Stone and Mayes in Flixton

[stevemiller]

I am having another look at my families in the Bungay area, and I wonder if Suffolk Rootschaters can help with some brickwalls?

James Stone was baptised at Flixton on 6 August 1784, and in the 1841 and 1851 censuses he was at Beccles Road, Bungay. He died and was buried at Bungay in September 1852.

He was the son of James and Mary Stone.  James senior married Mary Mayes at Flixton on 1 Dec 1783.

But these are the only two Stone events at Flixton. This would suggest to me that this was Mary Mayes’s home parish, but the marriage is the only Mayes event!

I use Ancestry and Findmypast, plus the South Elmham & Wangford baptisms from Suffolk FHS. I cannot find any other trace of James Stone senior and Mary Mayes.

Can fresh eyes help me out?

[hanes teulu]

Have you discounted (FindMyPast image/transcript)?
Mary Mayes, bap 14 Oct 1759, parish Ellingham, diocese Norwich, parents Francis and Ann

[stevemiller]

I'm afraid I only just coming to grips with the geography of this area, and folk jumping back and forth across the county boundary.

I did look at this Ellingham baptism but thanks for pulling me back to it. I may have been put off by the 1794 marriage at Ellingham between Mary MAYSE and James Sparkes. I will need to follow this up.

However, using the 1759 birth year I had a look for any Mary Stones, and found one buried in Mettingham SFK in 1817.  This happens to be exactly the same parish where (her son?) James Stone (bapt Flixton 1784) was having at least six children between 1812 and 1825!

Coincidence?

[hanes teulu]

I only spotted Mary Mayes, 14  Oct 1759 . But revisiting FindMyPast I see it has 3 entries for Mary - Mayes, Mayse and Mays! 

[Ili1133]

Flixton St Mary is just 'over the fields' from Homersfield, where plenty of Mayes crop up. Both churches served the same manor, and Simon Knott says on his Suffolk Churches website that Flixton St Mary's chancel was in ruin by the eighteenth century. My guess is that the church was only being used intermittently by the time James and Mary got married there, and Mary's home parish could have been either if her parents were involved with the estate in some way.

If Mary's home parish was Homersfield, there are a couple of settlement and removal orders in the Suffolk Archives which could help work out who her parents were. It looks as if a Mary Mayes was settled in Homersfield in 1755 and a Robert Mayes was removed from Homersfield to Ditchingham in 1756. You'd need to access the docs to find out if they were related/had family with them, but could Robert be Mary's father? It seems Robert was used as a family name further down the line. I couldn't locate Robert's burial however.

By the way, there is a Susannah Mayes born 10.1.1780 in Denton, Norfolk, just the other side of the river, to a Mary Mayes.

Hope this is some help with the Mayes family - the Stone family is a challenge!

[stevemiller]

hanes teulu – I’m really grateful to you for pointing me back to Ellingham. Three spellings on FindMyPast, but it looks like a duplicate register (rather than bishop’s transcript) and a Family Search transcription.
 
Despite the Sparkes marriage, I’m keeping this in the frame. I don’t know what others think, but the 1817 burial seems more than coincidence to me. In addition, I have found a DNA match for my mother (it’s her side of the family) who has Mayes of Ellingham in their private tree. Of course, the match could be some other line, but I’ve messaged to see if they can help.

lli1133 -  many thanks for the comments and especially the Suffolk Churches website – I can see that I will be using that a lot! I found a Rootschat post which told me Flixton near the sea was a churchless parish, so I was able to rule that option out.

Looking at the Suffolk FHS download there are over 300 baptisms for Flixton 1754-1812, and there appears to be an even spread in the 1780s. Bits falling off the church don’t appear to have hampered its use.

Thanks for drawing my attention to Homersfield, but I fear it may be a bit of a desert. The SFHS transcription 1760-1900 has a single Stone baptism in 1849, and none for Mayes. Family Search covers earlier years but there are no Mayes baptisms after 1721, and no Stones at all.

The settlement/removal feel  too early for my Mary Mayes, but you never know. Susannah Mayes daughter of Mary looks interesting. I’ll keep all of these in mind. I suspect I need to get copies of the 1783/4 Flixton marriage and baptism when Suffolk Archives are back to normal.  With my usual luck I just know they are going to be “of this parish”.

The Stone family is a challenge because there are so many in Suffolk! I have some more head-scratchers to share later.

[Ili1133]

It sounds as if Mary was living with her son James at her death, doesn't it? You mentioned James had at least six children - I can see some of them (including a James and a Robert), but could you give the whole list of names to see if there are any other clues to who James and Mary's parents might be? The Ellingham baptism sounds like a possibility, but do the parents' names (Francis or Ann) show up in your tree?

Just to clarify - I was wondering if the Robert and Mary mentioned in the settlement/removal to Ditchingham might be one or both of Mary's parents, not Mary herself. As well as Suffolk, I'd keep looking at the Norfolk parishes on the other side of the Waveney like Ditchingham (where the Stones seem to have been well established).

[hanes teulu]

Have a look at the baptisms of James Sparks, 1795 Ellingham and Samuel Sparks, 1798, Broome - both give mother's maiden name.
Was this Mary buried at Broome, 28 Aug  1798? Unfortunately, no age at death recorded.

[stevemiller]

Children of James & Mary Stone baptised at Mettingham SFK
19 May 1812   William   bn 17 May; pb /late BURROWS
 3 Apr 1814   James
11 Jan 1818   Robert  [my 3xGG]
5 Nov 1820   Mary
9 Dec 1821   Eliza
18 Dec 1825   Mary      bn 23 Nov   
       
I think there was another daughter called Sarah.

This is James and Mary in 1851
 Beccles Road Bungay HO107/1804/181/31
James Stone   66  Farming 12 acres of land   born Flixton SFK
Mary      62            born Beddingham NFK
Emma Rodgers   10 granddaughter       born London MDX

In 1841 Emma is the daughter of Richard & Sarah Rogers. They were in St Pancras, London
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MQV7-K2W

Emma Rogers[sic] ROGERS Q1 1838 St Pancras mmn STONE
Richard Charles ROGERS Q4 1839 St Pancras mmn STONES

A Richard Charles ROGERS was buried at Bungay on 28 Jul 1844, aged 4.

Sarah died (or disappeared) before 8 Sept 1846 when widower Richard Rogers married widow Susan Carter.

There is a Sarah d/o James & Mary STONE baptised at Thurlton NFK on 21 Jan 1816 – which neatly plugs the gap in the Mettingham baptisms.


Regarding the Mayes family, the only Mayes I have in my tree is Mary who married James at Flixton. I got back to this point with certificates, winding rolls of census films in Chancery Lane/Portugal Street and the IGI [FamilySearch as was]!  It’s only last week that I realised how many resources are now online and started again.
Sorry, I misunderstood about the settlement/removal – certainly one to bear in mind.