John Curling 1710 – 1779 and his immediate family

By Keith Ellis and Clive Boyce

A memorial inscription in St Laurence-in-Thanet churchyard, recorded by Kent Archaeological Society provides the following see here :

Captain John CURLING died 21st September 1779 aged 69 years. Also Catherine Curling, relict of above, died 23rd March 1791 aged 82 years. Also Elizabeth, granddaughter of above, died at Margate 19th June 1844*. One side of stone “Tomb of John Curling, born 1710, died (buried September 25th) 1779”. Arms: Or, on a pile gules, a leopard’s head, Jessant-de-lis, of the field. Crest: out of a mural crown, or, a dragon’s head, erased, vert, ducally gorged and lined, fire issuant from the mouth ppr.

Keith Ellis investigated the tomb and confirmed the record above but noted a further detail regarding John’s granddaughter: Also of Elizabeth Curling granddaughter of the above who died on 19th June 1844 aged at death 73 years and was the daughter Jesse Curling Esquire  

Our aim is to determine who John Curling’s parents were, who his wife was, and to identify some of his descendants using this memorial inscription as the starting point. Accepting that there several relationships that lack firm evidence we will argue that John Curling’s immediate family was as follows:

The use of the Curling arms on John Curling’s tomb suggests he was a direct descendant of John Curling of Fordwich (1592-1640) see here who was definitely granted a coat of arms but we can find no evidence for a direct family relationship between the two Johns.  The tomb was probably arranged by one of his sons, most likely Robert (1741-1809) who was very successful in London shipping, whose son William was a trustee for the Duke of Kent and whose daughter Elizabeth was the mother of Alfred Domett, the fourth Prime Minister of New Zealand.  We doubt whether anyone was going to challenge the use of Curling Arms if one or more of John’s sons decided to use it. 

John Curling’s parents

His memorial inscription establishes that he was born in 1710 and two baptismal records fit:

1. John, son of Stephen Curling and Hannah Simpson baptised at St Lawrence 5 Oct 1710 ex FMP. 

Stephen and Hannah had married at St Lawrence on 16 Jan 1705. Hannah died shortly after John’s birth and was buried SL on 10 Feb 1711, wife of Stephen. We have been unable to find any record for Stephen re-marrying (the Stephen who married Ann Sumner in 1711 was a bachelor according to the licence), nor any certain record of his death; there are burials on 12 Aug 1712, 30 May 1721 and 13 May 1730 which may refer to this Stephen but there is no evidence that any of them are definitely him and we have not found a will either. We believe Stephen was son of George Curling and Catherine Golding and we have no will for George either. We have not found evidence to support the claim by Robert Curling in his Memorial Records that John was son of Stephen Curling and Hannah Simpson see here

2. John, son of John and Jane, born 24 Oct 1710 and baptised at Ebenezer Independent, Ramsgate on 3 Nov 1710 ex FMP.

John Curling and Jane Hooper were married by licence on 4 Nov 1708 at St Lawrence and their son John was born on 24 October 1710 and Jane died very soon after her son John’s birth, probably as a direct consequence and she was buried on 10 November 1710 (Jane wife of John) ex FMP PR. It appears that John Curling, widower, then married Sarah Friend by licence at St Alphege, Canterbury on 13 Jul 1714.  Another John Curling married Sarah Mills by licence at St Peters on 9 Jan 1717, both single, and a third John Curling married Sarah Moverly (both single) by licence on 6 Jan 1724 at St Alphege, Canterbury . These three couples produced at least fourteen children baptised at the Ebenezer chapel between 1714 and 1724. 

Robert and Daniel Curling born and baptised in 1714 and 1716 respectively are most likely to be sons of John Curling and Sarah Friend as the other John Curling did not marry Sarah Mills until January 1717. The fact that John, son of John and Jane was also baptised at the Ebenezer Independent Chapel in Ramsgate children of John supports the case for this being John’s second marriage. We have one concern, if John b 1721 was the son of Sarah Friend, it casts doubt whether Sarah Friend’s husband was one and the same as the father of John Curling b 1710 who we know survived until 1779 but it is more likely that he was son of Sarah Mills. We believe that it is quite likely that John Curling and Sarah Mills baptised their first two children Sarah (bap 21 Sep 1719) and John (bap 3 Nov 1721). We have found no further records for John Curling born 1721.

The parish register clearly shows Samuel b 1725 and William b 1728 were the children of Sarah Mills and Ann born 1729 was the daughter of Sarah Moverly.  Robert b 1718, Sarah b 1719, Samuel b 1719, Jane b 1720, John b 1721 Mary b 1722 could be children of either Sarah Friend or Sarah Mills, while Hester b 1724 Abiah b 1726 and Sarah b 1727 could be children of either of the three Sarahs. Abiah which was an uncommon name, was born in 1726 was very likely to be the daughter of Sarah Friend which would link well with John, her father, being the son of John and Abiah Poole, who married at St Katherine by the Tower in London on 19 Oct 1682. Abiah was baptised 3 Feb 1660 in Sandwich, Kent, but whether John was originally from Thanet, we have not ascertained. Their son John was baptised 5 Oct 1683 at St Laurence, so they must have moved/returned to Ramsgate very soon after their marriage. John and Abiah also had a son Robert, whose 1710 will mentions brother John and mother Abia, and was witnessed by Sarah Friend.

On balance we think it is more likely that John Curling and Jane Hooper were the parents of John Curling born 1710 rather than Stephen Curling and Hannah Simpson.

John Curling’s marriage and children

The inscription on the tomb establishes John Curling’s wife was Catherine which fits with the marriage of John Curling and Catherine Sumner (1709 – 1791) by licence at the church of St Peter-in-Thanet, a parish now part of Broadstairs, 26 Jan 1730/31.  They were both single and both of St Lawrence parish. This fits with Catherine Somner (various spellings) bap 22 Jan 1710 at St Laurence, daughter of William and Mary [ex FMP PR ]. She had a brother Jesse and so it is likely the name Jesse in the Curling family for the first time originated with the Somners.

In his Memorial Records, Robert Curling lists three sons for John and Catherine: Jesse, John, and Robert. There was also a son William who is not referred to in the Memorial Records and may have pre-deceased his father – there are three possible burials of William Curling at St Lawrence between 1731 and 1779, but none is identifiable. Curiously, John Curling’s will of 1779 does not mention sons William, Jesse, or Robert but he does refer to his grandson John son of John. The Bank of England will record establishes his son John was executor.

The will covers three daughters: Jane wife of Andrew Joad, Mary wife of Richard Adams, Catharine wife of William Cobb. The witnesses were Ann Friend and Cornelius Friend. It seems very likely that Ann and Cornelius Friend were related to Sarah Friend who had married John Curling in 1714 after the death of his wife Jane (there is evidence they were her niece and nephew and children of Sarah’s brother John see Ancestry). This favours John being the son of John Curling and Jane Hooper rather than of Stephen Curling and Hannah Simpson. John’s children were baptised at the Ebenezer Chapel which also supports the view that he was the son of John Curling and Jane Hooper who was also baptised at the Ebenezer Chapel. Another indication is John and Catherine had a daughter Jane who might have been named after her maternal grandmother – Jane Hooper. 

John and Catherine had at least 5 children baptised at the Ebenezer Independent Church in Ramsgate: William born 6 Nov, bap 8 Nov 1731, Jesse bap 24 Dec 1737, bap 1 Jan 1738, Robert born 10 Sep, bap 13 bap 1741, Mary born 27 Oct, bap 5 Nov 1745 and Katherine born 16 Oct, bap 22 Oct 1749. However, there are no clearly relevant baptisms for Jane and John. There is a baptism of Jane Curling at the Ebenezer Chapel on14 Sep 1735 – the mother was Katherine but her maiden name is given as Hooper but there is no marriage of a John Curling and Katherine Hooper (there was a potential Hooper connection as the father, John Curling’s, mother) – and no other children for this couple. Could the record be in error? Son John Curling’s burial record shows he was 72 in 1806 ie he was born in 1734. There is a John Curling baptised 29 Dec 1734 at Ebenezer Chapel but he is recorded as son of John and Ann (Moverly) and definitely not son of John and Catherine. 

The children of John Curling and Catherine Sumner

1. William Curling 1731 – ?

Born 6 November 1731 and bap 8 Nov 1731 Ebenezer Chapel. The parish register ex FMP clearly show he was son of John and Katherine (Sumner). Possibly died young.

2. John Curling 1734 – 1806

He married Rebecca Addams by licence 24 Jan 1760 at Rotherhithe. Marriage Allegation 23 Jan.1760. John Curling of St. Mary, Rotherhithe abode 4 weeks, mariner, bachelor, 21, and Rebecca Adams of St. Mary Rotherhithe, abode 4 weeks, spinster, 21; at St. Mary, Rotherhithe.  Ex Ancestry. Their children were:

• Rebecca bap St Mary Rotherhithe 28 Aug 1761 (3 days old). Buried St Nicholas Deptford 18 Dec 1763, a child from Rotherhithe ex Ancestry PR.
• William bap St Mary Rotherhithe 27 Sep 1762 (3 weeks old) ex Ancestry PR. He married Elizabeth Curtis on 18 Nov 1806 at St Giles in the Fields [Ancestry P R] and they had 4 children, but only one outlived William, who died in Hitchin, Hertfordshire, but was buried, as specified in his will [proven 13 Jan 1843 Ancestry], at St Mary, Rotherhithe on 21 Dec 1842 [Ancestry P R]. In the 1841 census they are living in Hitchin with Elizabeth’s sister Margaret Curtis. Elizabeth died in Hitchin in 1850, and she too specified in her will [proved 2 Nov 1850 Ancestry] that she should be buried in Rotherhithe. The burial is recorded on 11 Oct 1850 at St Mary, Rotherhithe [Ancestry P R]
• John bap St Mary Rotherhithe 1 Dec 1765 (10 days old) [Ancestry P R]. He is mentioned in his grandfather’s 1775 will, but not in his father’s 1795 will. Our assumption is that he had died between those dates,but no burial has been found.
• Rebecca bap Rotherhithe 4 Sep 1768 dau of John and Rebecca aged 22 day [Ancestry P R]. See George Curling Joad, son of Jane, see below.
• Catherine bap St Mary Rotherhithe 25 Oct 1774 (28 days old) [Ancestry P R]. We can find nothing else, and assume she died when young, as she does not appear in her father’s 1795 will.

In 1792 insurance records show John Curling was living at 228 Prince’s Street, Rotherhithe, merchant and ship owner ex National Archives. He was buried on 9 Jul 1806 at St Mary, Rotherhithe, gentleman, aged 72 of Prince’s Street, [Ancestry P R]. His will, then of St Mary Marylebone, was written in 1795 and proved on 23 Jul 1806 [Ancestry]. It refers to his wife and two children: William and Rebecca, his brother Robert, and a nephew Richard Addams. Richard Addams was son of John’s sister Mary Curling who married Richard Addams. Richard and Rebecca Addams were brother and sister. There is no reference to a son John or daughter Catherine.

Rebecca Addam’s mother’s will proved 1766 refers to her daughters Ann and Mary and her married daughters Elizabeth Buxton, Sarah Maddox, Rebecca Curling and to a son Richard. Jesse CURLING (brother to John who married Rebecca Addams) and Frances Maddox (niece?) were witnesses.

The will of John Curling of Prince’s Street dated 17 Sep 1795 refers to his wife Rebecca, son William, daughter Rebecca, brother Robert and nephew Richard Addams the younger. The will was probated on 23 Jul 1806. John was buried 9 Jul 1806 at St Mary, Rotherhithe – “John Curling, Gentleman of Prince’s Street” [per Ancestry P R]. John’s wife, Rebecca, was named as one of the executors, but she predeceased John and was buried on 5 Dec 1804 at St Mary, Rotherhithe [Ancestry P R], “Rebecca, wife of John Curling, gent. of Prince’s Street”.

3. Jesse Curling 1737 – 1817

Born 24 Dec 1737 and baptised 1 Jan 1737/38 i.e. a few days later Ebenezer Chapel PR ex FMP. He married Elisabeth Hallum on 16 Jun 1770 at St Mary, Rotherhithe botp and both single, Witnesses Sam Gillam and Mary Curling – probably Samuel Gillam JP, surgeon of Rotherhithe. Ex Ancestry PR. The marriage bond is clearly Hallum.. Jessie had two children: both referred to in his will:

• Jesse bap St Mary, Rotherhithe 5 Jun 1773 son of Jesse [Ancestry P R – indexed Carling]. On 10 Dec 1795 at St Mary, Newington he married Harriet Hancock. They had twelve children, all of whom were baptised at St Mary Magdalene, Bermondsey. Their third child was Harriet Eliza Curling (1799-1856) who married George Curling Joad, son of Jane – see below. Their fifth child was William, who became a priest, and subsequently presided over many of the family’s baptisms, marriages and burials.
  • Elizabeth bap St Mary, Rotherhithe 22 Apr 1771 dau of Jesse [Ancestry P R – indexed Curlin]. Her death, on 19 Jun 1844, was recorded on the tomb of her grandfather, John Curling, in St Laurence, Ramsgate, where she was buried on 26 Jun 1844, aged 73 from Margate [FMP P R] (she remained single).

Jesse was a Deputy Lieutenant of Surrey see here  and active in the Church Missionary Society. In his will of 1816 (then of Rotherhithe) and proved 26 Mar 1817, he left money to a Charity school in Ramsgate and to a Merchant Seaman’s Hospital. He referred to his late wife, son Jesse Curling of Bermondsey and his wife Harriet, his daughter Elizabeth Curling, to Richard Coombes his coachman and to a servant, Anne Pickering, to his nurse, Elizabeth Walker, and to Henry Payne, gentleman of Bermondsey, and, at length, to Mary Ruffle his housekeeper. There is also a reference to 28 Paradise Row, Rotherhithe.  Jesse Curling “of Rotherhithe aged 80” was buried on 14 Mar 1817 at St Mary Magdalene, Bermondsey [Ancestry P R] and his will was proven on 26 Mar 1817 [Ancestry].

4. Robert Curling 1741 – 1809

There is extensive coverage of him see  http://www.stgitehistory.org.uk/media/curling.html

He was very involved with shipping as owner and as Chairman of the Society of Ship Owners of Great Britain and Churchwarden at St George in the East 1792. He was of Torrington Street, St George in the East.

Robert was born in Ramsgate on 10 Sep 1741, and baptised at the Ebenezer Independent Chapel on 13 Sep 1741 [Ancestry P R], “Robert the son of John & Katherin (Sumnr)“. He married Ann Spencer by licence at St George in the East, on 11 Oct 1768 [Ancestry P R]; John was a bachelor and Ann a spinster. The witnesses were Edward Spencer (her father or her brother) and Mary Curling (his sister who later married Richard Addams). The Spencer family also originated in Ramsgate, with Ann being baptised at St Lawrence on 24 Sep 1747, daughter of Edward and Ann (née Thompson) [FMP PR].

Robert and Ann had 10 children, all baptised at St George in the East.

• Ann Spencer bap 17 Aug 1769 at St George in the East [Ancestry PR, indexed Carling]. Ann, while a minor, married William Young on 15 Sep 1789 at St George in the East, the witnesses were their fathers, Robert Curling and David Young. William was in the Royal Navy, ultimately rising to Rear Admiral. It was William, in partnership with Ann Spencer’s father, Robert who controlled the shipbuilding at Limehouse, although the company Curling, Young & Co was probably founded by their sons, Jesse Curling and George Frederick Young.in around 1820. William and Ann had thirteen children. Ann died on 6 Mar 1864 at Denmark Hill, Camberwell and was buried on 12 Mar 1864 at Norwood Cemetery aged 94 [Ancestry P R].
• Robert bap 6 Sep 1770 at St George in the East [Ancestry P R]. From The Naval Chronicle, Naval History of the Present Year, 1800, Obituaries:
• 
• In St Lawrence churchyard there is a memorial to Robert’s grandparents, Edward and Ann Spencer, which includes “Also Robert CURLING, Junior, grandson of above, died on his passage from Jamaica 9th November 1799, aged 29 years“. Some time after his death, a young girl arrived in England, Eliza Ogilvie Marner. She first appears in Robert’s mother’s will dated 27 May 1820. On 30 May 1820 she married Nathaniel Domett jun. In the will of Robert’s brother, William dated 1 Feb 1851, there is the following – “my niece Eliza Ogilvie Domett the widow of Nathaniel Domett Junior Esquire, beloved daughter of my older brother, Robert Curling, deceased“.[Will Ancestry]. Eliza appears on the 1851 and 1861 Censuses, and confirms her birth in Jamaica c. 1795.
• Edward Spencer bap 4 Sep 1772 [Ancestry P R]. On 15 Apr 1797 at St George the Martyr, Canterbury, he married Mary Ann Young [FMP transcription only]. They had three children, only one of which survived to adulthood. Edward Spencer died on 26 Mar 1850 in Deal, Kent and was buried at St George’s, Deal on 2 Apr 1850 [FMP P R]. He was subsequently re-interred at St John the Evangelist, Kingsdown, near Deal on 12 Jul 1850 [FMP P R], the church totally financed by his brother William. Edward’s brothers William and John were also subsequently buried here.
• William bap 5 Aug 1773 [Ancestry P R]. William married Elizabeth Green on 27 Apr 1827 at St James, Westminster [Ancestry P R], at the age of 54. They had no children. William and Elizabeth were well known in the Kingsdown area as philanthropists who financed the local church and the schoolhouse. He was known as William of Kingsdown and Blackheath, and in his will [Ancestry] also of Limehouse, where the family ship-building yards were situated. There are several Memorials to him in the Kingsdown church, see here and also a small one in St Anne’s, Limehouse. William died on 4 May 1853, as detailed on the Memorial Inscription at Kingsdown, where he was buried on 11 May 1853 [FMP P R]. William left a lengthy will which corroborates many of the relationships discussed here [Will Ancestry].
• Elizabeth bap 28 Jul 1777 [Ancestry P R – indexed Cruling – date wrong in transcription]. On 12 Sep 1801 she married Nathaniel Domett at St George in the East by Licence [Ancestry P R]. The witnesses were Robert Curling (her father) and Ann Young (her sister, married to William Young). Nathaniel was a widower, having previously been married to Susannah Cartwright in Lyme Regis by whom he had a single son, Nathaniel who married Robert Curling’s natural daughter, (see above). Nathaniel and Elizabeth had nine children, two of which died at a young age, and one we are unable to find anything after his baptism. One son, Alfred became the fourth Premier of New Zealand. Alfred was also a poet and a great friend of Robert Browning. Browning’s poem “Waring” was written about Alfred, when Alfred first emigrated to New Zealand.
  • Catherine bap 24 May 1780 [Ancestry P R – indexed Auling – gives father as Thomas, but address is Samson’s Gardens which is the same address as on most of the other childrens’ baptisms – appears to be a P R error]. There certainly was a daughter Catherine as she appears in both her father and her mother’s will. In the 1841 Census she is living in Denmark Hill with her sister Mary Rebecca and Mary’s husband William Forbes, together with their niece Jessie Curling, daughter of brother John and Jobina, his wife. Catherine’s death is recorded in the first quarter of 1848, and she was buried 9 Mar 1848 at St Giles, Camberwell.
• John bap 28 Jun 1784 at St George in the East [Ancestry P R]. On 30 Jul 1806 he married Jobina Maria Styles, by licence, at St Giles, Hackney [Ancestry P R]; they were both single and John is described as from Hitchin. John and Jobina had three sons and six daughters. The first two children were baptised at The Jamaica Row Independent Church, in Bermondsey, and when John inherited Offley Holes Farm, on the death of his father, the family moved there, and the remaining children were baptised at St Mary, Hitchin. A detailed history of Offley Holes can be found here. By 1832 the family had moved to Gosmore End, where they can be found in the 1841 and 1851 censuses. John died on 8 Apr 1863 at Denmark Hill, but was buried on 15 Apr 1863 at his brother, William’s church of St John the Evangelist, Kingsdown, near Deal [FMP P R] “of Gosmore, Herts aged 79“. Jobina died in 1870 at Gosmore and was buried on 7 May 1870 [FMP P R] in the Old Section of Hitchin Cemetery, with several of her children. The memorial is extremely worn, but it is possible to identify five of her children (see here),
• Mary Rebecca bap 22 Sep 1786 [Ancestry P R]. She married William Forbes by licence on 20 Nov 1811 at Melcombe Regis, Dorset [FMP – transcription only]. William and Mary appear to have had no children. They lived in Denmark Hill, from where William was buried at Norwood Cemetery on 21 Dec 1830, but the burial record states “removed from Torquay” [Ancestry P R]. Mary Rebecca spent the rest of her life between Denmark Hill and St Leonard’s, Hastings, where she died on 9 Jan 1873 [per probate : Ancestry].
• Emma bap 5 Jul 1789 [Ancestry P R – indexed Cenling]. Emma died aged 1 year and 1 month in 1790 and Emma from St Georges was buried 5 Aug 1790 at St John of Wapping [Ancestry P R].
• Jesse bap 29 Aug 1791 [Ancestry P R – address now Torrington Street]. Jesse died of smallpox aged 4 years and 10 months in 1796 and Jesse from Torrington Street was buried 25 Jun 1796 at St John of Wapping [Ancestry P R].

5. Jane Curling 1735 –

Jane was born in Ramsgate on 12 Sep 1735 and baptised at the Ebenezer Independent Chapel on 14 Sep 1735 [Ancestry P R]. The entry in the P R gives the mother as Katherin (Hooper). We know from John Curling (1710-1779)’s will that he had a daughter Jane. We can find no evidence of another John Curling marrying a Katherin or marrying another Hooper, so we believe that there was an error in this entry in the P R.

Jane married, as confirmed by her father’s will, Andrew Joad, by Licence at St Lawrence on 13 Mar 1764, both single [FMP P R]. One of the witnesses was Robert Curling, her brother.

Andrew and Jane had three children, all baptised at St John the Baptist, Margate.

• Thomas Joad born 19 Dec 1764, bap 1 Jan 1765 [FMP P R]; Thomas Joad, infant was buried at St Peter’s, Broadstairs on 24 Nov 1766 [FMP P R]
• George Curling Joad born 25 Feb 1766, bap 14 Mar 1766 [FMP P R]. We believe that George married his first cousin Rebecca Curling, however we have been unable to find the marriage. There is a very limited transcription of a Marriage Licence on FMP which merely states that a Licence was issued for Joad / Curling on 7 Sep 1798. They had three children, all baptised at St Mary, Rotherhithe, between 1800 and 1805, which would fit with the 1798 marriage, but all three predeceased their father. Rebecca died on 7 Feb 1835 as reported in The Kentish Gazette – “in Dartmouth Row, Blackheath, Rebecca, wife of George Joad Esq. in her 67th year”. George subsequently married the daughter of his first cousin Jesse Curling, Harriet Eliza Curling, in 1836 as reported in the Morning Post (see below). Although George was 70 at the time of this marriage, he fathered a son, George Curling Joad, who was baptised at Walmer, Deal, Kent on 1 Feb 1838. George junior’s birth was registered in the fourth quarter of 1837 and George senior was buried on 5 Jan 1838, so it is just possible that he witnessed the birth of his son. George senior was buried at St Mary, Rotherhithe, and the P R states “of Blackheath, but died nr, Deal” [Ancestry P R]. George left a will [proved 3 Feb 1838 Ancestry].

Sarah Joad born 27 Nov 1770, bap 12 Dec 1770 [FMP P R]. Sarah married Pheasant Marriott 27 Jul 1793 at The Dissenters’ Meeting House, Banbury, Oxfordshire [Ancestry P R]. They had at least 8 children and Sarah was buried on 16 Apr 1810 in Daventry, Northamptonshire [Ancestry P R – “wife of Pheasant Marriott”]

We have been unable to find burial records for Jane or her husband Andrew.

6. Mary Curling 1745 – 1835

Mary was born in Ramsgate on 27 Oct 1745 and baptised at the Ebenezer Independent Chapel on 5 Nov 1745 [Ancestry P R]. Her father, John’s will confirms that she married Richard Addams, which was at St Mary, Rotherhithe on 12 Aug 1773. The witnesses were her brother Jesse and his wife Elizabeth.

Richard and Mary had at least nine children all baptised at St Mary, Rotherhithe [all Ancestry P R]

• Richard Addams bap 29 May 1774. He married Mary Bishop on 9 Aug 1805 at St Marylebone [Ancestry P R], witnesses were Mary’s parents, Nathaniel and Jane, and Richard’s sister Ann. Richard left a will which indicates that they had no children [Proved 25 Jun 1812 Ancestry]. Richard was buried at St Mary, Rotherhithe on 14 Jan 1812, aged 75 [Ancestry P R].
• William Addams bap 11 Sep 1775; “William Adams, a child from Rotherhithe” was buried at St Nicholas, Deptford on 27 Mar 1777 [Ancestry P R].
• Mary Addams bap 15 Dec 1776. She married Henry Dixon at St Mary Rotherhithe on 3 Sep 1801, witnesses included Richard, John and Ann Addams, her siblings. They had 12 children, the first six were baptised in Rotherhithe, then the family moved to Berkshire. By the 1841 Census, Mary and three of her unmarried daughters were back in Portman Square, where she died in 1854, with a will, [Proved 3 Mar 1855 Ancestry]. She was buried on 20 Dec 1854 at All Souls Cemetery, Kensal Green [Ancestry P R]
• William Addams bap 3 May 1778 [Ancestry P R]. He appears in 1841 Census as a grocer in Rotherhithe and probably died 1844 and was buried 15 Oct 1844 in Norwood Cemetery [Ancestry P R], although the burial record states that he was from Wapping Wall, which is just over the river from Rotherhithe.
• John Addams bap 3 Oct 1779. John Addams, grocer was buried on 16 Aug 1806 at St Mary, Rotherhithe [Ancestry P R]
• Ann Addams bap 11 Feb 1782. Ann did not marry and died in Jun 1854 at Portman Square, Marylebone, leaving a will [proved 26 Jun 1854 Ancestry].
• Sarah Addams
• Catherine Addams – Sarah and Catherine were twins bap 17 Jan 1784 and buried together at St Nicholas, Deptford on 29 Jan 1784 “twins of Richard and Mary Addams, grocer in Rotherhithe” [Ancestry P R].
  • Jesse Addams bap 22 Jan 1786. He married Arabella Bishop (sister of Mary Bishop, who married his brother Richard) on 19 Sep 1815 at St Pancras [Ancestry P R]. Arabella was first cousin of Mary Graham-Clarke, the mother of Elizabeth Barrett-Browning, the poet. Jesse and Arabella had at least eight children. Jesse was a QC in the High Court and a Doctor of Common Law. The probate record for Jesse’s will states that he died on 25 May 1871 at Marylebone Road. Interestingly, one of their children, Arabella Addams married William Surtees Cook (aka Surtees Altham) who was a widower, having previously been married to Henrietta Moulton-Barrett, the sister of Elizabeth Moulton-Barrett, later known as Elizabeth Barrett-Browning. William and Henrietta were second cousins, as were William and Arabella. All three were second cousins to Elizabeth Barrett-Browning. See above, where Robert Curling’s grandson, Alfred Domett was a very good friend of her husband, Robert Browning.

Mary died at Paradise Row, Rotherhithe in 1835 and was buried at St Mary, Rotherhithe on 10 Jun 1835 at “nearly 90 years” according to the burial record [Ancestry P R]. She left a will which was proven on 18 Jul 1836 [Ancestry].

7. Katherin Curling 1749 –

Katherin was born in Ramsgate on 16 Oct 1749 and baptised at the Ebenezer Chapel on 22 Oct 1749 [Ancestry P R]. Her father John’s will states that she married William Cobb, which marriage, by licence, was on 3 Nov 1770 at St Lawrence [FMP P R], both were single.William was a ropemaker by trade. There is a news report of their daughter, Anne’s marriage in 1795, which states that her mother was Mrs Cobb, baker – presumably a trade she took up after her husband’s death.

William and Catharine had 5 children, all baptised at St John the Baptist, Margate [all FMP P R]

• Anne Cobb bap 23 Sep 1771. Ann married William Humble, a schoolmaster, by licence at St John the Baptist, Margate on 4 Jul 1795 [FMP P R], and they had ten children, all baptised at St Lawrence. This marriage is confirmed in Anne’s mother’s will [see below]. We believe that William was the first headmaster of Chatham House School in Ramsgate, see here.
• William Cobb bap 9 Apr 1773. William married Elizabeth Mitchener at St Johns on 6 Nov 1797, and they had five children. Their firstborn died in infancy, but the other four are all confirmed in William’s 1847 will [Ancestry]. William died at the age of 77 in Margate and was buried at St John’s on 30 Mar 1850 [FMP P R]. Both Elizabeth and her sister Susanna, below, were daughters of John Mitchener, a renowned publican and hotelier in Margate, see The New Inn and The York Hotel. As can be seen, the New Inn is advertising Cobb’s Margate Brewery, but the brewery, and Cobb’s bank were administered by cousins of this line of the family.
• John Curling Cobb bap 15 Mar 1775. He married Susanna Mitchener (sister of Elizabeth, above) at St John’s on 22 Feb 1802. They had three children, all baptised at St John’s, prior to John’s early death in 1806, aged 31. Two of the children died as infants. John Curling Cobb was buried at St John’s on 7 Feb 1806 [FMP P R]. Susanna died in 1831 and was buried at St John’s on 2 Aug 1831 [FMP P R].
• Francis Cobb bap 18 Jul 1777. On 27 May 1810. He married Jane Fuller by Licence, at St John’s, Margate [FMP P R]. Francis and Jane had five children, also all baptised at St John’s. He was buried at St John’s, aged 41 on 8 Feb 1818. Their firstborn died in infancy, and their second child, Catherine died aged 20 in 1832 [FMP P R]. The youngest three children are mentioned in his mother’s 1836 will, as is his widow, Jane [see below].
• Thomas Cobb was born on 9 May 1780 and bap 28 May 1780 [FMP P R]. He died at the age of 19, and was buried at St John’s on 22 Sep 1799 [FMP P R].

William died in 1784 and was buried at St John’s on 5 Aug 1784. Catherine died in 1837 and was buried at St John’s, Margate on 21 Mar 1837, aged 87 [FMP P R]. A summary of her will is available here

To be continued