Early Barhams in Suffolk
It is thought that by the 1300s most people had started passing down their surnames to their children. Before this time people were known by their occupation (Peter the Carpenter), their appearance (Edward the Large) or where they originated from (William of Stanton). Certainly by this time the names of towns and villages would have been well established. Given that my Barham ancestors (pre 1800) were in and around mid and north Suffolk, it is not impossible to surmise that my ancestors originally came from the village of Barham - halfway between Ipswich and Needham Market.
The name Barham means "Homestead or enclosure on a hill". I expect that my ancestor was originally called John de Barham or something similar and moved north to settle around the areas near Eye and Stanton. I am also assuming another family moved west (called Henry de Barham or something similar) and settled in the Cavendish/Clare area near Sudbury. There is the possibility that these two lines of Barhams are in no way connected by blood but simply by their ancestors hailing from the same village. On the other hand of course my theory could be incorrect and a mutual ancestor may have moved out from Barham and from him the two branches split at a later date.
This is of course is just guesswork. Certainly by the mid to late 1500s there were a number of strands of Barhams recorded in the areas around Stanton, Eye and the border with Norfolk and another band of Barhams around the border with Essex. I have researched a number of Barham families in the late 1500s and early 1600s but have yet to establish a definite link with my first positive Barham ancestor.
There are four villages with the name of Barham in England. These are in Cambridgeshire, Kent, Lincolnshire and Suffolk. They are all four shown in the Domesday book of 1086 and there are documents relating to the Kent one that go back to 799 AD. The Kent village is not a far from Canterbury.
There are many notable Barhams in Sussex and Kent. One Barham was awarded the Coat of Arms above - I am unsure, but believe that my Barhams may not have been entitled to display these coat of arms. I make no apologies for using the Barham Coat of Arms - I do not pretend that I am entitled to use these.
In Suffolk, there are a number of entries I have found in parish registers from 1550-1650s,from the Land Subsidy Roll of 1568, from Wills (both in Sudbury and Norwich wills), the Able Men of Suffolk list of 1638 and the Hearth Tax of 1674. The main parshes/towns that are involved with these Barhams (in the north central Suffolk area) are Eye, Stanton, Hinderclay, Hepworth, Barningham, Wortham, Gislingham and Burgate & Mellis.
George Barham's roots?
On 13th November 1642, within a few weeks of the start of the English Civil War, George Barham a woolcomber in Wortham, Suffolk married Anne Rust (see below for this marriage entry "Georgius Barham et Anna Rust nupti fuecunt 17 de November 1642".
They had their first child, Annah, in nearby 'Burgate with Mellis' in 1643 - baptised on the 8th October. Their second child George was baptised in the same village on 5th January 1644 (old style) 1645 new style. This is, I believe, the baptism of my 8x Great Grandfather "Georgius filius Georgius et Anna Barrham baptised January 5 1644".
George, now moved to Gislingham, just a few miles down the road, left a will in 1669. Here he left "Copyhold, houses, tenements and lands in Russingle (Rishangle) and adjoining lands to his son John when he becaomes 21 years old. He left a sum of (I Think?) "Thirty pounds of good and lawful money" to his son George when he reached 21 years. The sum of twenty shillings per year he bequeathed to his daughter Ann "and her heires" for the "spate of Thirty yeares next after" his death. Elizabeth, his daughter he left 100 pounds.
On 29th September 1675, after having had their banns read three times, George Barham #2 (singleman) and Ruth Randall (singlewoman), both of Laxfield, Suffolk married in Laxfield Parish Church in the district of Hoxne (6 miles north of Framlingham).
John Barham, their first son, was baptized on 30th July 1676 in Laxfield. On 7th April 1678 George and Ruth baptized their second son George at Laxfield. The parish registers show that George was baptized at home it `being a very rainie day'. On the 31st December 1680 they baptized their daughter Ruth in Laxfield church. I have no more details of George and Ruth Barham - presumably they moved out of Laxfield around this time as they do not appear to have been buried in Laxfield. They may have had some more children post 1680 but I have not found them yet.
George (#3) appears to have moved to Weybread between 1680 and 1707 (perhaps I will find George #1 burial somewhere around here) where he married Elizabeth Howell on 1st October 1707. They baptized 2 children George #4 in Weybread on 30th July 1708 and Mary on 26th January 1712 (not too sure that Mary was one of Elizabeth's children). Elizabeth appears to have died around this time (I have yet to find her burial - despite searches in the appropriate parishes).
George Barham #2 married Mary Borritt in Wingfield on 21st July 1712. George #2 and Mary then had Ruth baptized in Mendham on 23rd April 1715 and Robert on 25th July 1717. George #3 died in Halesworth in 1735 (aged approx 55) and was buried in Weybread churchyard. He left a lovely Will dated 1733 leaving quite a lot of land (in Stadbroke, Mendham, Weybread and Homersfield) and money to his wife and his two sons George #4 and Robert.
George #4 married Elizabeth c.1735, I have searched the Suffolk side of the border for this marriage so it may just be over the border into Norfolk. I may find this marriage in the same parish as his father and mother's burial. They then settled down in Mendham where they had all of their 11 children. Their first, Elizabeth, was baptized in 1738 (she died young). The next three children they named George in 1739, 1741 and 1742 - they all died young. Robert was next in 1745 (he married Mary Cupper in 1774 and lived to be 75!). Edmund was baptized in 1746 and married Sarah Buckingham in 1775.
Next my 5x Great Grandfather John Barham who was baptized on 3rd Dec 1748. The second Elizabeth followed in 1751 (she went on to marry John Websdale in 1771). Another son was then named George Barham, in 1753, obviously George #4 was determined to carry on the family name! Michael followed in 1755 and finally Fisher (what a strange name!) in 1758. I am following up whether Fisher was Elizabeth's maiden name. Unfortunately George #4 did not leave a will and I have been unable to find his burial.
John Barham married Ann Howell on 30th Dec 1774 at All Saints, South Elmham, Suffolk. They had 7 children - Elizabeth in 1776, Ann 1777, Anna 1778, John 1779 (he died young), another John in 1784, Stephen in 1787 and Susannah in 1789. I have, again been unable to find a will or burial for John - I am wondering if they had a family plot at an as-yet unfound parish church.
I know very little about Susannah Barham. She was baptized on 25th January 1789, the youngest child of John and Ann Barham. At the age of 14 (!) she had an illegitimate child. Thomas Gooch Barham, my great great great grandfather, was born on the 22nd June 1803 at Mendham on the Suffolk/Norfolk border (just barely in Suffolk). His father is very probably the same Thomas Gooch who was a witness at the marriage of Elijah Gooch (of Needham, Norfolk) in Mendham in 1804. I will be more able to confirm this when I visit the Norfolk record office in August. He was privately baptized on July the 3rd 1803 but not 'received into the church' until December 21st 1806. I have yet to find out what happened to Susannah after these events - I am hoping that she married Thomas Gooch c.1806 in Needham - again I may be able to prove this in my later research.
Between 1806 and 1827 I have no knowledge of where Thomas Gooch Barham was, he possibly lived with Susannah if she married - or he may have been brought up by his grandparents or an Uncle and Aunt. On 4th June 1827 he married Elizabeth Bridge (from Ellingham, again on the Norfolk Suffolk border - barely 8 miles from Mendham) at St.Gregorys, Norwich. One of the witnesses at the wedding was Edward Barham, who is likely to have been the cousin who was born in 1800. In 1828 Thomas and Elizabeth had their first daughter, Susannah, baptized at St.Lawrence, Norwich. Thomas is shown as a Whitesmith (an occupation similar to a Blacksmith but using 'white metals' for the production of Dairy Utensils).
Marianne (later shown as Mary Ann) followed in 1830, Thomas in 1832, Henry in 1833, Harriet Elizabeth in 1836, Sarah Ann in 1839. Thomas is variously shown as a Whitesmith or Blacksmith on these Baptisms. We then find the whole family living at no.19 Stepping Lane, Norwich at the time of the 1841 Census, Thomas and Elizabeth are now 38 (although shown as 39) and their eldest child, Susannah, is 13. George (my great great grandfather) was born in 1842 and baptized in St.Peter Per Mountgate, Norwich.
Sometime between George's birth in 1842 and the 1851 Census the Barham family moved to East Dereham (14 miles West of Norwich). Here Thomas carried on the Blacksmith trade next door to The Coach Makers Arms on the Norwich Road (now the A47). This Road must have been a well used highway for any traffic that wanted to travel between Norwich and Kings Lynn and therefore an ideal place for a Blacksmith. Thomas and Elizabeth had their last child, Alfred, here in 1848, they were both now 45 years old.
In 1851 the whole family (all ten of them) were still living next door to the Coach Makers Arms - Thomas is now shown as a Blacksmith and 'Journeyman'. Their two eldest daughters Susannah (23) and Mary Ann (21) are shown as House Servants and Thomas (junior - 19) is shown as a Blacksmith.
By the time of the 1861 Census they have all left home except for little Alfred who is only 13. Also living with them is Alfred T (possibly Thomas) who is one of their grandchildren. Alfred T was born in 1853 in Bishopsgate, London and is most likely to be the son of Thomas (junior) who presumably has now moved to London.
We now move onto the 1871 Census where Thomas (senior) and Elizabeth are still living next door to the Coach Makers Arms. Alfred, their son, has moved away but Alfred T is still (or again) living with them he is now 18 years old and is employed as a Coal Porter. Elizabeth unfortunately appears to have had a bad accident at some time between 1861 and 1871 as she is now shown as being Paralyzed. She died in East Dereham on 10th May 1878 (aged 75) of `Paralysis'. Thomas Gooch only lasted a matter of 3 months dieing on 24th August 1878, also aged 75.
George Barham moved to London c 1860 and became a porter. On 6th November 1864 he married Amelia (Gordon) Webster at the Parish church of Clerkenwell, London. An unusual middle name I am sure you will agree - I am guessing that as her time of birth was given on her birth certificate that she was a twin and her twin was called Gordon Amelia Webster?
They had at least 4 children - Susannah Maria (1865), George Randolph 1875 - he later emigrated to Australia), Thomas William (1878) and my great grandfather Edward Ernest (1882).
George was a Hansom cab driver. He was also known to like a little drink on occasions... On 16th December 1899 George Barham died at the age of 55 of "Bronchitis and Pneumonia following a fracture of the neck and of the thigh and concussion of the brain caused be a fall from a cab while driving the horse violently swerved around". An inquest was held but unfortunately the coroner's records have not survived.
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This is where my Barham history ends at present. I will be updating it in more detail at a later date. At present the following summary will have to do.
My Great Grandfather Edward Ernest Barham married Frances Anne Bloomfield at the Strand Register Office (London) on 11th December 1905. They had ten children between 1906 and 1930 including my Grandfather Thomas John Barham on 21st May 1911. Frances died on 18th Marcg 1945. Edward died on 27th June 1953.
Thomas married my grandmother Kitty Marcella Dann at St Marylebone Register Office on 3rd June 1939. My father Keith Thomas Barham, the first of four boys, was born on 22nd April 1940. He married my mother Anita Maureen Strawford on 22nd October 1960 in St Mary's Rayleigh. My older sister Mandy was born on 23rd December 1961. I was born during a snow swept day on 22nd December 1962. My younger sister Tracey was born on 14th June 1965. I married Andrea Crawley in Southchurch, Essex on 19th August 1989.