From: Carol Wordingham
Sent: Sunday, February 04, 2007 12:12 PM
To: Michael K. Davis
Subject: Griffin in Stiffkey
Hello Michael
I have quite a lot of information on the Griffin family in Stiffkey. Below are some very basic details to start you off.
Francis & Hannah GRIFFIN (marriage not yet found) had at least 5 children baptised in Stiffkey. They were:-
Ann bapt 13 July 1755
Absolom bapt 2 Oct 1757 died 1842
William bapt 10 Aug 1760 died 1837
Margaret bapt 23 Sept 1764
Francis bapt 22 Dec 1767
I believe Absolom b c 1757 married Elizabeth BLOGG and they had at least 9 children including another Absolom who was baptised 3 Jul 1793. This Absolom was the village basket maker and he never married. I am almost certain he was the one who died in 1873 as he never left the village according to census returns.
William b c 1760 married Mary ARMIGER on 25 Nov 1788 in Heacham and this couple had a son Absolom born c 1794 in Heacham. I have ben unable to find a baptism for him in Heacham though. After their marriage and the birth of Absolom, William & Mary returned to Stiffkey where they had a three more children baptised.
Absolom born in Heacham married Jemima DYE on 11 Dec 1815 in Wighton ( a parish not far from Stiffkey). I think this was after the birth of their first two children. James Griffin Dye was bapt in Stiffkey on 19 Jun 1814 as the son of Jemima Dye and he spent the rest of his life changing his surname from Dye to Griffin and back again! A daughter Margaret was born 1815 in Wighton and another 6 children were born in Stiffkey. They were:-
Jonathan bapt 8 Dec 1818
Elizabeth bapt 3 June 1821
Absolom bapt 11 May 1823
William bapt 10 Apr 1825 (later known as Webb)
Susan bapt 20 Apr 1828
Jonas bapt 25 July 1830
William, Susan & Jonas were baptised a second time on 23 July 1837. )This was when civil registration came into force in England and many people were unsure if the child had to be registered or baptised. Absolom & Jemima seem to opted to make really sure about their younger children)
Elizabeth GRIFFIN married William WORDINGHAM on 7 Apriil 1844 in Stiffkey and they had 7 children. Jonathan married Mary Ann Proudfoot on 29 Jul 1844 in Stiffkey and they had a daughter Hannah in 1845. After the death of Jonathan in 1846 Mary Ann Proudfoot then married Thomas WORDINGHAM on 26 Oct 1857.
I do hope you can make sense of the above. I have a great deal more on the Griffin family including all the census returns for the whole of Norfolk so if I can be of further help please let me know.
Carol Wordingham