My maternal ancestors
Grtx 4 grandparents: George and Mary (nee Mills) Pafford
George and Mary Pafford
My greatx4 grandparents were George and Mary Pafford. They had at least five children who were
baptised at Alverstoke or Holy Trinity, Gosport. The family was probably living at Alverstoke/Gosport
between 1786 -1793, based on where their children were baptised
George Pafford was baptised at Soberton, Hampshire on 19 September 1752:
George was the seventh child of Philip and Maria Pafford, which perhaps explains why he wasn’t
mentioned in his father’s will, which was dated December 1777. By that time, he had already married
and had two children. His father was noted as a brick burner in 1744 and 1774.
George (aged twenty-two) married Amy Pratt (daughter of John and Amy, baptised 18 January 1756 at
Corhampton, Hants) in the neighbouring parish of Bishops Waltham on 26 August 1774:
Any doubts that this was my ancestor can be removed as he was noted as being from the parish of
Soberton. George was literate, signing the register confidently.
The baptism of their daughter, Sarah, took place around six months later at Soberton on 23 February
1775:
Another daughter, Mary, was baptised at Catherington, Hants on 12 September 1777 when George and
Mary were living in the parish of Kingston in Portsmouth, but she was buried at Soberton on
15 May 1778:
Another child was born to the couple and died young, being buried at Soberton on 7 December 1780:
As George remarried in 1794, it appears that Amy died between 1780 and 1794. There is a burial of
Amey (sic) Pafford at St Marylebone, Westminster, London on 28 November 1782 (see brief entry
below). This person was not a child as burials of children are noted by ‘Ch’ in the register. Whether
this Amy was George’s wife and, if so, how she came to be in London is unknown.
George is next found at Havant, Hants (which is about ten miles south-east of Soberton when he
married Mary (nee Mills) Dennett there on 2 April 1794. This was not especially unusual - I’ve found
marriages of folk from Havant being married at Soberton in the 18thC.
Although not mentioned when Mary married George, she was then a widow, having married Benjamin
Dennett (a widower) at Alverstoke on 16 September 1779. Benjamin was buried on 11 August 1782 at
Bishops Waltham, Hants. (This brings George and Mary together in the same area):
Benjamin Dennett’s first marriage and burial records
During their short married life, Mary and Benjamin produced two daughters, Elizabeth (born 1780)
and Mary (1782). Elizabeth married the labourer, John New, at St Thomas, Portsea in 1806. When
their daughter, Eliza, was baptised in 1817, the couple were noted as living at Oxford Street - tacit
confirmation that Elizabeth nee Dennett and Mary Mills/Pafford were related. Further investigation of
the 1816 Portsmouth Rate Book reveals that Mary and John New were next-door neighbours at nos.
80 and 81 Oxford Street:
All Saints Church
Commercial Road
However, we are running ahead of ourselves, so we will return to events leading up to George and
Mary’s wedding in 1794. Prior to their marriage, between 1786 and 1793 George and Mary had five
children all baptised across the water of Portsmouth harbour at Alverstoke and Holy Trinity; Gosport
Hants:
The baptisms of George and Mary Pafford’s children: George, 15 October 1786 at Alverstoke;
Lydia, 27 June 1788 at Holy Trinity, Gosport; Charlotte, 13 September 1790 at Alverstoke and
Maria, together with James, on 23 June 1793 at Holy Trinity.
Now we take a detour in time to plot Mary history up to 1794. She was baptised at St Thomas, Portsea
Island on 9 August 1747 and was the daughter of John and Susanna Mills:
To recap, The last glimpse we have of George Pafford is in January 1792 at Alverstoke, Gosport when
his daughter, Sophia, was baptized. The last sighting of Mary was in the 1816 Portsea Rate Book
when she was living next door to her daughter, Mary (nee Dennett) New at 80 Oxford Street, Portsea.
We next find them both at Brighton, to where some of their children had relocated, as we will see.
George was buried on 20 April 1834 at Brighthelmstone, Sussex at which time he had been living at
Egremont Place. Mary was involved in a bizarre incident in January 1832 when she was keeping a
beer house at Chesterfield Street, Brighton - which ran parallel to Egremont Place, five streets away.
The High Conatable brought a case against her for harbouring notoriously bad characters in her beer
house. She was described as ‘a poor, elderly and infirm widow’ (the last word being obviously
incorrect as George died in 1836). Nonetheless, she was elderly, being aged eighty-four. (the Mrs
Charlotte Antrim mentioned here is Mary’s daughter:
This ‘vortex of iniquity’ was
reported in the Brighton Gazette of 2 February 1832,
four shillings being the going rate for iniquity in 1832
In 1841, Mary was living with her daughter Charlotte and her family at Lennox Street, Brighthelmstone,
Brighton:
There, she died in April, 1845:
1845
1834
Edward Street is less than half a mile from the promenade at Brighton and north-east of the pier.
Chesterfield Street was described as being poor housing, built soon after 1800 and demolished in
1890.
The Beerhouse Act of 1830 allowed ratepayers to brew and sell beer, ale, and porter in their homes if
they paid an annual license. The year before Mary was summoned how she allowed her house to be
used, matters came to a head in Brighton when several people who held a beer license were heavily
fined. The following was reported in the Brighton Gazette of 11 August 1831:
Soberton
Saint
bu. 20 Apr 1834 Brighton, Sussex
c. 9 August 1747 Portsea
bu. 14 May 1845 Brighton, Sussex
Perhaps Mary Pafford had seized the opportunity presented by the Bill to earn some needed money.
But in August 1841, Egremont Street, home to Charlotte Antrim, her family and Mary was notorious
for being a ‘well known haunt of the lowest prostitutes and thieves’.
With hindsight, how had George and Mary lived their lives? The use of two churches to baptise their
children may indicate where they lived - at Alverstoke from 1786 to 1792, and in Gosport in 1792 and
1793. There is no sign of George in any records from 1793 until his death at Brighton in 1834. What
can be said is that he was not living with Mary in 1818 or 1832 as he was not mentioned in records
raised re: Mary. yet he was living close to Mary when he died in 1834. As two of their sons provided
for Mary for a few years around 1810/1814 (as we will see), possibly he and Mary had separated by
then.
So, logically, there are three scenarios: 1.) George and Mary separated for a number of years, from at
least 1810 until 1834. 2.) George was in Royal or Merchant Navy and was serving abroad - although I
haven’t found a record of this. 3.) George took a leaf from his brother John Pafford’s book and
emigrated for a time, returning by 1834.
c. 19 Sept 1752
Of George and Mary’s children
Elizabeth Dennitt/Dennett
Elizabeth was Mary’s first child with Benjamin Dennitt, baptised at St Mary, Gosport on
26 November 1780. She married John New at St Thomas, Portsea on 17 September 1806:
John New was a labourer. The family moved into the heart of Portsea Island in around 1808. They
were living at Oxford Street (see earlier map) from 1815 to 1820 and in 1822 to 1824 at Newtown.
When the 1841 census was taken (shown below) they were living at Rope Walk, Portsea. Elizabeth
was living at Staunton Street (the next street to Oxford Street) when she died in June 1850.
Of George Pafford junior
There is a glimpse of George jnr in the books of Goliath, a hulk ‘in ordinary’ at Portsmouth Harbour
during the first half of 1800 - the first of three known generations of Paffords who found this type of
work. He worked for 4 months and 10 days and was paid a net amount of £3 2/- (see below). He was
discharged on 30 June 1800. He is described as an ‘Ordinary Seaman’. This would seem to suggest
that he had not previously served in the Royal Navy as he surely would have been an ‘Able-bodied
Seaman’.
Then, the following news report appeared on 16 January 1804:
George (aged about seventeen) was initially consigned to a prison hulk in Portsmouth Dockyard (see
below) where he rotted until he received a pardon on 3 September 1806 - evidently because he
re-enlisted in the Royal Navy according to a note.
The Naval Act of 1795 allowed seamen to remit part of their wages to their mothers, wives or
families to sustain them while the man was at sea. The National Archives has a record of these
agreements covering the years 1795 to 1852. They show the name of the seaman, his rating,
the ship on which they were serving and the beneficiary.
The allotment record of George Pafford jnr (born 1786) indicates that he served on Lily until
1 November 1808. Then in 1810, he joined the newly-commissioned Pyramus (42-gun frigate).
On 14 May 1810, he arranged to give his mother, Mary, the monthly amount of 10/6d (about a
quarter of his wages). The allotment finished/discharged on 20 November 1813 (George
married on 15 June 1813).
James Pafford also made an allotment to be paid to his mother, Mary. He had served on the
Royal William (which was laid up ‘in ordinary’ at Portsmouth Harbour) until June 1809 when he
was assigned to Ildefonso which was also ‘in ordinary’. (Ildefonso was formerly San Ildefonso
which was the ship Defence captured at Trafalgar with the young James on board and which
was taken into the English Navy). James allotted the monthly sum of 11/8d to his mother Mary.
This was discharged on 19 July 1814.
So for a few years the two brothers, George and James Pafford, arranged some financial
support for their mother, Mary, which amounted to £1 2s 2d a month - at a time when a farm
labourer might take home about 10/6d a week to support his entire family. This appears to be an
act of responsible, filial kindness towards their mother.
Why was Mary in this situation? The likely reason is that she had been left without any means of
support by something that had happened to her husband, George. Perhaps he had been taken
ill or injured - or simply separated from Mary. Another piece of the jigsaw which was George’s
life may have been found.
George Pafford jnr married and Mary Terry on15 June 1813 at Alverstoke, Gosport:
Of George snr. and Mary’s remaining children, Lydia Pafford married James May. They had five children and had
probably moved to Brighton by 1826. Charlotte Mills Pafford was privately baptised, instead of a Church ceremony
- which is often a sign that there were fears about the survival of mother or daughter when she was born. She
married John Clark Antrim and the couple had two sons who were baptised at Brighton. She was mentioned in the
news report featured earlier.A witness at their marriage was William May - probably a brother of James May who
married Lydia. Charlotte signed her marriage document. Maria Pafford married John Romane atSt Marys, Portsea
on1 September 1811. They had two children who were baptised at Alverstoke. However, John died before 1839.
