Have you ever wondered who your ancestors were? The people who, through a
series of chance meetings and events over countless centuries, resulted in you
being here today?

The excitement of finding out first engaged my attention some years ago,
sparked by my late mother’s belief that she was a direct descendant of one of
the famous school of Norwich artists – James Stark – on her paternal side. And
so it was that I joined the Norfolk Family History Society (NFHS) determined to
find out if that was true. The records at the NFHS compliment those held by the
Norfolk Record Office, and, together with a degree of patience, perseverance and
not a little perspiration, can be used by anyone to help trace their family’s
history in our county.

So, what did I find? My mother’s father and grandfather, both named Benjamin
Stark, were shoemakers in Norwich, but beyond that, apart from a few family
rumours, we knew little. The records at the NFHS helped steer me to William
Stark, Benjamin senior’s father and my 2x great-grandfather. Finding their
relationship proved one of our family rumours to be true – that one of the Stark’s
(who turned out to be William) really was fathering children when approaching
the age of 60, just as a family story had predicted.

William, a silk weaver, was twice married and a bit creative with his age, as he
told the registrars for his second wedding that he was a few years younger than
he really was, perhaps to narrow the supposed age difference between himself
and his second wife, herself also widowed.

Like so many poor people of early- to mid-Victorian times, William’s life was
often beset by tragedy. Living in the dank and cramped yards of Norwich with a
large and growing family, in the space of just four days in 1854 he buried his
first wife, a son and a daughter. Tough times indeed.

By now, the possibility of my being descended from James Stark the artist had
been proven false, showing that tracing your family history is just as likely to
dispel a family myth as it is to prove it. Another silk weaver – and another
surprise – awaited on the next generation back – Robert Stark. Born in 1773,
Robert was the illegitimate son of Lydia Starke, one of at least two sons she
bore by a father (or fathers) who, even after a decade of research, I have still
not been able to identify. During the eighteenth century an unmarried pregnant
woman was at risk of being publicly whipped. So, although I will probably never
know, it is possible that my 4x great-grandmother Lydia suffered this indignity.
Note also the addition of the ‘e’ in Lydia’s surname, just the kind of spelling
foible that the records at the NFHS can help unravel.

To recap, I’d found a widower who married a widow 24 years his junior and who
juggled around with his age in the records, an ancestor who fathered the last of
his 15 children when aged 57, and a 4x great-grandmother having children
outside marriage. Quite a lot to take in – and all one single ancestral line. Family
history can indeed be addictive!

If, like me, you know or have been told by older relatives that your ancestors
came from Norfolk, then help is close at hand at the NFHS to help you too
uncover more about the history of your family. The NFHS is based at Kirby Hall
at the top of St Giles Street, just a two minute walk from Norwich city centre. It
holds a huge repository of material to help get you started or continue on your
journey of discovery. Staffed entirely by volunteers, the centre contains vast
amounts of printed material, including detailed transcriptions of parish registers,
village information, maps, trade directories, manorial documents, pedigrees and
will documents, plus computer access to the main online record sets. Even if you
are not local to Norwich, then membership opens up access to a huge reservoir
of online resources from parishes right across the county.

Membership of the Society, which starts from just £12 per annum, comes with
the added bonus of a quarterly magazine ‘The Norfolk Ancestor’ of which I am
now the proud Editor, access to transcribed records online that are hard to find
anywhere else, regular talks via Zoom on subjects of Norfolk and family history
interest, and a look-up service which might just help you break through that
pesky brick wall.

You’ll also be joining an active community of individuals, both locally and around
the world, who share a fascinating interest. If you would like to get involved,
then joining the Norfolk Family History Society is easy. Just go to the NFHS
website, click on ‘Join’ and follow
the instructions on screen.

Those of us who support the Society don’t know what you might find out, but a
warm welcome is guaranteed!

Written by Alan Harper, Editor, The Norfolk Ancestor