Ancestry of Charlie Chaplin

compiled by Michael J. Wood


The following material on the immediate ancestry of Charlie Chaplin should not be considered either exhaustive or authoritative, but rather as a first draft.

This report is by Michael J. Wood. The contribution of the undersigned is HTML-izing Mr. Wood's report.





William Addams Reitwiesner

wargs@wargs.com


Ancestry of Charlie Chaplin
1 Charles Spencer ("Charlie") Spencer, actor, film director, b. East Street, Walworth, south London, 16 April 1889 [birth not registered], d. Vevey, Vaud, Switzerland, 25 Dec. 1977
PARENTS
2 Charles Chaplin, professional singer, b. 22 Orcas St., Marylebone, 8 March 1863, d. St. Thomas's Hospital, Lambeth, 7 May 1901
m. St. John's Church, Walworth, Surrey, 22 June 1885
3 Hannah Harriet Pedlingham Hill, b. Walworth, Surrey, 6 Aug. 1865, d. Glendale, Cal., 28 Aug. 1928
GRANDPARENTS
4 Spencer Chaplin, butcher 1854, public house manager at his death, bapt. St. Nicholas, Ipswich, Suffolk, 20 Dec. 1835, d. at "The Devonport Arms", Devonport Mews, Radnor Place, Paddington, Midx, 29 May 1897
m. St. Margaret's, Ipswich, Suffolk, 30 Oct. 1854 [entry no. 232]
5 Ellen Elizabeth Smith, b. 9 Feb. 1838 [entry no. 143], bapt. Trimley St. Martin, Suffolk, 25 Dec. 1838, d. 15 Rillington Place, Kensington, 2 Oct. 1873, ae. 35 [entry no. 344]
6 Charles Frederick Hill, b. ca. 1836/9, d. ... [living 1891]
m. [second marriage for both] St. Mary, Lambeth, 16 April 1861 [entry no. 254]
7 Mary Ann Terry, b. Newington, Surrey, in the 1830s, d. ca. 1892 [she had m. (1) St. John's Church, Waterloo, Lambeth District, 15 May 1854 (entry no. 370), Henry Lamphee Hodges, signwriter and grainer, b. 1824, d. Newington Dec qtr 1858, by whom she had a son Henry b. 1856]
GREAT-GRANDPARENTS
8 Shadrach Chaplin, of Carr Street, Ipswich, b. 15 Jan. 1814, bapt. Great Finborough, Suffolk, 8 April 1814, d. Ipswich, Suffolk, 2 April 1893 ae. 79 [he m. (2) 1872 Susannah Eyres, d. Ipswich, Suffolk, 3 April 1893]
m. St. Margaret, Ipswich, 29 April 1834
9 Sophia Hancock, b. Tunstall, Staffs, ... 1807, d. 1 Hatton Street, sub-district of St. John, Marylebone, 24 July 1868 [entry no. 464]
10 William Smith, butcher at Trimley St Martin 1841, innkeeper at Ipswich 1851, farmer at Bucklesham 1861, b. Felixstowe, Suffolk, ca. 1800 or 1807/8 [not baptised there], d. ... [living Feb 1866 (when his wife died)]
m. Trimley St. Martin 20 July 1828 (by banns)
11 Emma Bristo, b. 10 Jan. 1809, bapt. (as Emily) Kirton, Suffolk, 26 March 1809, d. Bucklesham, Suffolk, 20 Feb. 1866, bur. Kirton, Suffolk, 25 Feb. 1866 [described as of Bucklesham]
12 John Hill, b. ... [Cork?,] Ireland, d. ...
m.
13 ... , b. ... , d. ...
14 John Terry, b. ... [Ireland?], d. ... [by 1861]
m.
15 ... , b. ... , d. ...
GREAT-GREAT-GRANDPARENTS
16 Shadrach Chaplin, bootmaker, bapt. Great Finborough, Suffolk, 21 May 1786, bur. Ipswich St Matthew 30 Jan. 1858
m. Buxhall, Suffolk, 29 Aug. 1809
17 Elizabeth Wilden, b. ... [1783/4 at Buxhall (1851 census) but not baptised there; or at Ipswich (1861 census)], d. ... [living 1861]
20 (perhaps) John Smith of St Mary Walton
m.
21 (perhaps) Ann Spall
22 William Bristo, b. 22 July 1773, bapt. Kirton, Suffolk, 25 July 1773, bur. Kirton, Suffolk, 13 May 1811
m. Kirton, Suffolk, 10 Nov. 1794 [witnessed by James Bristo and Sarah Bristo]
23 Rebecca Page, b. ... , bapt. Walton St Mary, Suffolk, 2 April 1773 and 11 Oct. 1778, d. ... , bur. [as Rebecca Hacon] Kirton, Suffolk, 21 Oct. 1853 ae. 80, having remarried (date and place not known) Henry Hacon (bur. Kirton 4 Oct. 1847 ae. 71)
GREAT-GREAT-GREAT-GRANDPARENTS
32 George Chaplin, bapt. Great Finborough, Suffolk, 19 May 1741, d. ... [he m. (1) 1766 Anne Ashman, d. 1768]
m. (2) Great Finborough, Suffolk, 8 Sept. 1771
33 Susanna Bacon, b. ... [1746/7], d. ... , bur. Great Finborough, Suffolk, 10 April 1827 ae. 80
34 (probably) James Wilden
m.
35 (probably) Hannah Belman
44 Jeremiah Bristo, b. ca. 1745 [not bapt. at Martlesham where his parents were married], bur. Kirton, Suffolk, 9 Sept. 1794
m. Ipswich St. Mary 26 Nov. 1769
45 Margaret Cooper, b. ... , bapt. Dallinghoo, Suffolk, 3 June 1744, d. 19 March 1780, bur. Kirton, Suffolk, 20 March 1780
46 Benjamin Page, b. ... [1746/7] (not bapt. at Walton), d. ... , bur. Kirton, Suffolk, 19 March 1820 ae. 73
m.
47 Hannah Legate, b. ... [1745/6] (not bapt. at Walton), d. ... , bur. Walton, Suffolk, 16 May 1811 ae. 65
GREAT-GREAT-GREAT-GREAT-GRANDPARENTS
64 John Chaplin, b. ... , d. ... , bur. Great Finborough, Suffolk, 12 Oct. 1787
m. Great Finborough, Suffolk, 11 July 1728
65 Elizabeth Burman, b. ... , bapt. Great Finborough, Suffolk, 27 Dec. 1698, d. ... , bur. Great Finborough, Suffolk, 2 Sept. 1786
88 Thomas Bristo, of Ipswich, b. ... , d. ...
m. Martlesham, Suffolk, 27 Oct. 1737
89 Elizabeth Tunmer(e), b. ... , d. ...
90 John Cooper, of Dallinghoo, Suffolk (but not married there), b. ... , d. ...
m.
91 Hannah ... , b. ... , d. ...
GREAT-GREAT-GREAT-GREAT-GREAT-GRANDPARENTS
130 John Burman, b. ... , d. ...
m. Great Finborough, Suffolk, 2 Oct. 1694
131 Mary Byles, b. ... , d. ... , bur. Great Finborough, Suffolk, 9 Oct. 1740
178 (perhaps) Thomas Tunmer(e), bur. Martlesham, Suffolk, 24 Jan. 1751/2
m.
179 (perhaps) Susanna ... , bur. Martlesham, Suffolk, 5 Feb. 1749/50
GREAT-GREAT-GREAT-GREAT-GREAT-GREAT-GRANDPARENTS
7/GREAT-GRANDPARENTS
8/GREAT-GRANDPARENTS








EXTRACTS from the U.S. FEDERAL DECENNIAL CENSUS







1930 California, Los Angeles Co., Beverly Hills City, ED 819, sheet 13B, line 71

Chaplin Charles S      H     M W 41 D      E  E  E     92 Al    Actor    Motion Pictures
   (four servants and their families, all Japanese)

E = England

--------

1920 California, Los Angeles Co., Los Angeles, ED 177, sheet 13A, line 15

Chaplin Charles S     H     M W 30 M     1908 Al      E  E  E      Actor       Motion Pictures
        Mildred A     W     F W 19 M       X  Al      IL IA IA     Actress     Motion Pictures
   (chef, chef's wife, and secretary)

E = England

--------








EXTRACTS from the U.K. DECENNIAL CENSUS







1901 London, Lambeth, Brixton [RG13/425], page 41
Home of John K Jackson, Music Hall Artiste, 94 Ferndale Rd

Charles Chaplin      Servt     S   12      Music Hall Artiste     Worker     Surrey  London

--------

1891  RG12/362, f. 42, p.5   Newington St Mary, Surrey.  District 29b

Schedule 455      94 Barlow Street, St Peter, Walworth
(1st household of 2, occupying 3 rooms)

Hannah Chaplin    Head    M       24    Professional Singer, Music      Surrey      Walworth
Sydney J H  do    Son          6                                          do          do
Charles     do    do           2                                          do          do

Schedule 456      94 Barlow Street, St Peter, Walworth
(2nd household of 2, occupying 2 rooms)

Mary A Hill       Head     M      50    Wardrobe dealer                 Middlesex   Soho
n.k. Female   ages n.k.   These two females were admitted Saturday night     England
n.k. Female               & turned out Monday without information being      England
                          obtained

--------

1891 London, Kensington, Kensington Town [RG12/26], page 24
Home of Joseph Machell, 145 Tavistock Gds

Spencer Chaplin      Visitor    Widowed     52          Butcher       Suffolk   Ipswich

--------

1891  RG12/1468, f. 13, p. 19   Suffolk, St Peter.   District 15.
Schedule 147         5 Foundry Lane

Shadrach Chaplin    Head    M    77       Clay Maker B      Suffolk   Finborough
Susannah   do       Wife    M        66                       do      Playford

--------

1891  RG12/472, f. 137, p. 14   St Saviour's Union Infirmary, Camberwell

23. Charles Hill    Patient   M    52      Bootmaker      Camberwell

--------

1881  RG11/645, f. 47b, p. 32.   Battersea, Surrey.   District 34a.
Schedule 140.  Northcote Hotel, Battersea Rise

Spencer Chaplin     Head      Unm    25        Manager to a Publican       Ipswich, Suffolk
Charles    Do       Brother    do    17        Barman                        do       do

--------

1881  RG11/41, f.78b, p. 4.   Parish of St Martin, Paddington, Middx    District 48c.
Schedule 434   15 Rillington Place, Paddington

Spencer Chaplin    Head    Widr   45        Butcher, unemployed      Suffolk, Ipswich
Ellen K    Do      Daur    Unm        16                             Middx,   Paddington
Blanche    Do       Do      Do        13    Scholar                    Do       Do
Albert F   Do      Son      Do    12          Do                       Do     Kensington
Harry      Do       Do      Do    10          Do                       Do       Do
   [And two lodgers]

--------

1881  RG11/1871, f. 32b, p. 16.    Ipswich St Nicholas.   District 19
Schedule 71    42 Old Cattle Market, Ipswich

Shadrach Chaplin    Head    Mar   67         Bootmaker     Suffolk, Finborough
Susannah   Do       Wife     Do       57                      Do    Playford
   [And one servant]

--------

1881  RG11/527, f. 4, page 2.   Southwark, St George the Martyr, Borough.   District 10.
Schedule 10.    132 Southwark Bridge Road.

Charles  Hill       Head     Mar     41        Bootmaker           Surrey, St Giles
Mary A    Do        Wife      Do         41                        Surrey, Newington
Hannah H  Do        Daur                 15    Mantle Machinist      Do      Do
Kate      Do         Do                  10    Scholar               Do      Do
Edmund Donnelly     Lodger   Widr    51        Bootmaker           Ireland

--------

1871  RG10/47, f. 34, p. 60   District 43.
Schedule 303.   15 Rillington Place, Notting Hill (Kensington)

Spencer Caplin    Head    Mar    35               Butcher     Suffolk, Ipswich
Ellen    Do       Wife    Mar               33                  Do     Trimley
Spencer  Do       Son     Unm    15                             Do     Ipswich
Walter   Do        Do            12               Scholar       Do       Do
Charles  Do        Do             8                 Do        Middx,   St Marylebone
Ellen    Do       Dau                        6      Do          Do       Do
Blanche  Do        Do                        3                  Do     Paddington
Albert   Do       Son             2                             Do     Kensington
Harry    Do        Do               11 mo                       Do       Do
   [and one servant]

--------

1871  RG10/1689, f. 108, p. 21    Brightlingsea, Essex.   District 6.    Schedule 135
[Lodging with Joseph Lake, 50, Builder & Innkeeper]

Shederick Chaplin     Lodger    Mar     50       Commercial Traveller     Suffolk, Finbrow

--------

1871  RG10/619, f. 79, p. 49.   St Mary Newington, St Peter, Walworth.   District 29.
Schedule 321.    77 Beckway Street (3rd household of 3)

Charles Hill    Head    Mar    50       Boot Rivetter     Middx, London
Mary A   Do     Wife    Mar        32    Do  Braider        Do     Do
Henry    Do     Son            15       Boot Maker          Do     Do
Hannah   Do     Daur                5                       Do     Do
Kate     Do     Daur                1                       Do     Do

--------

1861  RG9/470, f. 209, p. 21   Milton, Gravesend, Kent.    District 8.
Schedule 168.   Shrubbery Road, Windmill Tavern

Spencer Chapman    Lodger    Mar    24    Confectioner      Suffolk, Ipswich
James Jackie         "       Un     23    Confectioner      Suffolk, Ipswich
[Lodging with: William R Waddell, 23, licensed victualler, and his family]

--------

1861  RG9/1163, f. 93, p. 9.   Ipswich, St Mary at the Elms.    District 22.
Schedule 45.   8 Austin St.

Ellen Chaplin    Head   Mar       22     Dressmaker     Suffolk, Ipswich
Walter   Do      Son           2                          Do       Do
Ellen    Do      Daur              7 mo                   Do       Do

--------

1861  RG9/1162, f. 8b, p. 12.   Ipswich St Peter.    District 10.
Schedule 53.    85 Station Street, Norfolk Hotel

Shadrach Chaplin    Head    Mar    47       Innkeeper     Ipswich, Suffolk
Sophia     Do       Wife     Do        57                   Do       Do
Elizabeth  Do       Daur    Un         16   Scholar         Do       Do
Henry      Do       Son     Un     12         Do            Do       Do

--------

1861  RG9/1161, f. 92b, p. 26.   Ipswich St Matthew.    District 5.
Schedule 163.    Norwich Road

Elizabeth Chaplin    Head       W        77                  Suffolk, Ipswich
Mary A Hancock       Granddau   Un       15                    Do       Do

--------

1861   RG9/1168, f. 143, p. 15.     Bucklesham, Suffolk.    District 11.
Schedule 87.    Kembroke Hall, Kirton Road

William Smith       Head      Mar    61       Farmer (of 90 acres, employing      Suffolk, Felixstowe
                                                 2 men & 2 boys)
Emma      Do        Wife      Mar        51   Farmer's Wife                         Do     Kirton
Harry     Do        Son       Un     20       Farmer's Son                          Do     Trimley
Spencer Champman    Grandson          5                                             Do     Ipswich

--------

1861   RG9/81, f. 132, p. 3 and f. 132b, p. 4.    Middlesex, St Marylebone.    Christ Church
Schedule A. 69 to 74 Lisson Grove and 19 to 22 Duke St (continued) [Nonconsecutive entries]

Arthur Smith    Porter   Un    17    Draper's Porter     Suffolk, Trimley
William Smith   Porter   Un    23    Draper's Porter     Suffolk, Trimley
   [They were two of many porters at this address]

--------

1861  RG9/342, f. 146b, p. 22.    St Mary Newington, St Peter Walworth.    District 43.
Schedule 114.     4 Tatums Place, John Street.    (2nd household of 2)

Charles Hill    Head    Mar   26        Boot maker      Walworth, Surrey
Ann      Do     Wife    Mar       26                      Do        Do
Joseph   Do     Son            3                          Do        Do
Henry    Do     Son            5                          Do        Do

--------

1851  HO107/1800, f. 563, p. 16.    Ipswich St Margaret.    District 5f
Schedule 47.   Carr Street

Shadrack Chaplin    Head    M    40       Brewer (Master)      Finborough, Suffolk
Sophia      Do      Wife    M        43                        Tunstall, Staffordshire
Spencer     Do      Son          16                            Ipswich, Suffolk
Shadrach    Do      Son          12                              Do       Do
Emily Jane  Do      Daur              8                          Do       Do

--------

1851  HO107/1800, f. 10, p. 12    Ipswich St Lawrence.    District 1.
Schedule 38.    Butter Market

Abednigo Chaplin    Head     Mar    31        Ironmonger              Suffolk, G Finborough
Jane M A    Do      Wife     Mar        24    Ironmonger's Wife       Suffolk, Ipswich
Shadrach    Do      Father   Mar    65        Retired Farmer          Suffolk, G Finborough
Elizabeth   Do      Mother   Mar        67      Do      Do   Wife       Do     Buxhall

--------

1851  HO107/1799, ff. 160-160b, pages 26-27.   St Peters Ipswich.    District 2e.
Schedule 125    Handford Road

William Smith    Head     Mar    44     Innkeeper     Suffolk, Felixstowe
William   Do     Son      U      19     Dealer          Do     Trimley St Martin
Charles   Do     Son      U      17     Dealer          Do       Do
Walter    Do     Son             15     Dealer          Do       Do
   (two servants and one visitor)

--------

1851  HO107/1801, f. 388, p. 18.    Kirton, Suffolk.   District 12c
Schedule 80.    [No address within the parish]

Emma Smith     Head    Mar       40     Annuitant     Kirton, Suffolk
Arthur Do      Son            6                       Trimley, Do

--------

1851   HO107/1801, f. 584, p. 12.    Woodbridge, Suffolk.    District 9b
Schedule 36.    Church Street, parish of St Mary, Woodbridge.

Mary Goodwyn      Head      W       71    Schoolmistress      Suffolk, Donnington
Susanna Goodwyn   Daur      U       40      Do                  Do     Woodbridge
Ellen Smith       Scholar           14    Scholar               Do     Trimley
Ann Woodbridge    Servant   U       18    House Servant         Do     Blaxhall

--------

1851   HO107/1584, f. 171b, p. 9.   Kent, Deptford St Paul.   District 2b
Schedule 36.    George Street.

Richard Prichard    Head    Mar    27       Milkman       Kent, Deptford
Jemima    Do        Wife    Mar        22                 Suffolk, Frimley
Kate      Do        Daur                1                 Kent, Deptford
Harry Smith         Serv    U      10       Errand Boy    Suffolk, Frimley

--------

1851   HO107/1801, f. 387, p. 16.   Kirton, Suffolk, District 12c

Rebecca Haron [sic]   Head   W      76   Wheelwright    Walton, Suff
William Bristo        Son    U  44       Hurdle maker   Kirton,  Do

--------

1851   HO107/1567, f. 837b, page 11.    St Peter Walworth, Newington, Surrey.   District 29.
Schedule 145.   7 Townley Place

Joseph Hill     Head     Mar    43        Bricklayer     Surrey, Camberwell
Esther   "      Wife     Mar        43                     "     Christ Church
William  "      Son      U      18                         "     Lambeth
James    "      Son      U      17                         "       "
Eliza    "      Daur                14    Scholar          "     Southwark
Charles  "      Son             13          "              "     Bermondsey
Emma     "      Daur                 9                     "     Lambeth
Mary     "      Daur                 7                     "     Newington
Henry    "      Son              4                         "       "
Lousia   "      Daur                 2                     "       "

Yes, it's spelled "Lousia" in the census.

--------

1841   HO107/1043/14, f. 14b, p. 21.   Ipswich St Matthew, District 1.
Gaol Lane

Shadach Chaplin     30          Hawker     Y
Sophia       Do         30                 Y
Christopher  Do     12                     Y
Spencer      Do      6                     Y
Shadrach     Do      3                     Y
Emila        Do          1                 Y

Shadach and Emila are the spellings used in the census.

--------

1841   HO107/1021/8, f. 14.     District 16.     Trimley St Martin, Suffolk

William Smith     35        Butcher     Y
Emma      Do          32                Y
Jemima    Do          12                Y
William   Do      11                    Y
Charles   Do       9                    Y
Walter    Do       6                    Y
Ellinor   Do           4                Y
Harry     Do       1                    Y

--------

1841   HO107/1021/5, f. 6, p. 6    Kirton, Suffolk

Henry Hacon      60              Y
Rebecca Hacon        65          Y

--------

1841   HO107/1061/9, ff. 48, 48b, pages 36, 37.   Surrey, St Mary Newington.   Trinity.   District 18.
Paragon Row

Joseph Hill     30          Bricklayer      Y
Esther   Do         30                      Y
William  Do      9                          Y
James    Do      8                          Y
David    Do      6                          Y
Eliza Hill           4                      Y
Charles Hill     3                          Y

--------








Index entries from the U.K. PRINCIPAL PROBATE REGISTRY






1893    CHAPLIN, Shadrach of Ipswich, bootmaker, died 2 April 1893.
        Administration (with Will) Ipswich 12 May to Ada Knights widow.
        Effects £144 15s. 8d.

1893    CHAPLIN, Susannah of Ipswich, bootmaker, died 3 April 1893.
        Administration Ipswich 5 May to Ada Knights widow.
        Effects £144 15s. 8d.

1897    CHAPLIN, Spencer of the "Devonport Arms", Devonport-mews, Radnor-place, Paddington, Middlesex, 
           public-house manager, died 29 May 1897.
        Administration (with Will) London 2 September to Charles Chaplin, public-house manager.
        Effects £1259.






NOTES






3 -- She was a singer, stage names Lily Harley, Lily Chaplin. By her first husband, Sydney Hawkes, bookmaker, she had a son, Sydney, b. 1885 in Cape Town, South Africa, who changed his surname to Chaplin.



4 & 5 were also the parents of Blanche Chaplin, b. 1867, m. 1889 Edwin Bear, whose daughter Louise married Cyril Campion (1890/1-1961), playwright, and was the mother of Gerald Theron Campion (1921-2002), the actor best known for playing the fat schoolboy Billy Bunter in the 1950s television series.



6 -- The birth, registered in the December quarter 1839 of one Charles Frederick Hill, the only one to fit the 1881 and 1891 census data, was registered in the sub-district of The London Road, Saint George the Martyr, Southwark registration district [entry no. 391]. This boy was described as born 14 Sept. 1839 at 27 Duke Street, Westminster Bridge Road, son of Joseph Hill, fisherman, and of Mary Ann Hill formerly Gooden. The mother was the informant when the birth was registered 10 October 1839, and made her mark.

One Joseph Hill, age 43, occupation bricklayer, that given by no. 6 at his marriage of his own father, was in 1851 at 7 Townley Place, parish of St. Peter, Walworth, about a mile from the above addresses. His large family included a son Charles, who was aged 13, b. Bermondsey. Joseph's then wife was named Esther.

The elder son of Charles Hill (see 1861 census extracts, above) might be Henry Harris Hill, birth reg'd June qtr 1855, Lambeth (1d 321); and his younger brother might be Joseph Hill, birth reg'd Dec qtr 1857, Lambeth (1d.275). Walworth was (and still is) in Lambeth district.



7 -- When Mary Ann married her first husband on 15 May 1854 she was described as of "full age", implying she was born in or before 1833, but on 3 April 1881, the census date, she gave her age as 41, although if that were correct she would have been first married at age 14.



9 -- Philippa, daughter of Shadrach and Elizabeth (Wilding [sic]) Chaplin, was baptised 25 Dec. 1809 at Great Finborough, but it was as "Phylorata" Chaplin that she married Thomas Tunstall Hancock 1 July 1833 at St. Mary at the Key, Ipswich [IGI]. "Phylorata", a name which appears to be unique to herself [the only two hits in ancestry.co.uk without any restrictions as to surname, place, date or type of record, being to her in the 1841 and 1851 censuses] and her husband were at Ipswich in 1841 and 1851, but only her daughter Mary A Hancock, then aged 15 with her grandmither Elizabeth Chaplin in Ipswich, has been found in 1861. Thomas T Hancock was a hawker (virtually illegible due to bad handwriting in 1851, but clear in 1841) who said in 1851 he was 41, born at Wolstanton, Staffs. This parish is adjacent to Burslem in which was the hamlet of Tunstall, but the registers of both places, which have been published down to 1812, do not show the baptisms of Thomas Tunstall Hancock or his sister Sophia. At Wolstanton there was about one male marrying per year from 1810 to 1812, most of whom were colliers. Tunstall occurs as a surname in both Wolstanton and Burslem, but no Hancock - Tunstall marriage was found in either parish.



10 -- William Smith signed his name at his marriage in 1828, yet made his mark when witnessing the marriage of his daughter Ellen in 1854.

One of the witnesses to the marriage on 31 Oct. 1826 at Trimley St Martin of Philip Burch of Bucklesham, widower and Hannah Smith of Trimley was William Smith. According to the 1851 census of Kirton [HO107/1801, f. 381], Hannah wife of Philip Burch, then aged 45, had been born at Felixstowe. She was not baptised there, but one of the five children baptised at St Mary Walton, next to Felixstowe (and treated under Felixstowe in the Suffolk volume of the National Index of Parish Registers) between 1798 and 1811 of John & Ann (Spall) Smith was Hannah, bapt. 12 Oct. 1807. The baptism of William Smith was not recorded, although this could be an oversight because those of Lydia (1798), Robert (1802), Phillip (1805) and Hannah (1807) were not entered until after 1812.

William Smith was almost certainly a tenant farmer, holding a short-term lease, in 1861, of Kembroke Hall, Bucklesham (now the registered office of a company), which may have been built in the 1850s as it is not named in the 1851 census.



11 -- Emma was a common nickname for Emily.



23 -- The reason for Rebecca's two baptisms is not apparent, but although unusual, such events sometimes occurred. When her brother Benjamin was baptized 18 Oct. 1778, for whom no other baptism was recorded, he was described as "aged 5 or 6 years", a statement that would certainly fit Rebecca. Perhaps they were twins.



34 -- James Wilden junior witnessed the marriage of Shadrach Chaplin and Elizabeth Wilden in 1809, and James and Hannah (Belman) Wilden were the parents of John, bapt. 1795 at Buxhall. Evidently, James and Hannah moved to Buxhall after marrying and having earlier children born and baptised elsewhere.



47 -- The maiden name of Hannah was noted at the baptism of her youngest son William in 1786. Her marriage is not in the IGI or in Boyd's Marriage Index.



64 -- John Chaplin was perhaps son of Caleb & Elizabeth Chaplin, born in the early 1690s when, it seems, the register of baptisms at Great Finborough was incomplete. Caleb Chaplin, "an old man", was buried there 30 December 1741. The earliest Chaplin baptisms there, according to the Bishops' Transcripts only, are of Elizabeth daughter of Phillip & Elizabeth Chaplin 15 March 1684/5 and Caleb son of Caleb & Anne Chaplin 12 Dec. 1686. On present evidence it is not possible to say whether "Phillip" or "Anne" were errors, or if Caleb married more than once.



88 & 89 -- Thomas and Elizabeth were described as parents of Jeremiah [number 44] at Jeremiah's burial. Thomas was described as a widower at his 1737 marriage.











FURTHER NOTES






An article on the ancestry of Charlie Chaplin, which includes a facsimile of the 1885 marriage certificate of his parents, is in French in gé magazine, no. 12, November 1983, pages 30-34. His patrilineal line back to John (ca. 1700-1787) is on page 34.









SOURCES CONSULTED AND CITED


See above.









William Addams Reitwiesner

wargs@wargs.com