- George - born 4/4 1872 and married 1/4 1896 in Worksop to Grace Farrar (b. about 1873 in Worksop).
-In 1901 George and Grace and their son Wilfred (born 2/4 1898 in Worksop, married 1/4 1923 in Bradford to Elsie Bradford [sic] and died 1984 Wassborough Dale near Barnsley, administration of his estate to George Ernest Porter) were living in Bradford, West Riding Yorkshire. Living with them was Grace’s mother Emma Farrar, aged 78. In 1901 George was listed as an Iron Fettler.
-In 1911 George and Grace, their son Wilfred and daughter Doris May (b. 3/4 1907 in Bradford) were still in Bradford at 18 Middleton Street/Mannington Blvd. where George and Grace were caretaker assistants.
- Samuel - born 4/4 1875 and married 3/4 1900 in Lincoln RD to Elizabeth Lily Harrison (b. about 1880 Lincoln).
-In 1901 Samuel and Elizabeth were living with their son Harold 14 days old (born 2/4 1901 in Lincoln and probably married Eliza Russell 1926 in Lincoln St. Faiths) in Lincoln St. Botolphs (part of Witham). Living with them was Elizabeth’s mother Ann Harrison, 62, and Samuel’s mother Elizabeth Porter, 49190. Samuel was listed as a railway engine stoker.
-In 1911 Samuel and Elizabeth, their 3 sons Harold, Frank (b. 3/4 1902 in Lincoln) and Fred (b. 1/4 1910 Lincoln and probably married Flora Bugg 1935 in Skellingthorpe Linc.) and daughter Nellie Irene (b. 2/4 1908 Lincoln) were at 17 Webb Street in Lincoln and Elizabeth’s mother Ann Harrison was still with them. Samuel was shown as a stationary engine driver. According to the return, they had 6 children of whom two had died. A son Samuel Harrison was born 2/4 1912 in Lincoln, married there 2/4 1939 and died there 1/4 1960.
- Mary Jane - born 4/4 1878 and married Albert Chester in 2/4 1903 in Worksop and in 1911 was living with Albert and their two daughters - Doris May (b.c. 1905 Worksop) and Constance Ivy (b.c. 1910 Sheffield) at 306 Main Road, Darnall191, Sheffield, West Riding Yorkshire. Two other children had died before 1911.
- Charles Alfred - born 2/4 1881 (9 days before the 1881 census) and married Polly Heaps alias Baker192 in 1/4 1901 in Worksop.
- In 1901 Charles (as Charlie) and Polly were living with her parents John and Annie Heaps at 113 Sandy Lane, Worksop. Charlie was listed as a number taker for the railway.
-In 1911 Charles Alfred, his wife of 10 years Mary Ann (= Polly b.c. 1881 in Bolsover Derbyshire) and their 5 children: Sidney (b. 3/4 1901 Worksop), Maud May (b. 3/4 1902 Worksop), Albert (b. 2/4 1904 Worksop) Walter (b. 4/4 1906 Worksop) and Ethel (b. 3/4 1909 Lincoln) were living at 9 Danes Terrace in Lincoln where Charles was a Goods Guard.
- Esther - born 4/4 1883 Worksop but died 4/4 1886 in Worksop R.D. aged 3.
- Maud - born 1/4 1886 and married 3/4 1907 in Worksop to Joshua John Elliott, a stone quarryman, and in 1911 lived at her father’s home at 96 Sandy Lane in Worksop with her husband and son Leonard (b.c. 1909 in Worksop).
Therefore, by 1911 the 6 surviving children of John Porter and Elizabeth Bateman lived as follows: John, Mary Jane and George were in the West Riding of Yorkshire193 being Selby, Darnall and Bradford, respectively, Samuel and Charles Alfred were in Lincoln, Lincolnshire, and Maud was still at home in Worksop.
4.3 George Porter married Sarah Ann Pincham or Pinchan194 [1/4 1869] in Worksop but they had no children195. In 1911 George and Sarah were living at 73 Sandy Lane, Worksop. He was 63 years old, as was his wife, and worked as a railway waggon loader (aboveground) at the colliery. Their return confirmed that they had no children living or deceased. George died 1/4 1934 in Worksop aged 86.
4.4 Mary Anne Porter married Thomas Warrener/Warriner/Warrner (b. 1848 Redford, Notts.) in 1/4 1870 Worksop R.D. in Worksop and as Mary Anne Warrner died and was buried in the Tinsley Park Municipal Cemetery in Sheffield 7 Oct. 1911, aged. 61. Thomas Warrner was buried in the same cemetery 20 Nov. 1917 aged 68.
-In 1871 Thomas and Mary were living at 90 East Gates in Worksop where Thomas was an Engine Fitter at the works. There were no children with them.
-In 1881 Thomas and Mary Anne were living at 28 Gateford Road in Worksop with two children: Thomas Henry born about 1873196 and Edith Annie born about 1878 both in Worksop.
-In 1891 the Warriners were living at 43 Station Road, Darnall, Sheffield with their 4 children: Thomas Henry, Edith Anne, Eva (b.c. 1882 in Worksop) and Jessie Porter (b. 3/4 1887 in Handsworth, Yorkshire - Sheffield R.D.).
-In 1901 the Warriners were living at 29a Catcliffe Road, Darnall, Sheffield, Yorkshire with their 3 daughters, and Thomas Henry, their son was next door at 35 Catcliffe Road with his wife Amelia.
-In 1911 the Warriners were still living at 29a Catcliffe Road in Darnall with their daughters Edith Annie and Jessie Porter.
- *JOHN - John was baptised 6 July 1822 in North Lopham’s parish church and, until he was four, probably lived in relative affluence in his grandfather’s home in the village. At his birth his father was 41 and his mother 40 and all four of his grandparents were still living. He also had at least 2 older sisters - Mary 9 and Susan 7 and an older brother Samuel 4. He also had 2 aunts and an uncle on his father’s side and 5 uncles and 4 aunts (all with spouses) on his mother’s side. Things would have changed dramatically in 1826 (he was four) when his grandfather was declared bankrupt and incarcerated in Norwich. From that point the Porters were probably anything but popular in the village as the locals likely suffered significantly when the banking business of Samuel Porter collapsed. Although there is no record in the 1841 census of John Porter living anywhere in Norfolk, there is also no record from 1822 to 1851 of his burial in North Lopham and to _____ of his death or burial anywhere else in the county so it is likely that, at age 19, he had “escaped” the village and was either somewhere else in England, at sea or had already emigrated to Canada or elsewhere. The 1851, 1861 and 1871 English census indexes do not list a John Porter born 1820-1824 in North Lopham197. John may have been the John Porter enumerated in the 1852 Canada West Census in Fitzroy Township, Carleton County, Ontario, just across the river from Ottawa, and he was very likely the John Porter who married Margaret Callahan in about 1856 in Ontario. He died 15 October 1892 in Fergus, Wellington County, Ontario, Canada and was buried with his wife, who had died 18 days before him, in the Fergus Cemetery. (See Porter 1800-1900 elsewhere).
No record has been located to indicate that Samuel Jr. owned land and his name only occurs on the 1826 Assessment Rolls for North Lopham as the occupant of land owned by John Porter, probably his younger brother. In 1813 Samuel was described as a farmer, in 1815 as a gentleman farmer and in 1822 again as a farmer. In the 1841 Census Samuel was shown as an agricultural labourer, aged 55 to 59, living in South Lopham with his daughter Susan Gooch and son-in-law William Gooch on “the Green”198. In the 1851 Census he appears as Samuel Porter, 74, widower, drover, lodging on “the Green” in North Lopham with the family of Jeremiah Beales199.
Like his father, Samuel Jr. may have had his share of financial difficulties because his father-in-law John Gates and his brother-in-law John Gates Jr. took great pains in their wills of 1831 and 1841 respectively to ensure that their bequests to Mary Gates Porter could not be accessed by her husband. Additionally, most of the financial dealings of his father Samuel Sr. were with John, the younger brother of Samuel Jr.200
Mary Gates Porter seems for a time to have left North Lopham and in 1841 was shown living with her sister Ann, wife of Daniel Watson, and their family in East Harling. She was listed as ‘inf.” - probably infirm. Mary Porter died in North Lopham 11 August 1845, aged 56201. Her burial has not yet been found.
Samuel Newson Porter died 9 May 1853 in North Lopham aged 73202. The record and location of his burial has not yet been found203.
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Potential DNA Testing [for yDNA = G2A]
The following direct male Porter descendants from John Porter (1723-1813) are related to John Porter [8] (1822 - 1898) as follows:
- Nephew John204 (b.1844 son of Samuel Porter (b.1818) and Esther Talbot) - who married Elizabeth Bateman in 1869 and by 1911 had at least 12 Porter grandsons living in Selby [Yorks], Bradford [Yorks] and Lincoln [Lincs]:
- Arthur Granville b.1895 Worksop Notts
- Ernest b. 1904 Barnsley Yorks
iii. John William b. 1905 Barnsley Yorks
- Reginald b. 1908 Barnsley Yorks
- Wilfred b. 1898 Worksop
- Harold b. 1901 Lincoln, Lincs
vii. Frank b. 1902 Lincoln, Lincs
viii. Fred b. 1910 Lincoln, Lincs
- Samuel Harrison b. 1912 Lincoln, Lincs
- Sidney b. 1901 Worksop
- Albert b. 1904 Worksop
xii. Walter b. 1906 Worksop
- 2nd Cousin William Porter (b. 1811 - son of Thomas Porter and Marianne Waters) - by 1911 had 7 or 9 male grandsons alive:
xii. William b. 1888 Stratford [Essex]
xiii. Albert b. 1902 Stratford [Essex]
xiv. William J. b. 1880 Stratford [Essex]
- Albert Henry b. 1882 but died before 1901?
xvi. Arthur b. 1884 Stratford but died before 1901?
xvii. James b. 1890 Stratford
xviii. Ernest b. 1892 Enfield Middlesex
xix. Bill/William or Herbert b. 1895 Leytonstone
- William b. 1900 Stratford
- 2nd Cousin John Porter (b.1818 - son of Thomas Porter and Marianne Waters) - no male descendants by 1911
- 2nd Cousin Robert Porter (b.1826 - son of Thomas Porter and Marianne Waters) - no male descendants by 1911
- 2nd Cousin Samuel Porter (b. 1833 - son of Thomas Porter and Marianne Waters) - no male descendants by 1911
- 3rd Cousin Robert Porter (b. 1806 son of John Porter and Ann Farthing) - male descendants not yet determined.
- 3rd Cousin John Porter (b. 1811 son of John Porter and Ann Farthing) - male descendants not yet determined.
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Who is John Porter of Roydon near Diss (servant) who married Jemina Symonds in Diss in 1772?
HARRIS/HARNE205
Mary Harris or Harne206 married Francis Porter 21 July 1679 in Heigham [D7] and they likely207 had the following children baptised in Norwich St. Giles:1. Martha 2 Oct. 1680; Mary 17 Sept.1682; Frances 10 Dec. 1683; Sarah 12 Nov. 1685; William 11 March 1687/8; Margaret 5 July 1691; and Samuel born about 1691.
Mary Porter was buried in Norwich St. Giles 20 June 1693, although there is no indication as to whether she was the wife of Francis, a widow or a child.
Abendego Harris had a daughter Elizabeth baptised in 1699 in Heigham.
I had earlier interpreted the surname as Harnes, and Hearnes were a well-established Norfolk family and Francis and Judith Heirne had a daughter baptised in Ingworth in 1687. There were Hyrnes in Hackford - both Thomas and Christian Hyrne of Hackford left wills in 1554 (ANF Bk14 pp.241 and 315) and a Thomas Heare in Banningham in 1594. Of more significance, John Herne was a witness to the 1694 will of Barbara King of Foxley.
G:\porterlopham-full.wpd October 17, 2021
ENDNOTES
1Unless indicated otherwise, a specific date and village or parish name denotes the local Parish Church [C of E], either via Parish Registers, the Archdeacon or Bishops Transcripts or transcripts of the Parish Registers made by others. Unless the context indicates otherwise, Letters in square brackets following a parish name denote the Hundred within Norfolk and Suffolk. Numbers in square brackets are reference numbers used in my Norfolk Porter database.
2But no record of the acquisition or sale of property in Heigham has been found for John.
3Vincent Porter (b.1593 Colby, d.1646 Binham) husband of Grace Allin (b. 25 July 1587 to Reginald and Margerie Allin) had a strong connection with Foxley as he gave to the poor of both Colby and Foxley. At his death he held land in Binham (which went to his daughter Elizabeth) and in Foxley, Banningham, Belaugh, Bawdeswell, Colby, Felmingham and Suffield, which went to his son John [C12] in 1646 and which John willed to his sons Vincent and Jeremy in 1685. At the Banningham Manor Court of 1 December 1686 the will of John Porter was enrolled giving his lands in Banningham, which he inherited from his father Vincent, to his son Jeremy, with payments to his daughters Grace and Elizabeth. A Francis and Mary Porter had issue in 1629 (William) and 1634/5 (John) in Foxley and a Francis Porter and Dorothy Porter also had issue there in 1610. Francis Porter, widower of Foxley, married 28 Jan. 1663/4 at Norwich St. Michael at Plea to Margaret Newman of East Dereham [D6]. A Francis Porter of Bawdeswell (next Foxley) was listed in the 1661 Presentments to Charles II. [See my files “Foxley”, “Hindolveston” and “PorterFoxley...”]
4Her surname appears to be spelled Alsome in the Banningham Register. However, this spelling does not appear in any records for Banningham and is almost nonexistent in Norfolk. However, several sources suggest that it is a form of “Aylsham”. In addition to the Alshams of Blofield 164s-1670s and the Alsomes in Wymondham in 1655 & 1679 on the IGI, there were Alshom/Alshams in Seething [Lod]. A Joseph Alston, gent, was living in Hindolveston at the time of the 1664 Visitation, although originally from Newton SFK. However, the more likely conclusion is that the name is Allison or Alleson with Alsome being a rendering of its local pronunciation. There were 8 Allenson/Allison probates between 1635 and 1670 in Ingworth (NRO & PRO) and between 1657 and 1673 there were 7 Allisons being married in Ingworth, out of a total of 20 marriages there during that period. Although the Parish Registers are not at the FHL the Ingworth ATs from 1600 record many Allisons but no entries for Susanna. A Robert Allison of nearby Alby had administration of his estate granted 15 March 1660/1 to his widow Susanne Allison and son Jeremy (NCC p.12). Although she could therefore have been the Susanna Allison who married Francis Porter in 1669, she would have been quite a bit older than Francis who was likely born in about 1642.
5ATs. PRs for Banningham only available from 1709. Banningham, now joined with Colby for administrative purposes, is between Ingworth and Felmingham, West of North Walsham and beside Suffield. There were many different priests in the parish but Daniel Colby [sic] seemed to have been the new rector in 1666.
6They may have been living in the nearby parish of Ingworth (see below). Also in Banningham, Simon Porter of Banningham (or Barningham?) was involved in a Bastardy Order in 1651/2 (Quarter Sessions) and was possibly the Simon Porter who married Margaret Parke in 1663 in Norwich and had issue and died in Costessey in 1670.
7I can no longer find the source of this reference. If Susanna died in 1678 or 9 it must have been before then.
8It was transcribed as Harris in a NFHS indexed transcript and, while it is not absolutely clear as the only available transcript is very poorly photographed, that is the most likely interpretation.
9The Parish Registers of Heigham St. Bartholomew (from 1563) were badly burned during WWII but a transcript does exist. Until the end of the 18th Century Heigham was a sparsely populated rural area (164 houses in 1752) and its church, St. Bartholomew, was considered a small rural church until its reconstruction in 1878 (Delves, Hamlet of Heigham 1879 at p. 14 and Rye, History of Parish of Heigham 1917) Also in Heigham, Mary Porter married Thomas Bartell 1 May 1681 (but had no issue in Heigham although 4 children of Thomas and Mary Bartell were baptised in Norwich - Thomas 1682 in St. Lawrence, Esther 1688 St. Gregory, Esther 1691 St. Stephen and Joseph 1698 St. Margaret), Mary Porter married ____ in January of 1690/1,John Pooter [sic] married Ann Bunn in Heigham 25 August 1674. Joshua Porter [E25] (of the Foxley Porters and in Bawdeswell in 1702) married Dorothy Harrison in Heigham 4 Dec. 1691 (and had a son Thomas baptised in St. George Colgate in 1696/7), Elizabeth Porter married John Tagley 7 Feb. 1691/2 and Alice Porter married William Salter 27 Dec. 1698 (although an NFHS transcript of the Norwich St. Benedict register contains the same entry) and had issue baptised in St. Margaret Norwich. Also there were baptisms in the parish of Susan daughter of Charles Porter in 1689 and of three (children of Philip Porter from 1689/90 to 1695. Earlier, Edmund and Mary Porter had a son Andrew baptised and buried in Heigham in 1624 and Mary the wife of Edmund was buried there in 1625. There is no evidence yet to link any of these Porters in kinship. Except as noted there were no other Porters in Heigham until the 1775 baptism of Abigail the base daughter of Hannah and the 1784 baptism of Adam the son of James and Ann (late Seager).
10Although the surname is P[?]rter.
11From a Transcript at the SOG London - also Frances and Margaret’s baptism. Norwich St. Giles lies immediately east of Heigham.
12John Starling was very likely the son born in 1683 in Banningham to John Starling and his wife Mabel. The will of John Starling of Banningham Sr. (ANW 1709-10 p.329) provided for his wife Mary and daughters Mary, Elizabeth (m. Vout) and Catherine and left his lands in Banningham and Skeyton to his son John.
13The license, #188, described her as a single woman. He was likely the son of Robert and Anne Moy born 11 November 1706 in Hindolveston. The other bondsman was her uncle Samuel Porter who was also the brother-in-law of the groom, having married Grace Moy in 1717. The signatures were witnessed by Robert Moy who was either the father or brother of James.
14His will, NCC Reg. Wills 1714 (Melchior) 209, made 30 November 1714 and proved 9 December 1714 provided for his wife and two daughters Mary and Mable and made provisions for his unborn child if it were to be a son.
15Oxnead Parish Registers - ancestry.com, also reported in the Banningham Manor Court Rolls of 29 January 1727/8. John Rumpe of Oxnead remarried 29 April 1728, by license, to Margaret Burrows of North Walsham and died in Aylsham with a will which provided for his wife Margaret (she d. 1743/4 in Oxnead), left his estate in Skeyton and Swanton Abbot to his son John and appointed his son Thomas as executor (ANW 1752-3 p.479 made 6 Jan. 1749/50 and proved 21 July 1753).
16Although the entry read son of Francis and Mary Potter.
17Although the entry read son of Francis and Mary Potter.
18The only room for Samuel’s birth would be 1693, or 1692 if Margaret died as an infant, because it would appear that the Mary who was buried in 1693 was likely the wife of Francis.
19P. 49 A year after the death in Suffield of John Porter [C12] (husband of Anne Purlond). However there is no mention of a son Francis in John’s will, although John and Anne married in Oct. of 1646 the first baptism located for this couple was in January 1648/9 which would allow for an earlier birth. On the other hand, was John the brother of Francis?
20NCC #97. Francis signed with his mark, which resembled a shepherd’s crook opening on the right. The other bondsman was James Howard of Felmingham (which adjoins Banningham) and the witness was William Riesing.
21Just east of Antingham.
22ANW Admin. 1710 #161. Samuel was probably only in his early 20s at the time. The only Samuel Porter to die with a will in the applicable period was this Samuel (husband of Grace) in 1743 and his third son was named Francis. Samuel signed his given name with two “l”s. Note however the difference in signatures between the Admin. Bond and his M.L.B.!
23A Samuel Porter, son of Samuel and Ann [D17? - Samuel married Anne Cobb, widow in Foxley in 1668 and was buried in Elsing, next Foxley, in 1692 and so could not have been the administrator of the estate of Francis Porter in 1710] was baptised 29 Nov. 1691 at St. Peter Southgate (or St. Etheldreda according to a TR).
24NCC #390. The other bondsman was John Bray of “Com prdt” (same community). A John Bray had issue in 1717 in Blickling. Most importantly, the witness to the signature of Samuel was John Porter, who signed with his mark. Q - what was his relationship to Samuel?
25Baptised in Hindolveston 24 June 1695 to Robert Moy (1666-1735), a wood reeve and Ann ___ [10 June and to Ann Fower per IGI - but Fower is in error for “twentie and fower” - the actual date!] Grace’s age at the time of her second marriage to James Mallett confirms her 1695 birth.
26Only the PR 1709 to1785 has survived, although a run of earlier years are available as ATs.
27By License - Dean & Chapter. The other bondsman was Thomas Bell of St. Michael Plea.
28Richard in the MLB.
29None of whom were named Samuel or Grace (and no grandchildren named Grace) - suggesting a rift in the family. Recall that Samuel made no provision for Mary in his will, although her husband was likely well-off.
30M.I. Hindolveston. His will, proved 7 December 1777, left his estate to his wife Mary, son Robert Riches Akers, and his brothers Thomas and John and to James Bastard, widower of his daughter Anne (they m. 1766 as Barsted). Will - PRDC 1/2/9 p.76 Film NF477. The Inclosure Map shows Riches Akers occupying a parcel just off Melton Road.
31Described by William Godwin (Utilitarian Philosopher and father of Mary Shelley), quoted by C. Kegan Paul in William Godwin, His Friends and Contemporaries, Vol. 1, 1876, as “the best, or second best, penman in the County of Norfolk, or, for ought he knew, in England”.
32One month before the burial there of his brother (?) Samuel Porter.
33Hindolveston Parish Register - Loose-leaf page #5
34Currently I am unable to re-locate this record in the Sustead PR. Q-MLB?
35Also in Swannington at about the same time was the burial of Abigail Porter the wife of Henry [E1] 19 Jan. 1748/9 (they married in 1705 in Hindolveston).
36Both single and of the parish. I initially transcribed this from her father’s will as Hitcheon
37Possibly she married Robert Woods 7 Feb. 1810 in St. Benedict and had issue, including a son John in 1815, in Norwich St. Paul. She may have died 1 Nov. 1846 aged 64 [all per familysearch.org]
38No will located.
39From MLB? - to check as not on Marriage Record or Banns.
40His will (Peculiar, Dean & Chapter, 1780-1790 p. 129 #31) made 28 Dec. 1782 and proved 14 Jan. 1783, provided for his wife Martha, son John of Sharrington, daughter Mary Porter spinster of Norwich (St. Edmund?) and daughter Hannah Hitchcock, widow, and appointed his brother-in-law Thomas Jary, Grocer and Draper of Hindolveston as executor.
41Hindolveston Manor Court Rolls 11 Nov. 1766
42Initially, as a consequence of a “note”, I had recorded him as born in Bawdeswell (5 miles south, next to Foxley), but I can now find no confirmation of that. John Porter, the son of John and Hannah, was baptised in Bawdeswell 10 June 1723.
43I earlier had recorded his baptism as 28 March of 1723 but according to the placement of the entry on loose leaf page 3 in the parish register confirms the Transcript at the NFHS which recorded the date as 29 September 1723.
44However, an entry at MyHeritage as of 2020, attributes a Francis Porter born 1724, married in 1757 to Susannah Flitt of Hindringham and died in 1787 in Hackford, as the son of Samuel Porter and Grace May [sic].
45His will, Dean & Peculiar 1755 Book 17 p.24, written 20 Jan 1755 and proved 29 Feb. 1755, left his estate to his mother, Grace Muriell [sic] and after her death equally to his siblings Samuel, John, Mary Akers and Anne Jary. His brother John was appointed executor.
46AT. The Hindolveston Parish Registers, which are in deplorable condition, appear to contain no Baptisms from Nov. 1730 to 1738. A NFHS transcription has the date as 29 August.
47Thomas Jary, grocer and son of Thomas Jary, died in Hindolveston 1 November 1793 aged 73 [PR & TR] and by his will left his estate to his wife Anne, his son Thomas and his daughter Anne the wife of Thomas Porter. He was the Thomas Jary, a Grocer of Hindolveston, who was bondsman for Thomas Porter of Snetterton to marry Ann Jary in 1782 in Hindolveston.
48Ann Porter (his cousin and daughter of Samuel and Hannah) was a witness. Mary Jary, widow of Thomas, nee Deeks, died in Hindolveston 13 March 1849 aged 83.
49Thomas Jary of Hindolveston, born 1755 the son of Thomas and Anne, was the witness to the marriage of William Newson of Snetterton to Susanna Newell in 1796 in Melton Constable.
50AT. The mother’s name was not given.
51Porters were in Hindolvestson from at least August of 1705 when Thomas Porter was buried. Ironically, another Thomas Porter (b. c. 1634) died in Foxley 10 October 1705 and, according to Church Heraldry of Norfolk at p. 72, his tombstone has the same crest as that of Edmund Porter, the Norwich Prebendary (b. Worcestershire). Other Porter families in Hindolveston at that time were Thomas Porter and Amy [?] and Thomas and Mary [issue1740]. Thomas died 1762 in Hindolveston, aged 70. It seems possible that these Porters were related to the Porters of Foxley, where they were located at least as early as 1549. There is a “spine” of Porter parishes extending south by south-east from Holkham on the coast, west of Wells, to Foxley and beyond.
52According to the Hindolveston MIs (NFHS), he is buried with his youngest son Thomas. He was stated to be 52 years old, therefore born 1691.
53He does not seem to have been the owner of copyhold land in Hindolveston - per MCRs
54Unless Robert was taken care of outside of the will.
55A Christopher Mallet died in Hindolveston in 1716, although the will and inventory spell his name Mallett.
56A Barbara Mallett of Scarning had a base-born child Mary baptised there 15 June 1746 and then a day on 16 June 1746 later married there to Lucius Cannoll but appears to have had no other children baptised there. Except for a marriage in 1607 of Richard Mallett there were no others of that name in the Scarning Parish Registers.
57ANW 24/20/92 dated 8 July 1746. Groom from Scarning, Bride from Hindolveston - have
58James Mallett was buried in Marlingford 29 March 1751. His will gave all of his estate to Grace.
59Although her married name was spelled Muriell. Q- did she re-marry 1571-1755?
60Can’t find in Hindolveston PR or TR
61Possibly he married Martha Frost Nov. 1790 in Norwich St. Michael Plea.
62Henry Gogle was a witness. They had issue in East Dereham: Porter 1802 died 1806; Anne 1803; Hannah 1805; Susannah 1808; Mary 1810; and John Porter b. 24 Sept. 1812 (a John Smith, son of John and Mary [sic] was buried in East Dereham 29 Dec. 1822 aged 9).
63Referred to in his mother’s administration in 1815 and described as a cordwainer (shoemaker) living in Cley. He and Anne had at least 6 children in Cley including JOHN in 1811. John Porter the father died in Cley in 1827 “aged 51" [although actually 54].
64Also in Salle, 17 July 1770 buried Susanna wife of Henry Porter [G90 & H41 - they had 2 children there: Hannah in 1758 and John in 1761.]
65Neither Robert nor John Porter have been found on the 1851 or 1861 censuses for England so they either died or emigrated elsewhere.
66Although the Parish Register entry is 26 January and aged 75.
67See Settlement Certificate 28 April 1772, Hackford to Salle for John & Hannah and children Samuel and Ann.
68Can’t find this baptism in Hindolveston PR or TR.
69Mary Porter and Henry Gogle were witnesses at the marriage of John Porter to Ann Farthing in Cley in 1796. They had children in Cley: John New Year [sic] Gogell 3 Jan. 1798 (but d. 10 Feb. 1798); John 5 May 1799 but d. 1802; Sarah 24 June 1800 in Sharrington; and Catherine 1803 again in Cley. There is no record of Mary’s death in Sharrington or Cley although an Elizabeth Gogle, infant, died in Cley 13 Jan. 1851.
70No will or admin. yet located in NRO.
71Whose signature is eerily similar to that of John Porter of Lopham!
72A Transcript at the NFHS recorded the date as 29 September 1723 and a loose page in the parish register appears, by its placement, to confirm the September baptism.
73See his “diary” or memorandum book - NRO. MC 2997/5
74By license [ANF #402], Mary’s father William Barcham Sr. of Edingthorpe being the other bondsman. The alternate location for the wedding was given as Thorpe Market [EpN]. John was only 20 but his father had died 8 months earlier so he may have inherited enough money to begin a family.
7511 Parishes to the east of Hindolveston. Mary Barcham had relatives in Banningham and John’s parents married in Banningham so possibly John had met her there.
76Note that despite having 4 girls, none were named after Grace their mother. Also, none of their grand-daughters were named Grace.
77Possibly August or April?
78By license - NCC - William, a yeoman, was a resident of Snetterton and the other bondsman was James Gaines of East Harling. William signed the bond. Q - who then was the William Porter who married Amy Tuck [H38] in Kenninghall in 1771 (witness John Green - is he the one who married Mary Porter in 1774?)?
79As Shekel, common in West Tofts from the 1720s.
80His will divided his estate 4 ways amongst his daughters.
81Note also the marriage in Larling in 1808 between Joseph Gates and Mary Anne Porter, both from Larling and both of whom signed, witnessed by John and Lucy Gates.
82The witnesses were William Porter and Francis Gates. I have the licence.
83Likely her 2nd cousin as Anne’s grandmother Mary Barcham was the sister-in-law of John Juler, a watchmaker from North Walsham. Only one child, a daughter Marian baptised in Eccles in 1808, has so far been located.
84ANF #49
85This date is from his will.
86The BTs say 31 August.
87Although a John Porter of Roydon, servant, married in Diss in 1772 to Jemina Symonds and Samuel Porter married in that parish seven years later in 1779. No issue or further record of John and Jemina has been located.
8855 on the Snetterton MI. Although no probate documents have yet been located, the M.I. transcription apparently includes the words “S. Porter, Executor”.
89PCC - 1803 #11/1387 - made 29 May 1797 and proved 16 February1803 by his executor/brother Samuel Porter. The proof was accompanied by an “affidavit” dated 8 February 1803 of his father John Porter and step-mother Elizabeth stating that they were familiar with the hand-writing of their son and that the “John Porter of Norwich” of the will is that person.
90The Bressingham ATs & the NFHS Transcript for Bressingham record his burial as 2 May 1785 aged 36 but the MI (NFHS) records the stone as John Green died 10 March 1786 aged 32. The latter must be a transcription error. The MI shows his daughter Mary Woodcock [Mary Porter Green] in the same plot. His will, ANF 1785 #12, made 27 April 1785 and proved 22 Dec. 1785, left all of his estate to his wife Mary.
91His will, ANF 1826 p.109 #36, made 29 April 1825 and proved 28 March 1826, provided for his wife Mary, his son John Whitebread of Thelnetham Suffolk, Mary Anne Whitebread of Royden who was under 21 and possibly a grand-daughter of Robert being the Mary Anne Whitebread born in Roydon in 1820 to Robert Whitebread and Mary Smith, the three surviving children of his wife Mary and her previous husband John Green and the son of Mary’s daughter Mary Woodcock.
92Likely living there with her eldest child John.
93Another John Green also born about 1775 in Bressingham, Norfolk was listed in the 1851 Census for Littleport Suffolk with his wife Diane.
94See banns.
95Strangely, the will of Mary Green, widow of Fakenham, who died in 1802, left to her children John Green and Thomas and Sarah Woodcock her children by a former husband.
96The Anne Porter baptised in Briston, next Hindolveston, 9 March 1755 daughter of John, was likely the child of John Porter & Elizabeth Grice [G38].
97By License - Consist. - the other bondsman was Samuel Newson of Roydon, the brother of Mary Newson, wife of Anne’s brother Samuel Porter
98Womacks had been in Lopham since at least 1578 when Arthur Womack was the parish priest. See pedigree, including Anne, in Norfolk Genealogy V. 13 at p. 208 and [same v.?] 164
99Likely also a daughter Anne born in about 1776 and died in North Lopham 1803 aged 26. See the will of Thomas Newson 1802 for listing of his step-children.
100The dates for these baptisms are from FreeReg. and the web page at Rootsweb.ancestry.com for the Womack Family of Mautby, Co. Norfolk.
101Married in nearby Blo Norton in 1804 to James Womack of North Lopham, with the consent of her mother. The Witnesses were John and Maria Porter.
102By licence - Consistory - the other bondsman was Samuel Newson of Roydon. Thomas Newson was the brother of Mary Newson, the wife of Anne’s brother Samuel.
1037 June on M.I. and aged 39.
104He died intestate in 1813 and Anne, his widow, renounced administration in favour of his daughter Mary Paine, wife of Charles Paine, of Great Barton SFK.
105Her will, witnessed by Samuel Porter Sr. and John Porter, gave to her children Micah, Rebecca, Robert and William “Beaucham” Womack.
106A Sarah Porter was baptised 1758 in Lowestoft Suffolk the daughter of John and Mary. Note however, this entry was only found on 1 of 3 transcripts of the parish registers.
107By license? - Charles was “of Edingthorpe”.
108See his will proved NFK 17 April 1834. Legatees were his wife Sarah, sons John (m. Anne Crowe) & Charles (m. Elizabeth Turner [sic] in Norwich 1845) and daughters Elizabeth [m. Rudd Taylor 1810 E. Ruston - he being renowned for the murder in Worstead of his second wife Hannah Cubitt (m.1830 East Ruston) and their infant child William in 1831, Elizabeth having died in 1829 - see his will made 1829 but probated in 1832 leaving all to his 5 children: John Rudd, ...etc. all under 21 years old. Rudd Turner was buried in East Ruston 30 April 1832 aged 42] & Caroline [wife of John Bush].
109Tunstead RD - 3/4 1842 - actually, closer to 90!
110BT but PR makes no reference to Lynford.
111By license NCC - the other bondsman was Thomas Jary of Hindolveston, probably the bride’s brother.
112His 1st cousin, Thomas’s father John and Anne’s mother Anne were siblings.
113Seven were born and baptised in Snetterton: Anne 29 Aug 1784 (died 3 days later), Thomas 19 Feb 1786, Mary Anne 28 Feb 1787, William 9 Mar 1788, Mary 5 April 1791, Sarah 17 Apr 1792 (died 5 days later) and Susanna 23 Sept. (born 20 Sept.) 1795 (died 1797). Another child Samuel was born about 1799 in Snetterton but his baptism has not yet been found. Two un-named children of Thomas and Anne Porter appear on a Monumental Inscription at Snetterton All Saints.
114By license - [Not ANW]
115See their lineage in “Porters-Grimston”.
116The baptism of Samuel [J40], who was born about 1799 in Snetterton and married 12 Feb. 1829 in Snetterton to Susan Bird, has not been found. He farmed 12 acres at Priest Hill in Old Buckenham in 1841 and 1851. He died in the Guiltcross Workhouse in Kenninghall and was buried in Old Buckenham 3 March 1865 without issue. In the will of Richard Palmer, husband of Maria Porter, Samuel is correctly referred to as the cousin of Maria Palmer.
117By License ANW 1807 #14 - Thomas Porter, farmer of Grimston, was the other bondsman and, because Maria was underage, provided his consent. See his signature. Thomas and Maria Jackson had at least a daughter, Rebecca, who was born and died in Grimston in 1809, three children baptised in King’s Lynn: Ann in 1810, William in 1811 and Elizabeth in 1813, and two children baptised by the Walsingham Circuit Wesleyan Methodists - Henry 6 Feb. 1823 and Sarah 11 June 1829. At the time of the last two baptisms Thomas and Maria Jackson were living in Little Walsingham where Thomas was a shopkeeper and Schoolmaster. By 1851 they were living in Heigham (Norwich) with their granddaughter Maria Emms 8 (probably the daughter of David Emms and Elizabeth Jackson who m. 1837 in Heigham) and Abigail Porter an unmarried woman, aged 74, born in Norwich (likely the one baptised 1776 illegitimate to Hannah Porter - Q. could Hannah have been Anne, above, who married Robert Womack later that year?).
118In 1753 70 of the 355 parishioners over the age of 16 in Hindolveston were listed as dissenters. However, as John would later be a Churchwarden in Snetterton and made great efforts to dissuade his daughter-in-law Mary Porter (nee Newson) from returning to Methodism, it is very unlikely that he would have been a dissenter.
119Not Marlingford, where John’s sister Anne was living when she married Thomas Jary in Barford in 1752 and where James Mallett died in 1751, he the second husband of Grace Moy (they married in 1746 in North Elmham, the groom from Scarning), who was John’s mother.
120Per BT. Lynford was a tiny parish with few buildings in 1723 (and only 1 property with 2 occupants on the 1782 Tax Assessment) whose church had disappeared long before 1700 and whose residents attended the church at West Tofts [although Palgrave-Moore in NIPR V. 7 says “see under Mundford” in the entry for Lynford]. It, West Tofts, Buckenham Tofts, Tottington and Stanford were all depopulated in 1942 for British and American military use and are still, as the Stanford Battle Area, used for British military training purposes. Why John and Mary would move to Lynford/West Tofts remains a mystery! However John Porter's mother was Grace Moy and an Anne Moy of West Tofts, the widow of of Edward Moy who had died there in 1678, married in Watton in 1679 to Michael Dixter of Thomson, so perhaps there was still some land in West Tofts which held a entitlement for the Moys.
121He was assessed for the Hall Farm in 1767 and then as occupant of land owned by the Rev. Dean Miller until 1784. His son Thomas occupied the same lands until 1807.
122The Hall Farm is now an equine rescue and recovery centre, and nearby is the Snetterton Racetrack built from the old American Forces landing strip. Why John and Mary and family moved from Lynford or West Tofts to Snetterton is unknown.
123Although Samuel’s apprenticeship in 1767 in Kenninghall (mid-way between East Harling and North Lopham) suggests an earlier move.
124By license (NCC 1785 image 17 on-line no number) - John was described as a Gentleman of Snetterton. The other bondsman was Edward Moon, Clerk of Dickleburgh. The witnesses at the marriage were Edward Moon and James Elmer. Edward Moon, clerk of Dickleburgh, had married Elizabeth Kemp, single and the daughter of Robert Kemp, just 2 weeks before. At this point, all of John’s children were adults: 3 in Snetterton, 2 in the Lophams and 1 each in Eccles, Bressingham and Paston/Edingthorpe.
125Robert was a churchwarden in Starston between 1757 and 1781 and he died there. His will, proved 22 December 1783, gave an annuity to his widow Elizabeth and provided for their only child, a daughter Elizabeth. A Robert Kemp married Elizabeth Cooke in 1776 in Stoke Holy Cross but he was said to be of Norwich and she of Stoke. In 1768 Robert Kemp of Starston was on the Norfolk Poll for freehold land he held in Carlton Rode. See pedigree back to William 1600 of Carleton Rode. A John and Elizabeth Kemp also had issue in Starston in 1764 before John died there in 1770, and this John was likely Robert’s father as his will was dated 1769 - per pedigree. According to the will of his daughter Elizabeth Moon (proved with several codicils in 1845) Robert Kemp had a brother named Richard who occupied Robert’s land in Carleton Rode and Tibenham. Elizabeth Moon gave the 800 pounds inherited from her father to her four daughters and children of a fifth deceased daughter.
126E.C. Hopper - Some Account of the Parish of Starston from the Ancient Registers by the Rector, 1888 at p. 48.
127Or 1811? The Guiltcross 100 Land Assessment records show him there until 1810 and in 1811 the land is described as “premises late Porters”.
128The 1802 East Harling Voting Poll recorded a John Porter of North Lopham but assigns his vote to someone else suggesting that he had moved by this point.
129His daughter Anne married there in 1776 and from at least 1781 John owned land in North Lopham which was occupied by Anne and her husbands Robert Womack and, later, Thomas Newson and after 1808 by her son Micah Womack and in 1812 by John’s grandson Samuel Porter Jr. At no time was John shown as the occupier of the lands he owned in North Lopham.
130ANF Admin. Act Books 1691-1819 p.455 (Bond 1811-13 #69) John was described as “late of North Lopham gentleman”. According to the Inclosure Awards, by 1815 the estate had still not been settled.
131See, for eg., Medipedia, Gravestone Photographic Resource and a partial photograph on the Churches of Norfolk site.
132ANF #153
133She was underage and her father Samuel provided his consent. John Wells was possibly the brother of George Wells of the Hall Farm in Illington (m. Mary Murrell) who in 1832 left land in Hinderclay SFK to John. Also included in George’s will were his siblings Elizabeth Palmer (b. 1771 Banham to Henry Wells and Frances Calver of Banham), Henry (lived in Kenninghall) and Thomas (b. 1773 Banham to Henry & Frances). John had apprenticed with Mary’s father Samuel from 1791 to at least 1796 in North Lopham.
134He married Susanna Flowerday c. 1831 and had at least 4 children in Kenninghall (including a daughter Mary baptised by the Diss Methodists in 1834), where he was a tailor, before moving to Brighton Sussex in about 1839 where he was first a schoolmaster and later a clerk in a bottled water manufacturer. He died after 1881.
135A Thomas Wells & Elizabeth (Davy) also had issue in Banham in 1804-1811. He was admitted to land in the Manor of Banham etc. in 1803.
136He married his second cousin Elizabeth Green (b. ~ 1812 in North Lopham grand-daughter of John Green and Mary Porter) between 1851 and 1861 [although the only entry found is 2/4 1839 London St. George E - Samuel Wells and Elizabeth Mary Green] and from at least 1851 was the Registrar of B,D & M in Attleborough (Wayland RD). He died 4/4 1872 Wayland RD apparently without issue.
137By 1851 he was living in Heigham, Norwich where he was a Hay Dealer and, later, a stableman and horse keeper. He married his housekeeper Christiana Woodrow in the 2/4 of 1861 in Norwich and died in Norwich 1/4 1874, without issue.
138[source = ?]
139Bankrupt Directory 1820-1843 - 18 Feb. 1826, John Wells of Kenninghall, general shopkeeper (1 month after his father-in-law Samuel Porter).
140Although not Kenninghall or Galboldisham.
141A Samuel Porter was baptised in the Independent Church at Wrentham Suffolk 3 January 1780 but he was said to be the son of William, not Samuel, and Mary.
142Born c. 1789 in Wortham SFK [per 1861] to William Elliott and Elizabeth who had previous issue in Roydon. The will of William Elliott of Roydon in 1850 gave ½ to his daughter Mary the wife of John Porter, Draper of North Lopham but as “her sole and separate estate ... without the interference of her husband...” and to her children Anne Rush and Eliza Vyse.
143“After much suffering” as reported in the Bury and Norwich Post 22 Dec. 1830. According to the Wesleyan Methodist Magazine Vol 10 (3rd Series) at page 142 she had apparently converted to Methodism on account of her illness, but since her grandmother was also a convert to Methodism much earlier it is possible that she “returned” to Methodism.
144Bury & Norwich Post 26 Dec. 1838. Robert Browne Rush [mistakenly called Robert Bush Rush in the Inquest report] was a Veterinary Surgeon. They had at least 2 children in North Lopham before moving to Redgrave in Suffolk before 1844 and having another 5 children baptised by the Wesleyan Methodists (Diss Circuit). Robert died there 30 September 1851 [the Ipswich Journal of 4 October 1851 reports on the inquest as he was found dead by ingesting poison], “leaving a widow and 6 children the oldest being 12 and the youngest 2 months”. He was buried in South Lopham with Edwin his youngest son who died in 1855 aged 5. Two other children of Robert and Anne, Emily and William Elliott, were also buried there. In the census of 1861 Anne was a widowed schoolmistress in Redgrave with 7 female students aged 13 to 15 (6 from Norfolk), including her niece Mary Jane Vyse. Her three sons - Arthur, Walter & Robert - had all been apprenticed to Drapers in Preston, Lancashire, Macclesfield, Cheshire & Congleton, Cheshire, respectively, and are each found there in 1861.
145Baptised 15 June 1823 in Hadleigh SFK to William and Marianne. He took over and ran the Grocery and Drapery business in North Lopham of his father-in-law John Porter before moving to Holborn in London between 1863 and 1871 where he ran a Hosier business on High Holborn until at least 1881. The great “Wood Street” fire of 7 December 1882 apparently destroyed the textile warehouse of Vyse & Sons. They had at least 9 children all born in North Lopham, most baptised by the Wesleyan Diss Circuit, and 4 of them appear in London in 1881 as Hosiers or, in the case of the daughter, a dressmaker.
146Although, he was originally in partnership with his father Samuel, he seems somewhat isolated from his father’s misfortunes [unless he was the John Porter acquitted of larceny charges in the Norfolk Assizes of January 1824 and Epiphany 1831]. In the 1830 Directory he was described as a Grocer and Draper, in 1839 Robson’s Directory as a Shopkeeper and in the 1850 and 1854 Hunt’s Directories merely as Mr. John Porter.
147Per probate of his will but the Bury & Norwich Post of 7 October 1862 at p. 6 reports the death date as 21 September. His will (1863 May #67 or 16) made 17 July 1862 and proved 30 May 1863, left his property in the Manors of Lopham (where he was admitted 30 Nov 1815) and Lopham Rectory to his son-in-law Charles Vyse (who appears to have succeeded him in his business as shop-keeper) and provided for his wife Mary and his daughters Anne Rush and Eliza Vyse. According to the Index to Death Duty Registers, John Kent of Diss was the executor of his estate. Norwich - Reg. 3, Folio 779.
148The witnesses were Mary Porter Junior, John Porter and Samuel Porter, likely her sister and brothers.
149Their son George was baptised in North Lopham 31 December 1832.
150Or “Court” as in 1888 Directory.
151From census. Four were baptised in North Lopham, viz: Samuel Porter Wharton 1821, Ann 1823, Thomas 1828 and Susan Mary 1829. Some of their children were re-baptised by the Diss Methodist Wesleyans in 1825 - but I did not record. [Redo 596996[5]] See pedigree.
152UK Register of Duties Paid for Apprentices Indentures 1710-1811 @ancestry.com
153According to Cyril Jolly, The Spreading Flame - The Coming of Methodism to Norfolk - 1751-1811 at p. 69 - while sick with a fever in 1780 Mary was converted by Jonathan Cousins and others (the first Methodist preachers were in North Lopham in 1775, although they didn’t officially split from the Church of England until after John Wesley’s death in 1791). The story continues that her father-in-law (John) “a high churchman of Snetterton Hall hastened over to Lopham” in an attempt to dissuade her. North Lopham was part of the Diss Circuit which itself was part of the Norwich Circuit until 1790. However, as both Mary’s father and grandmother had been baptised in an Independent Chapel (Congregational) in Suffolk, and at least 2 of her brothers (Richard in 1766 and William in 1770) had been baptised by the “Palgrave Dissenters” (a Presbyterian sect who moved from Palgrave Suffolk to Diss in 1822) - see FHL Film 825334 - her “conversion” was somewhat predictable.
154The Ipswich Journal of 5 February 1870 in reporting a meeting in North Lopham held by the rector to investigate the state of the parish charities noted “The Rev. J.F. Bateman said the churchwardens’ book seems to be fairly kept up to 1820, when he found a leaf had been cut out containing two years’ accounts. At that time Mr. Samuel Porter, sen., was churchwarden.”.
155In 1811 he issued a 1 shilling silver trade token featuring naval-flavoured arms, one of only 17 such tokens in Norfolk. See R. Dalton, The Silver Token-Coinage of 1811-1812 at p.22.
156Various ads in the Ipswich Journal 1800 -1818 and the Bury & Norwich Post 1801. He was one of 28 agents for the Norwich Insurance Office from 1800 to 1811.
157Ipswich Journal 12 April 1800
158Or is this his son Samuel Jr.?
159See advertisement in London Gazette 26 August 1819 as printed in The News 3 September 1819 at p. 288.
160Thomas Drake, William Rolfe, Nicholas Cobb, Goerge Cobb, William Worledge & Robert Worledge.
161No tax records exist for the period 1785-1795
162Buckenham and H. Gooch the others.
163Occupied in 1826 by his son-in-law John Wells, the husband of Samuel’s eldest child Mary.
164The East Harling parcels were likely inherited from his father before 1813. In 1780 Samuel was described as a “well-to-do farmer” in Michael F. Serpell, A History of the Lophams, 1980. At the time of his father’s death in 1813 he was described as a shopkeeper and farmer.
165The Bury and Norwich Post of 5 March 1823 had reported on page 1 that the 1823 Parish Tithes in North and South Lopham were halved “in view of the depressed price of agricultural produce”. The loss of the flax (linen) markets to cheaper cotton from the USA was one apparent factor.
166Bankrupt Directory 1820-1843 p. 328. At his examination prior to committal, he could only produce £31,100 against his debts of £54,700 leaving a deficit of £23,600. Jackson’s Oxford Journal. Saturday 11 March 1826. Q - Was he also the Samuel Porter imprisoned for 12 months for Larceny at the April 1827 Norfolk Assizes?
167Jackson’s Oxford Journal, Saturday 11 March 1826. Although it is unclear how long he was incarcerated, the Gazette of July 1828 referred to him as “late of North Lopham” suggesting that he was, at this point, still in custody. The unit which housed debtors was located outside the prison walls and was considered entirely separate (information obtained from a 2014 visit to Norwich Castle). At the time of his incarceration he was 75 years old!
1688 parcels of arable land totaling about 16 - 17 acres, 4 houses in North Lopham, a shop in Garboldisham and a 100 acre farm in the parishes of Thelnethan, Wattisfield and Market Weston in Suffolk.
169He issued a 1 shilling coin for use at his premises in about 1811 with a decidedly naval theme. See R. Daltona, The Silver Token-Coinage ... of 1811 & 1812 at p.22.
1701838 Guiltcross R.D. No. 124. He died of “old age”. In the Parish Register his age is given as 86. The age on the death certificate could also be interpreted as 89. The informant was Mary Keeble., m.s. Carman, either the wife of Francis Keeble or m.s. n/k the wife of Nathaniel Keeble. No will or administration has been located.
171By License - ANF #29, Samuel was 20 and Mary 21.
172Although there could have been at least 4 in this interval, possibly baptised Methodist. However, there were no unaccounted-for Porter marriages in North Lopham 1801-1837.
173Born.15 November 1803 Felsham, Suffolk to James Boggess and Mary Gill. The will of James Boggis of Felsham in 1838 refers to his 2nd son John Boggis, Harness Maker of North Lopham.
174The Bury & Norwich Post of 24 May 1837 reported the date as 18 May and described the bride as “Miss Porter a school mistress of North Lopham”.
175John Porter Boggis was born 1/4 1838 but died 2/4 1843 (Guiltcross RD) but not in North Lopham P.R.
1761858 Kelly & Co. Directory for Cockfield SFK lists John Boggis, farmer.
177Born 4/4 1866 Guiltcross R.D. to Robert Boggis, John’s son from his first marriage
178John Merton married Mary Ellen Boggess 3/4 1882 Stow R.D.
179Administration of her estate was granted to her daughter Mary Ellen Murten. Her death date is given as 14 December 1892.
180Both these dates from the Norfolk Burial Index & Suffolk FHS Burial Index and are the only 2 for Haughley.
181Except for William (BT) and Sarah (IGI), the births are presumed from Census entries.
182Tailor on the the 1841 census, but carpenter for all baptisms. The sons of William and Susan were mostly Linen manufacturers in North Lopham around 1865.
183The published MI says 1878 - #298 on NFHS TR
184In 1891 John was enumerated with his five children in North Lopham, and was a “fowl dealer” although the word “dog” in a different hand writing has been added to the return.
185BTs
186Elizabeth had been born in Willoughton, Lincolnshire about 1846.
187Now the home of the Worksop Football team.
188Their daughter Esther born 4/4 1883 in Worksop had likely died.
189There is another listing for John Porter, born in Worksop, but aged 50, as a widower boarding with the Parkin family in Shirland Lane, Sheffield, Yorkshire.
190Actually 54.
191Where her aunt Mary Anne Warriner and her family also lived.
192Born about 1885 in Bolsover, Derbyshire
193As also was John’s and Mary Jane’s aunt Mary Anne Warriner and her family.
194George is indexed as George Porte. Sarah was born 4/4 1847 in Workshop, likely a twin with William Pincham.
195Although a James Wells, born about 1853 either in Tunbridge Wells, Kent (1881), Sunbury on Thames (1891) or Teddington Middlesex (1901 & 1911), single, lived with them from at least 1881 to at least 1911. Recall that George’s great-aunt was Mary Wells of Garboldisham and Kenninghall. A James Wells was born in Lenham. Kent in 1853 to Henry and Kate Wells, both also born Lenham, and in 1871 was a lodger at 30 High Street in Tonbridge Kent.
196Thomas Henry Warrner was buried in the same cemetery as his parents 2 Feb. 1931 aged 57.
197Either at ancestry.com and findmypast.co.uk (formerly 1911Census).
198Although he would have been”45" as born in about 1782.
199Although this age would mean that he was born in 1774, about 8 years before his projected birth date. Recall however that the age given to the enumerator was probably a guess supplied by someone in the Beales household.
200Suggesting that Samuel Newson Porter (Samuel Jr.) played second fiddle to his younger brother John.
2011845 Guiltcross R.D. No. 82. She was described as the wife of Samuel Porter, labourer, and died of “Ascites” - accumulation of fluid in the peritoneal cavity, often caused by cirrhosis and other severe liver diseases.. The informant who was present at her death was Elizabeth Kerry who was either Elizabeth Land who had married Michael Kerry 1819 in North Lopham or Elizabeth Drip who had married John Kerry in 1797 in North Lopham.
2021853 Guiltcross R.D. No. 219. He was described as a farmer and died of “chronic bronchitis”. The informant was Phebe Reeve, m.s. Jennings who had married Thomas Reeve in 1806 in North Lopham.
203Not N.Lopham, S.Lopham, Snetterton, E.Harling, Illington or Larling.
204His younger and only other brother George (b.1848 son of Samuel and Esther) apparently had no children.
205Also Hurn and Hyrne
206Harne in Parish Register but Harris in a NFHS indexed transcript.
207However, would they be residing in Norwich St. Giles and also in Banningham?