The search so far

2006-11-06T07:23:00.000-08:00

We know that Edward was born in 1796 in Badingham, Suffolk, and also from Hugh Whitcomb’s memoirs the story that he told to his family in Tillington about his parents back in Suffolk .

His father was the son of a tenant farmer of the little village of Badingham in the county of Suffolk and formed a romantic attachment to a Miss Thurlow of the neighbouring small town of Saxmundham or at least in that vicinity. This young lady was on a higher social level than young Barham, her father being a wealthy man would not consent to their marrying. The youthful pair therefore made a runaway match but alas did not ‘ live happily ever after’ as both died when their son Edward was a small boy, probably as a result of some epidemic with which the 18th century doctors could not cope. The result was that little Edward was taken into the home of his maternal grandfather, Mr Thurlow, who brought him up.

Edward's headstone in Tillington churchyard tells us that he came to Sussex from Badingham, so it appears that when he became an adult he must have joined his grandfather Barham and worked with him on his farm in the latter village. This seems to be borne out by the fact that he must have acquired knowledge of farming methods to be able to demonstrate the use of the seed drill to the local farming community on his initial visit to Petworth 1830.

The parish records for Badingham have no record of Edward's birth in 1796, but I have researched the Edward who was born in 1800 in Medham and found that this is not my ancestor.
There is a record of a Francis Barham who married a Sarah Thurlow on the 19th October 1790 , Badingham. If this was his father, Edward would have been 16 years old at the time when Francis passed away in 1812.
The marriage was by Banns, with Samuel Thurlow and Charles Cook signed as witnesses, meaning that would have not been a runaway match.

According to the records they had eight children , with Susan being born on the 27th September 1795, her brother Robert on 29th October 1797, there is 15 month gap between the two. There is a possibility that this could be Edward’s family as we know he was born in 1796. Susan Thurlow was born on the 6th April 1766 in Badingham, her father was Edward Thurlow also born in 1731, Badingham.
He married Rose Edwards, born 1739 on the 10th December at Badingham in 1764. They had four other children, Samuel born 1765, Rose born 1769, Mary born 1773, and John born 1775, all in Badingham. Therefore with the passing of Francis and Susan, Edward Thurlow would have been Edward's Maternal grandfather who brought him up.

The Question is does anyone have any long lost relative that moved to Sussex from Suffolk in 1830 ?

The search for Edward Barham's family born 1796

The search so far