Another butcher - time to meet James Massingham

You might remember seeing his name on the pedigree chart that we looked at above. He is Thomas Robert’s father. James was born on 13th March 1809, a month after Charles Darwin. James was destined to become the first butcher in what was to become a favoured family occupa - tion. Probably not a good choice today? We could look at lots of documents to confirm the notion that he is our common ancestor, but here you’ll have to take my word that I have done all the hard work. James (and his wife Ann) had 13 children. Seriously, it’s true! There were no tellys in those days. Let’s think about this. This would be headline news today, especially in The Sun or the Daily Star, but James was born during the Napoleonic Wars and life was tough. In fact, 3 of his children had died within a year of birth. Families usually lived together and children, as they grew up were expected to look after their aged parents and other family members’ children, so large families were common and given the real possibilty that children might not survive, families had to be large. To be fair, his father (Earl) only had 7 children and some of his other children also had between 5 and 7. Let’s have another short break and have a look at this marriage document. It relates to James and his wife Ann Gunton. This is a type of source that confirms dates and names that are important when researching family history. Three things jump out. Any ideas? 1. Confent? Of course, it is actually consent. We’ve seen this before. Look at James’s surname too. 2. Two witnesses named Gunton. Clues to relations? 3. They signed their names. Being able write in 1837 was not common. This document gives us new information that could help with further research.

A letter to the editor

Below is a letter (maybe a draft as there are alterations) written by Thomas Robert Massingham, James’s son. It is actually giving us a brief history of his father’s life. The main events start in 1808 and end in 1901 when Prince Edward was proclaimed as King Edward VII. The letter also tells us that Thomas was Vice President of the King’s Lynn Butchers Association (under his signature). The letter also says James is aged 91 and “one the oldest butchers in the Kingdom”.

King’s Lynn - it seems important?

Click to see a Google map You can zoom in and out to see where King’s Lynn is. Can you see where you live and how far you are from there? Also, look to the east (right) of King’s Lynn. There are two villages with similar names. Can you see them? They are not far from King’s Lynn. It is highly likely that the family started from these villages and spread into many towns and villages in Norfolk. You can look at the Massingham Family History website if you want to see more about this. This photo is of Thomas Robert Massingham’s butchers shop at 30 St James Street, Kings Lynn. Do you remember that Percy Massingham, our shared ancestor, was born here? I’m going to set you a task now. Click here to see the above address in Google maps with a car in front of it. See if you can move forward so you are next to the car then turn to face the shop. Zoom in on the doors and look at the walls next to them. What do you see? Animal tiles?. Even though this shop is no longer a butchers, some of its history has been kept. Its our own museum!