The Children of Samuel Chittock

CHILDREN:

RACHEL MARGARET

born 10 January 1821 and baptised on 28.01.1821 at St. George Colegate church, Colegate, Norwich.

This was their only child baptised at this particular church. There have been other Chittocks living in this parish, but frankly, when you walk down Colegate, which is off Magdalen Street where Thoroughfare Yard is, you cross the width of about five parishes which stretch from the river this road runs parallel to. Indeed, St Clements parish takes up this road as well.

In 1841, the census shows that Rachel is a 'clear starcher' or 'clean starcher' as is her mother.

She marries a William Scolding, a widower with one child. at St. Martin at Oak on 31st May 1841. He is a coal (heaver?) His father has the same name and is a weaver. She is married as Chiddock. She is ‘full age.’ They are both illiterate. The witnesses were Thomas and Eleanor Wilson who may have themselves got married at St George Colegate 14. 04. 1834 (maiden name Trowse). There are very few Scoldings in Norwich.

SAMUEL ROBERT baptised 8 September 1822 at St. Edmunds. Thoroughfare Yard is bisected by the parishes of St Clement (to the north west) and St Edmunds. Indeed, the southern end of the passage faces this church.

Buried: 05 September 09.1825 at St John Timberhill.

This is the first of the burials at this place which was the centre of the Chittock world in Norwich for certain Chittock and Chiddock families. To bury his children here suggests a strong connection as the local burial grounds were far from disuse.

LYDIA ANN baptised 14 March 1823 at St Edmunds and buried 02 November 1824 at St. John Timberhill

ROBERT SAMUEL baptised 04.09.1825 at St. Edmunds and buried 13.04.1827 St John Timberhill

SAMUEL ROBERT baptised . 15.04.1827 at St. Edmunds

ROBERT SAMUEL baptised. 05.04.1829 at St. Edmunds

.CHARLES GEORGE baptised 24.04.1831 St. Edmunds

JAMES WILLIAM born 29.12.1832 baptised 30.12. St. Edmunds

WILLIAM THOMAS born 12.11.1834 bapt. 16.11.1834 at St. Saviours

St Saviours is also within a few minutes walking of Thoroughfare Yard, presuming they were living there at this point.

JOHN FRANCIS baptised 29. 08. 1836 at St. Saviours

LYDIA ANN baptised 01.11.1838 at St. Clements

CHARLOTTE born. 1840 St. Clements Buried on 12.06.1845 St John Timberhill

This is the first of two children whose baptism is not recorded, or at least not found.

JOSEPH THOMAS born in the first quarter of 1843.

This man is my direct ancester. He got himself an adult baptism at St. Clements some years later after his marriage in a Church of England place in New Catton.

From this list, we do need to ask two questions: is the reason for the burials at St. john Timberhill simply because of a connection with the families already there? Several other Chittock families were burying their dead here from all over Norwich.

Secondly, the insistence of naming a child Robert is very clear in the first four sons! For years I assumed this was because Samuel's father was called Robert and there was a very promising one who came from St John Timberhill, and was active in St Michael At Thorn parish and died in 1802, buried at St John Timberhill thus suggesting a desire to memorialise a father he never knew. Indeed, because the registers from St Michael At Thorn were destroyed during World War 2 (thanks to a direct hit on the church and the incumbents not making a spare copy of the registers unlike other bomb hit churches) we had to rely on Bishop Transcripts. BUT since they were not annual, nine months from 1801 are missing, and there is no baptism recorded for him in whatever was left of the 1800 or 1799 transcripts. Anyway, the promising looking family were having children all over Norwich and there doesn't appear to be a gap between them for Samuel to be born, presuming that the baptisms were quick after the birth.

These St John Timberhill / St Michael At Thorn Chittock families had children called Robert, James, William, etc, and future generations had Samuels. As a side issue, it is sometimes interesting looking at children's names to see which side of the family is being commemortated, the husbands' or the wifes!

So the hunt continues...