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Beginners => Family History Beginners Board => Topic started by: Emma Lait Hamilton on Wednesday 07 October 20 08:29 BST (UK)
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Hi. My 6th ggf was Robert Layte of Haughley Suffolk. Married Sarah Kurtz. I got as far back as them in my research using 2 of those pay sites. Lots of connections to suffolk and later norfolk. Any ideas on how to go back further? My mother passed away when I was very young but she did a lot of research back to 1300's. Sadly we've lost all that info. Any advice, tips and info is greatly appreciated
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Hello & welcome
6th ggf was Robert Layte of Haughley Suffolk. Married Sarah Kurtz
Have you a date & location for this.
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There are parish records for Haughley back to 1561. There are transcripts at the Society of Genealogists Library.
You might also have luck with wills, either proven in Suffolk or in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury.
You can search Suffolk Archives here:
https://www.suffolkarchives.co.uk/planning-your-visit/using-catalogues-and-indexes/
There are wills of John Layte of Horringer, 1701, and William Laite of Horningsheath, (Horringer), 1735, and some other records with different spellings.
You can search the National Archives here:
https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/advanced-search
For wills, put Prob where it says 'Any of these references'
Also worth looking at is legal records, some of which can be searched here:
https://waalt.uh.edu/index.php/Main_Page
and here:
http://aalt.law.uh.edu/Indices/CP40Indices/CP40_Indices.html
This is a good place to start for sources:
http://www.medievalgenealogy.org.uk/index.html
It's medieval, but many of the sources extend forward until about 1700.
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Thank you for those tips
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Where has the surname 'Kurtz' come from? A tree on Ancestry states this BUT the link they post for the marriage 21/7/1732 Catton, England shows bride as a Sarah Adams??
Annette
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IGI has her as Sarah Adams too.
If you've been taking information from public trees it's best to go back to the last known fact
& start from there.
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I took it from two sites but its apparently on another person's tree and also their blog.. There was a son, Robert layte in 1748. Not found who he married yet but his father was Robert Layte born 1708 married Sarah Kurtz. My line goes Robert, Timothy, Thomas, Alfred, Henry Timothy, Henry Stanley, and my father Raymond. All laits or Laytes. All the births, stories, legends etc match
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A word of caution about online trees, most are wrong.
Has the tree owner provided any information about the marriage?
If not then the owner has probably taken it from someone else's tree
which was also wrong.
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Oh no. Was so excited. What's best to do now? Does this mean everything is wrong?? Thanks for your advice
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The trusted site is IGI.
They take their records from the Parish Registers.
They have Sarah Adams as his wife.
From the list of names you've given which is the last one that you
can prove is yours?
That is to say can be backed up by birth, marriage or census.
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Not at all sure now. Just checked IGI and nothing for even my grandad Henry Stanley Lait. When I was a child we had Thomas Lait b1781 d1859 on our tree. Mum was big into genealogy so I could trust that i think. I've just gone from there but can't seem to get anything from IGI
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In the 1851 census there's Thomas Lait, age 69, born about 1782, born in Diss, Norfolk, living alone in Palgrave, Suffolk.
I can't really read his occupation. It looks like 'beachmaker'.
In 1841 he's in Diss, born about 1781, 'leach maker'. Wife Lucretia, sons Thomas, 30, and William, 25.
In 1841 the ages are rounded down to the nearest 5 years.
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In IGI in Family search, there's his baptism:
Thomas Lait, baptised 9 September 1781 in Diss, father Timothy, mother Elizabeth.
Timothy Lait buried 30 July 1809 in Diss.
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Norfolk Record Office online search:
http://nrocat.norfolk.gov.uk/DServe/public/searches/nroadvanced.htm
Will: Lait, Timothy, of Diss, 1809
Settlement certificate: 4 Nov 1774, Lait, Timothy, his wife Elizabeth and children William, John and Lucy
Certifying parish: Haughley, Suffolk. Parish of residence: Diss.
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In the Suffolk Archives there's a will of Robert Lait of Haughley, 1814, and inventory in 1817. This couldn't be the father of Timothy, since he'd be over 100, but possibly a brother.
There is a will of Elizabeth Lait of Horringer, 1767, who could be related to the John Layte and William Laite of Horringer mentioned above. These wills could be worth looking at.
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In the 1851 census there's Thomas Lait, age 69, born about 1782, born in Diss, Norfolk, living alone in Palgrave, Suffolk.
I can't really read his occupation. It looks like 'beachmaker'.
In 1841 he's in Diss, born about 1781, 'leach maker'. Wife Lucretia, sons Thomas, 30, and William, 25.
In 1841 the ages are rounded down to the nearest 5 years.
Thomas Lait's occupation was 'Coach maker'.
Annette
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Where has the surname 'Kurtz' come from? A tree on Ancestry states this BUT the link they post for the marriage 21/7/1732 Catton, England shows bride as a Sarah Adams??
Annette
I can't find this information any where on IGI. Just that his wife was Sarah
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Thank you for all your help. I have confirmed my roots back to Robert Layte and really pleased to have roots in Suffolk. I just can't find the Sarah Adams you both mention and would like to find their parents
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They have the marriage on familysearch.
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NJKL-XPL
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Unfortunately unlike Lait, Adams is a very common name.
The only possible I can see was born 1706 Gt. Yarmouth.(parents: Francis & Grace).
There's no way of knowing if it's her as there are no father's
names on marriages in 1732.
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Thank you, its a start. Is there any more on Roberts father pre 1708. I've joined the archives etc but think I'm getting in a tizz with it all and logins!!!
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There's an abstract of the will of Timothy Lait of Diss, Norfolk, wheelwright, at the National Archives. It's currently possible to download many of these records for free.
August 29 1809.
Executors: Edward Wiseman of Diss, banker, and Robert Lait, of Haughley, Suffolk
All of his property was to go to his wife for her lifetime, and after her decease to be sold and the money to be divided equally among his children: John, Thomas, Charles, Lucy, Sarah, Sophia, and the children of his deceased daughter Ann, at their respective ages of 21.
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The only info I can find for Robert is his marriage in 1732 & death in 1785.
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The only info I can find for Robert is his marriage in 1732 & death in 1785.
Where did he die?
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Haughley Suffork, spelt Laight.
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Haughley Suffork, spelt Laight.
That's where its getting confusing with the different spellings
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I don't think you will get much further than this at present.
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I don't think it will be possible to get much further depending only on information that is available online. But there are parish records for Haughley going back to 1561. There are also some wills for people named Lait/Layt not too distant (Horringer is 15 miles away).
Having said that, I must admit that visiting archives and libraries right now is a bit of a problem.
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Good point. I've tried suffolk archives online etc. Still, it's further than I ever got before and (even though I'm adopted)I feel I have some roots. If you know what I mean
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One theoretical possibility is that Robert Layte came originally from somewhere around Attleborough, Norfolk. If you search the Norfolk archives and the legal records you will find many Lait/Laite/Layt/Layte in Great Ellingham, Deopham, and Shropham, all within two or three miles of Attleborough, from 1700 back to the 1400s. The earliest is Roger Layte, in 1444, of Great Ellingham, barker (a tanner or someone who prepares bark for use in tanning).
This might explain why Robert got married in Catton near Norwich, which is 40 miles from Haughley but 15 miles from Attleborough. Diss is also reasonably close to Attleborough, about 12 miles away. So maybe Timothy Lait moved to Diss because he had family connections in that area.
http://nrocat.norfolk.gov.uk/DServe/public/searches/nroadvanced.htm
https://waalt.uh.edu/index.php/Main_Page
http://aalt.law.uh.edu/Indices/CP40Indices/CP40_Indices.html
or Google site search:
site:http://aalt.law.uh.edu/indices/cp40indices/ layte
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Thank you, that's interesting. A family story is we came over as hugenots