The witnesses at Samuel Chittock or Chiddock's wedding to Rachel Watts are Maria Schofield and a Thomas Bailey.

Maria was born Maria Franklin in Easton on 21 August 1785 to John Franklin and Amy Waller. He may have been born in Eye, Suffolk. They married in St Andrews, Norwich in 1774. Franklin or Frankling families were living in St John Timberhill parish at the same time as the Robert Chittock family in the 1770s. Maria or Mary married William Schofield possibly in Woodbridge 19. 10. 1804 and then lived in St John Timberhill parish in Norwich where they also had and lost a son in 1805. Clement Franklin who may be an uncle or a cousin married Susanna Bailey in 1785. She may be a relative of Thomas Bailey who was a key witness at the majority of weddings at St Helens' parish for a few years. But if he is a relative of Maria's, may explain why Samuel and Rachel marry at a different parish from where they were living at the time.

DRANE and WALLER

A year after witnessing the Chittock/Watts wedding, Maria Schofield marries a second time, this time to John Drane on Christmas Day at St John Timberhill. Clement Franklin is a witness as indeed had a Mary Schofield witnessed his 1812 St Martin at Oak wedding. J Buttifant was the other witness.

What is interesting is that Drane is a cordswainer (admittedly so was most of Norwich at this time!) except the Dranes can be linked to Chittock families connected to the Robert Chittock St John Timberhill mafia. On the 9th of October 1802, the widowed Robert Waller from the neighbouring St Michael at Thorn parish in Norwich marries Ann Chittock in a village called Heckingham which is next door to Loddon. James Drane is a witness, but appears to be a clerk of the parish for he witnesses many weddings but... They live in Norwich and have a son James Chiddock Waller in 1802. Another Waller name pops up in the will of Jane Chittock written in 1800 where she leaves everythingh to her friend Sarah Waller. They lived in St George Colegate's parish in Norwich. So far I cannot trace Jane's baptism. Are these Wallers connected to Maria Franklin/Schofield/Drane's Amy Waller?

Furthermore, the name Drane is of huge significance to the Suffolk Chittocks around this time in the parish of Wingfield. We find a James Drane who married an Anne Chittock in 1776 and had several sons called John, the survivor of which might have been the 1802 Heckingham witness, and, incidentally, a witness to quite a few weddings in that parish. We also find in Wingfield on the 2nd of August 1801 DRANE CHITTOCK and on 17 of July 1803 a SAMUEL CHITTOCK, baptised, and their mother is ELIZABETH CHITTOCK.

(ExaminationCertificate); Elizabeth Chittock, residing in Wingfield. FC 84/G3/94 15 April 1801
For male child of Frances Drane alias Chittock by Henry Briggs of Wingfield, labourer. FC 84/G14/28 27 June 1825 held at the Suffolk Record Office, Ipswich Branch.

SPALDING and SHREEVE

Here's another connection:

Mary or Maria (Schofield) Franklin's sister Amy Franklin (1780) marries Henry Spalding in Easton in 1798 (the Freereg transcript calls them Tranchling)... They then move to Wramplingham near Wymondham. A Mary Spalding marries George Shreeve at St Peter Mancrofts on 26. 11. 1827 witnessed by William Franklin and Maria Norton. Shreeve is a shoemaker. They have children Maria and George in Heigham and Eliza baptised at St Peter Mancroft in 1832. George Shreeve we are sure is the brother of John Shreeve (both baptised in St George Colegate of John Shreeve and Elizabeth Strangleman! 1796 and 1798) John Shreeve marries on 03. 05. 1819 ELIZABETH CHIDDICK at All Saints and it is witnessed by Elizabeth Chiddick, Sam Adams, Harriet Spalding and John Norton. Harriet Spalding later marries William Coleman at Forncett St Mary in 1826, not too far from Wramplingham...

So, what with all this inter-connectedness, does this mean that the two Elizabeth Chittocks/Chiddocks above are related to Samuel?

Then there's the name Norton.

NORTON

On 12. 12. 1802 William Norton, possibly the son of Thomas Norton and Mary Buck, marries the widowed Elizabeth Chittock, formerly Elizabeth Emmerson at St Peter Permountegate, witnessed by Lewis Johnson and John Trowse. A Thomas and Ann Norton and Henry Davy witnessed Clement Franklin's marriage to Susanna Bailey in Heigham 1785.

Williiam Norton is an admin witness for a Maria Roberts, spinster of Loddon.1821 He is a gent in St Peter Permountegate along with William Roberts (father, manufacturer in St Peter PM) and Benjamin Roberts, a gent of Norwich .

There is a Maria Roberts, spinster who has an illigitimate child baptised St John Timberhill. 13 09 1812 (Maria Tuttle Roberts). She then marries Henry Jecks Tuttle at the same place 28. 11. 1813 and then they move to Loddon... So obviously she is not the spinster who dies in 1821... Witness Mary Ann Curtis David Buttifant.

Loddon is where Samuel Chittock claimed he was from in the 1871 census.

Maria Norton, witness to the George Shreeve wedding, may have been the wife of Edward Norton, a cordswainer living in St Peter Permountegate. We can't find their marriage yet.

Just to add to the confusion, in St John Timberhill, there is the family of James Drane and Sarah Norton, whose marriage can't be traced yet, having children such as Susanna on 22. 09. 1805. Sarah Drane was 58 when she died, living at St Stephens but getting buried at St John Timberhill as did her husband James on 21. 10. 1813 only 35.

A William Norton buried 29 07 1849 St John Timberhill 80 mm

An Elisabeth Norton 25 07 1852 83 from Lakenham at St John Timberhill.

ROBERT CHITTOCK and ELIZABETH EMMERSON

But back to Elizabeth Emmerson. She was married to Robert Chittock circa 1798. We cannot trace the wedding yet. It may have been St Michael At Thorn where the registers no longer exist and the Transcripts don't cover every year. Her mother Sarah Emerson remembers her in her will. Sarah's maiden name was SHREEVE. Robert Chittock and Elizabeth appeared to have had two daughters: Maria (06. 10. 1799) and Sarah (08. 03. 1801) in St Giles parish. Sarah is buried at St John Timberhill on 25. 08. 1802, an infant) whilst her father Robert Chittock, a married man aged 30 was buried 05. 04. 1801.

Their daughter is examined in the post below...

The Bacon Family and the Chittocks

Maria Chittock marries John Watts Bacon on 10. 07. 1827 at St John Timberhill as witnessed by John Smith and Elizabeth Bacon. If there is a connection to Rachel Watts we can't find it although a Watts did witness a Bacon wedding in Tunstead some time before. John died in 1832 and left a short will which is recorded as John Watts Baron in the various lists at the Norwich Family History Centre... It tells that John Smith is a farmer in Gressenhall whilst Bacon had a brother George William in London, a tailor. The witnesses were A or R Beckwith and Thomas Jessup.

On 22 06 1832 Thomas Bacon from Holt marries Celia Limmer of Norwich at St John Timberhill. The witnesses were John Leech and Mary Ann Chittock. Limmer was the surname of a James Chittock's first wife. This James was the brother of the earlier Robert and lived and bred in the neighbouring parish of St Michael At Thorn where he had a son Samuel in 1810.

Just to bring this into Samuel Chittock's perview, his son Charles George Chittock and his wife Elizabeth Selina Chittock witness the marriage on 20. 03 1864 of James Bacon, 25 (porter, father Robert, a baker) and Ann Elizabeth Bullard, 25, (father Herman? and a foreman) at St Julians church.