At least with this family they stayed in one place for a reasonable amount of time to make it possible to trace them back a few years!
My Gt.Grandfather Frederic Bradley married Eliza Piggott 29th August 1867 at St Lukes Church, Cannock. They had 3 children.
There had been mention by some present Bradley family members that ‘Piggott’ had originally been ‘Pigg’. This is verified on Eliza`s birth certificate where she is registered as Eliza Pigg born to Francis Pigg and Sophia Pigg, formerly Tredwell (again different spelling of Treadwell on occasions). Eliza was born on the 5th March 1844 at Stivichall, Coventry, and she had a younger brother John born 1845 in Furness, Lancs., and younger sister Mary Sophia born 1847 in Leek, Staffs.
John (1845-1919)
Married Julia A Suffield 1865(see Suffield connection below re John`s Aunt Mary Ann Pigg) but there were no children. John was Piggott at birth and born in Furness, Lancs. in 1845. Therefore this branch of the Pigg family changed to Piggott sometime between March 1844 and August 1845. In 1881 they lived at Spring Street, Wolverhampton Road, Cannock and he was in the coal and brick business. In the census Kate, Julia`s sister, and Maud Bradley (niece, age 8) were there also. In 1891 John and Julia are living at Graiglelo New Hall, Gwyddelwern, Merionethshire and John is a Poultry Farmer? 1901 they are living at 340 Moseley Road, Balsall Heath, Birmingham. John died in 1919 and Julia died 1928.
Mary Sophia (b.1847)
Married Charles Henry Twynam 1874 a solicitor. They had three children, Mary Mercedes (b.1883), Henry Joseph (b.1887) and Anne Gertrude (b .1888). There was a fourth, a daughter Elizabeth born and died Dec. quarter 1889. In 1881 Mary Sophia and Charles are staying with Francis and Sophia. In 1891 Mary Sophia and her 3 children are again with her now widowed father Francis and their aunt Eliza Matilda Piggott at the Hills, in Hednesford Road. Mary married Thomas Maurice Bostock and they had three children Thomas, Steven and Dorothy. The younger Thomas was a Captain in the Royal Engineers and died in Akora, India whilst engaged in night bridging operations over Kabul River. It is believed from Cousin Eliza`s notes that Dorothy married a Mr Stokes. Henry became Sir Henry Twynam, diplomat in Asia. He wrote an account of one of his journeys.
Eliza`s father Francis was born in 1820 in High Street, Watford, Herts. He married a widow a few years older than himself, Sophia Bourne nee Tredwell in Marylebone, London in 1843. Sophia was from Droitwich. She had three children from her 1st marriage to Thomas Bourne (or John!). Daughter Elizabeth married Henry Worton Elliott and they had four children, two of whom appear to have married members of the Pain family and another a Charlie Walters. Henry Elliott acted as Executor for a few Tredwells.
Francis` occupation on his marriage was an accounts clerk. On Eliza`s birth certificate he is classed as ‘Gentleman’. On the 1871 census he is living in Hednesford, Staffs and is a merchant of some sort (possibly coal). The next time he is mentioned as being in ‘Coal and Brick’ in 1881 still in Hednesford. By this time he is a widower, Sophia having died in 1873. 1891 census Francis is still in Cannock and has numerous members of his family with him. Francis died in 1898 age 78, in Erdington, Warwks.
Francis was born to Joseph (b. 1787 Bovingdon, Herts – d. 1847 Watford) and Elizabeth and was one of ten children. Joseph was a stonemason in Watford. In 1841 Joseph and Elizabeth and children Eliza, Edward, Maria and Catherine are living in Watford. In a newspaper article in the Hertford Mercury and Reformer dated 2 October 1847 it states as follows: Joseph Pigg, Stonemason, Deceased. All Persons having claims against the Estate of the said Joseph Pigg are requested to send an account of the same; and all persons indebted to the said estate, are requ3ested to pay the amount to me forthwith, in order that a statement of affairs of the deceased may be made out, and laid before his creditors, and the assets (if any) equally divided between them. John Sedgwick, Solicitor, Watford.
I was recently (January 2022) contacted by Bob Speel who is an enthusiast for church monuments around the country, who very kindly sent me the following photos of a wall panel in Hemel Hempstead church. Quite hard to see but the signature is by J Pigg and as the subject of the panel is dated 1833 we can presume it is Joseph Pigg died 1847. According to Bob this is the first time he`s come across the name Pigg so believes the Pigg family stonemasons dealt mainly with churchyard gravestones, and this was an unusual commission for Joseph Pigg.
Eliza (b. 1816 Watford) married Joseph Gumbley, again in Marylebone in 1846. It appears some of the Piggs had moved to London at that time. Joseph and Eliza Gumbley had one daughter Elizabeth who remained a spinster.
Joseph (b. 1818 Watford – d. 1867) also was a stonemason, obviously carrying on the family business. He remained in Watford and died in 1867, having kept the name Pigg. Joseph married Eliza Hedges in 1840 in Marylebone and they are living in the town in Watford in 1841. In 1851 the family are living in High Street, Watford and Joseph has his two younger sisters Catherine and Maria with him. 1861 still in Watford. Joseph died 1867 and Eliza 1865. They had four children:
1 Emma – married Henry Howard a stone mason in 1863 and had 10 children. Living in Watford in 1871 with children Robert, Edward, Charles, Frank and also Emma`s brother and sister George Francis and Eliza Matilda. In 1881 they have moved to the Walcot, Bath area of Somerset. Henry is a Hotel Bookkeeper and Billiard maker and they have 9 children with them: Robert, Edward, Charles, Frank, George, Lucy, Kate, Alice and Amy. 1891 they are in St Peter`s Terrace, Bath and Henry is now an accountant and they have Charles, Frank, Lucy, Grace, Amy and Edith with them. Edward is a Solicitor`s clerk in Sherborne, Newland, Kate is in Kensington with Aunt Emily and cousin Margaret and George is with Gt. Uncle Francis in Cannock. Lucy has married Isaac Angel in 1897. and in the same year Charles married Amy Grace. 1901 with Henry now a clerk (wine merchant) they are in Sydenham Bldgs. in Bath with just Frank, Amy and Edith. Lucy and husband Isaac Angel (app. electrician) are living in Stafford and sister Alice is with them as head bookkeeper. In 1907 Isaac and Lucy emigrate to Edmonton, Alberta (via Chicago). Kate has married John Webdell (Drapers clerk) and living in Paddington. In 1911 Henry and Emma are living with Frank (Head of house) in 11 Victoria Terrace, Twerton together with Frank`s sisters Amy and Edith. Also there is aunt Eliza Matilda. George and Edward are living in Kensington.
2 Eliza (housekeeper to her Uncle Francis),
3 Joseph (married Ellen Santry and had 1 stepdaughter, 2 sons and a daughter (lived in Putney 1881 and Berkhamstead 1891)). Don`t know what happened to this family after 1891.
4 George, also a stonemason (married Emily Howard and had one daughter Margaret Amy). It is possible Henry Howard and Emily Howard were brother and sister. It is of interest to note that in the Criminal Registers now published on the ancestry website there are consecutive entries for a Joseph Pigg and George Hedges, both for larceny in 1857 but entered in the ‘Acquitted/Discharged’ column are the words ‘No Bill’. What was going on there I wonder? Margaret Amy married Murray Howard and according to the 1911 census was living in Clarendon St. London SW with son George Murray aged 3. Husband Murray is with his mother and sister in Grosvenor Road, London SW. It now appears that Margaret Amy went to Australia but I don`t know whether this was with husband Murray or not. I think she took her son George. Thanks to a source in Australia, I now know that she was divorced and remarried on 31st July 1920 at the Church of the Epiphany, Crafers, South Australia to Clarence August William Wray.
Francis (b. 1820 – d. 1897) (my gt.gt.grandfather) marries Sophia Bourne (nee Tredwell) in 1843 in Marylebone, London. In 1851 he and Sophia and daughter Eliza (7) (my gt.grandmother), John (4) and Mary Sophia (3) are living in Hiver Hall, Hendon along with Francis` widowed mother Elizabeth (59) and Francis` sister Mary Anne (20) now governess to the children. In 1861 he and Sophia are in Hednesford Lane, Cannock and in 1871 White Hill House, Cannock. In 1881 and 1891 he is at The Hills, Hednesford.
Ann (b. 1822 Watford)
George (b. 1825 Watford)
Sarah (b. 1827 Watford – d. 1886) a servant in Watford 1841, governess to the children of her Gt. Uncle William Tredwell in Worcs. 1851. In 1871 she is with her sister Eliza Gumbley in Llantrisant, Wales, and then companion to her sister Mary Ann in 1881.
Edward (b.1829 Watford) 1841 living with parents Joseph and Elizabeth 1841 in Watford. In 1851 he is in Hampstead, at 1 Goldsmith Place and he is a mason. He marries Mary Henderson (no marriage record found) and they have two sons, Ernest (b. 1857 Walsall) and interestingly father Edward is a ‘time keeper on railway’ at this time, and Walter (b. 1860 in Walsall) – father Edward now a stonemason again. On both boys birth certificates their mother is ‘formerly Henderson’ but I can find no trace of a marriage. In 1861 (surname now Piggott) they are all living in Walsall, and Edward`s sister Catherine is with them. Mary is 34 and born in York. Mary dies (no record) and Edward remarries to Hannah Johnson in 1869. In 1871 they are living Lapley, Staffs., again sister Catherine (Kate) is with them. Hannah is 48 and was born in Market Drayton, Salop. Ernest marries Clara Jane Bromwich in 1880 and in 1881 they are living at 42 Muntz St. Aston, Warwick with widowed father Edward and younger brother Walter. Ernest is a County Court Clerk and Walter is a school teacher. Ernest and Clara have 2 children, Walter Francis b. 1881 d. 1883 and Gertrude b. 1884. In 1901 they have moved to 25 Hugh Road, Aston. I think Gertrude marries in 1907 to Harry Neale. In 1911 they are living at 22 Sandy Lane, Coventry. In 1939 Harry, Gertrude and mother Clara (incapacitated, old age) are living at 81 St. Nicholas Street, Coventry. It is possible Gertrude and Harry had a son Harry who died in his first year. Possibly also a daughter Rita born 1914. Ernest dies 13 September 1906 whilst living at 71 Charles Road, Small Heath, Birmingham. Walter marries Emily Lovell Berridge in 1889 in Leicester. In 1891 Walter is a Coal Broker and he and Emily and son Charles Francis are living in Cannock, Staffs. In 1901 Walter, Emily and now daughters Kathleen and Elizabeth are living in Hednesford Road, Cannock. Son Charles is with his Berridge grandparents Isaac and Lydia in Malvern House, Stoneygate Road, Leicester. 1911 finds Kathleen and Charles Francis at a school in Thornton, Lancs where Kathleen is a visitor and Charles a student undergraduate. Emily in 1911 is in Rhos, North Wales, age 42 and staying with Charles Loxton and his family. Emily died 1938 at Ferry Ride, Wentworth, Virginia Water, Surrey, probate to Charles Frances Lovell Piggott and Kathleen Mary Piggott, Spinster Effects £791 12s 4d. In 1939 Kathleen is at Poulshot House, Devizes with Gertrude Thompson (this seems to be a first aid post). Ernest died 1906 living at 71 Charles Road, Small Heath, Birmingham. Effects £311 2s 10d, to Clara Jane Widow. Walter died 1930 at White Lodge, New Penkridge Road, Cannock. To Emily Lovell Effects £2222 5s 10d. Charles Francis Lovell Piggott married Maud Alice Marsland 2nd August 1917. He then married again in 1933 to Cecily Blanche Dorothy Ryder. He died 1964, of Woodstock House, Woodstock, Oxford, at Radcliffe Infirmary, Oxford. Effects £2139. Hugh Granville Leveson Dudley Ryder, Stockbroker and Alfred Lovell Berridge Solicitor.
Mary Anne (b. 1831 Watford) In 1841 Mary Ann is a servant aged 10 with Thos. Chapman in High St. Watford. In 1851 she is living with her brother Francis and is governess to his 3 children. In 1861 she is still with them in Hednesford Lane. In 1869 Mary Ann married first to Thomas Charles Wheatcroft (12 years younger and a Surgeon) in 1869 in Cannock. Secondly to Mr Henry Suffield in 1874 at Penkridge (17 years younger! and whom I now know to be brother to Julia Suffield married to John Piggott – Julia, Henry and Kate were 3 of 7 children born in Ireland to William Henry Suffield MD and Ellen Maguire). Henry was also a surgeon and possibly in partnership with Wheatcroft. Henry died in 1877. In 1881 she was a widow living in Claughton on the Wirral with her spinster sister Sarah. Mary Ann then married for the third time to Abraham Hodgson a merchant in 1883 in Birkenhead. He died in 1894 while they were living in Birkdale, Lancs. Mary Ann died in 1899 in Bebington on the Wirral. It appears she had no children.
Maria (b. 1832 Watford) living with various family members over the years.
Catherine (b. 1834 Watford) living with various family members over the years
Francis` father Joseph was born in Bovingdon, Herts, in 1787. Joseph was one of seven siblings born to Joseph and Elizabeth (too many Josephs and Elizabeths!). One sister Mary (b. 1783) married James Fry in 1804 in Bovingdon and lives in Berkhampstead, Herts. in 1841 with James Fry (son?) a stonemason aged 28 (not born in Herts. – there is a James Fry born to James and Mary in Old Church, St Pancras, London,). Another sister Martha (b. 1781) married James Lovatt in 1807 in Bovingdon. In 1841 she is still in Bovingdon just with daughter Fanny aged 25. There was another son Francis b. 1812 d. 1813. In 1851 Martha (widow, holder of 12 acres) and daughter Frances (domestic duties) are in Chippfield Road, South Side and Mary Fry, sister, widow is with them. In 1861 the 3 of them are in the cottages in Bovingdon and are the proprietors of houses. Martha dies 1870. In 1871 Frances is a boarder with the Gilnesse family in Bovingdon, and in 1881 she is a boarder with Mary Taylor the postmistress in Bovingdon. Frances dies 1886 aged 73.
Information gleaned from a local historian in Bovingdon, and monumental inscriptions intimates that as the gravestones for the Piggs and Norwoods were outside the tower door of the church (i.e. they are still there) the families would have needed to be reasonably well off to have afforded a gravestone in those days. Joseph Pigg (snr) was a churchwarden in 1769 and 1770. Joseph and Francis Norwood are listed as village constables about the same sort of time.
Joseph and Elizabeth (Norwood) (parents of Joseph b. 1787) were married Sept. 8th 1780 in Bovingdon. Elizabeth was the daughter of Ann and Francis Norwood of Bovingdon. Joseph died 1821 age 62 (born 1759), and Elizabeth died 1815 age 59,(born 1756) both in Bovingdon. Joseph was a widower and Elizabeth a widow on their marriage.
Thanks to information recently received (June 2020) I now know further details regarding the birth of Joseph (married to Elizabeth Norwood). He was born in Fulmer, Buckinghamshire to Joseph and Ann Pigg (nee Gurnett). Joseph (a farmer) and Ann were married in Denham, Bucks 8/1/1756. Joseph was born in Fulmer 1758 and his brother Edward in 1762. This family of 4 then moved to Bovingdon, Herts. Edward died in Bovingdon in 1780. Ann died in 1766 and husband Joseph in 1791, also in Bovingdon.
In his will 1765 Edward Gurnett, Ann`s father, seems to have left most of his wealth to Robert Coker and Joseph Pigg. It is presumed this is because in those days daughters could not own land in their own name so in effect he left it to his daughters’ families. He left to son-in-law Robert Coker £110 and estate at West Drayton,
daughter Elizabeth Bavin, widow living with Joseph Pigg £150 and the residue to Joseph Pigg of Bovingdon, farmer & Robert Coker of Denham, husbandman.
My thanks for this information to Neil Rees who has researched the Gurnett line and also the Swanbourne history society http://www.swanbournehistory.co.uk.