John GOBBETT of Redenhall NFK
John GOBBETT of Redenhall, Norfolk, married (1) Sarah STOCKENS at Mendham, Suffolk, in 1796 and (2) Mary JEFFRIES at Redenhall (with Harleston and Wortwell) in 1827. He was a bricklayer, living at Starston, Norfolk, in 1841 (census ref. HO 107/758/29 folio 12 verso, p. 19). By the time of his death in 1846, he was in Needham, Norfolk, probably in the care of his son Jonathan (1803-1878) and Jonathan's wife Susan(na) (1799-1874), who were cousins, her father being John's brother James (c.1771-1859).
John was baptized at Starston on 6 July 1765, a son of John GOBBETT (recorded as GOBBYT in the register) and Jemima JELLANDS (or HOLLANDS, but Jillings was given as a middle name to her grandson William, son of James, in 1795, although he never seems to have used it). John and Jemima married at Starston on 12 Oct. 1761. Three earlier children baptized at Starston were Elizabeth (1762-1762), John (1763-1764) and Jeremiah (1764-1795). Jemima herself was baptized there as an adult in July 1762, a month before Elizabeth. The family was in Palgrave, Suffolk, for the baptisms and burials of several more short-lived siblings: another Elizabeth (1767-1768), Samuel (1770-1770), Pleasance (a daughter, buried 1770) and Wells (1776-1776), a son whose forename was shared by a witness at the 1761 wedding, Wells JELLANDS. James GOBBET was also baptized at Palgrave, on 18 Feb. 1771. He became a baker. His wives were Sarah COLE (m. 1792) and Martha STOCKS (m. 1840).
Burials at Redenhall with Harleston and Wortwell include:
1795 March 2 Jeremiah GOBBETT, son of John and Jemima, aged 30 (b. 1764-65) 1804 Nov. 12 Jemima GOBBETT, wife of John, aged 66 (b. 1737-38) 1808 July 17 John GOBBETT, widower, pauper, aged 77 (b. 1730-31) 1826 April 9 Sarah wife of John GOBBET of Redenhall, aged 59 (b.1766-67) 1829 April 1 Sarah wife of James GOBBET of Redenhall, aged 59 (b.1769-70) 1859 Jan. 28 James GOBBETT of Wortwell, aged 88 (b. 1770-71)
Baptisms in that parish suggest that John was a little younger than 77 when he died in 1808. These are children of Jeremiah and Elizabeth GOBBETT:
1732 April 9 Jeremiah and Sarah 1735 July 20 John and Mary 1736 July 23 Mary
They had at least five more children baptized at Starston between 1737/38 and 1749. An elder daughter, Elizabeth (c.1728-1804), was baptized (Eliz GOBIT) at Dickleburgh, Norfolk, and married Joseph HEWIT(T) (c.1728-1788) in 1755 at Starston, where they were both buried. Jeremiah was probably buried there too, in 1770. I have not located his marriage or his wife's burial.
His baptism can be found at Wingfield, Suffolk, in 1699 (Old Style) or 1700 (New Style). The transcript published c.1925 in Rev. Aldwell's book (Wingfield: Its Church, Castle and College) omits the family name and wrongly shows the mother as Mary. I have checked the original register on microfiche:
1699/1700 Jan. 23 Jeremiah son of John and Margaret GOBBIT [or possibly GOBBET]
The error is understandable, since "Marga" is at the end of one line and "=ret" at the start of the next, but I see no excuse for the omission of the surname, which caused this entry to escape me for many years until another researcher brought it to my attention!
I am still looking for the marriage of John and Margaret. Their son John and daughter Margaret GOBBITT were baptized at Dickleburgh on 1 Jan. 1706/07. The daughter was buried on 26 Jan. 1706/07 and her mother (Margaret GOBBIT, widow) on 7 Nov. 1727, both at Dickleburgh. There was another child, Mary, born in 1702 or earlier, who remained unmarried in 1732. She and her brother Jeremiah were beneficiaries under the wills of their uncle Jeremiah or Jeremy GOBBETT, a husbandman of Hoxne, Suffolk (buried at Stradbroke, Suffolk, 1709; will dated 1702 proved 1709 in Norwich Consistory Court) and his wife Sarah, née MAYHEW, of Stradbroke (buried there 1733; will dated 1732 proved 1733 in Suffolk Archdeaconry Court). Those documents make no mention of a nephew named John, who may have been dead by 1732 unless disregarded by Sarah because he was not specified in her husband's will, being born too late. They do refer to Sarah's sister-in-law Mary, who had married Charles PUNCHARD and died before her brother Jeremiah GOBBETT made his will in 1702, after she had given Charles three children (Charles, Mary and Sarah).
Sarah GOBBETT's will also leaves money to her nephew Robert, son of Charles SOWTER and her late sister Elizabeth. Perhaps someone can trace a connection between them and Thomas C. SOWTER or SOUTER (1806-1871) who married Mary GOBBETT (1806-1874; daughter of John and Sarah, née STOCKENS or STOCKINGS) at Wingfield in 1832 and took his family to Canada in 1851.
Many Norfolk parishes have been transcribed for FreeREG but the older volumes are often difficult to read, especially if damaged, so errors are to be expected. I employed a professional to note the GOBBET(T) entries from the registers of Redenhall with Harleston and Wortwell at the Norfolk Record Office in Norwich. When the filmed images were unclear, she consulted the originals or the annual register bills. Anyone who would like a copy of her notes is welcome to contact me by e-mail (gobbitt#bigfoot.com, replacing # with the at sign).
David Gobbitt
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