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I have never been able to find any record of Thomas’s birth (nor has any one else who has been researching this branch of the family). My initial theory was that Peter must have been alive in 1841 which would mean his death would be post national registration. I began by checking all Peters who died from 1837 onwards.
1. Peter 1842, Bermondsey – age 18 yrs so born around 1824
2. Peter 1842, Worth – Sussex – age 63yrs so born around 1779
3. Peter 1858, Bermondsey – age 88yrs so born around 1770
4. Peter 1865, Bermondsey
5. Peter 1866, Fareham, Hampshire - age 82yrs so born around 1784
6. Peter 1871, Southampton – age 63yrs so born around 1808
7. Peter 1881, Lambeth
8. Peter 1901, - age 86yrs so born around 1815
I stopped checking after 1901 as Peter must have been born by about 1795 at the latest and I’m fairly sure if we had a direct ancestor who’d lived past 100 years I’d have known about it. (Male Caffyns in our family line are not known for their longevity.)
I discounted Peters no:1,6 and 8 straightaway. Too young.
I wasn’t keen on any of the London or Hampshire Peters as we’ve always been a Sussex based family but that was no reason to discount them.
Peter no5 was a master tailor which whilst its not totally unreasonable to be farmer in 1841 and then a tailor by 1866 does tend to suggest he is not my Peter. I discounted Peter no3 on the same grounds, at the time of his death he was a master shoemaker.
I found a copy of Peter no7’s will, he lived in Lewes, Sussex but had gone to visit his daughter when he died suddenly. I know this branch of the Caffyn family and this is not my Peter.
Peter no4?
I thought I had found my Peter when I got the death certificate of Peter no2, he was a farmer and lived in Sussex. Bingo! But it’s not the right Peter, I also have a copy of his will and he was a wealthy farmer who left everything to be divided between his sons, and Thomas was not one of them! Plus he is a Caffin and I was looking for a Caffyn.
I had based my premise that Peter was alive at the time of Thomas’s marriage on the fact that my marriage certificate lists my father as deceased but looking at others I realised that this doesn’t always apply. Back to the drawing board.
I spent years and years looking at baptismal records for parishes in Sussex especially around Shoreham and New Shoreham. Without finding Thomas. Although the 1841 census had him listed as born in Sussex it is not definite, he could have been born anywhere. Alternatively he may not of been christened. With the Sussex Caffyn family this is not unlikely, we have a strong Baptist history which was dying out in the early 1800’s. There are examples of other families where the father was raised as a Baptist by his parents but by the time his own children are born he has converted to Church of England and they are baptised.
So I began looking at my Baptist records for a Peter Caffyn and not too surprisingly I found one.
John Caffyn (1734-1805) and Mary Ellis married in 1764 in Warnham, Sussex. John was a farmer and minister of the Baptist Church in Shipley. They had five children, two daughters followed by three sons; their second son was born on the 22nd March 1771 in Rusper, Sussex. Peter married in April 1797 in Shipley – he married Mary Caffyn. I don’t know which branch of the Caffyn family Mary comes from although I like the idea of descending from two Caffyn families!
This Peter is a possible, location and time wise he fits. All I lack is proof!
Other information that has come to light is that there is a Mary Caffyn living with her son (a grocer) in Dorking at the time of the 1841 census. Her son is the Peter Caffyn who died in Lambeth in 1881 (see earlier). If this is the Mary Caffyn who was married to Peter Caffyn; then this Peter Caffyn could be a brother to Thomas. Peter was born in 1801, Thomas around 1810/13. Neither of them appears to have been baptised.
Something else to add to the picture: another Mary Caffyn died in 1870 and in her administration it mentions her brother Peter Caffyn, grocer of Dorking and her father, also Peter Caffyn. If she is a sister to Peter and Thomas, then her 1809 birth sits nicely in between them.
I just wish I could prove it. All I’ve been able to do so far is not disprove it.
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