Jex's Farmhouse in the photograph to the left was the home of the HALL family of Little Snoring.
This page contains a couple of stories about the Halls and their descendants, solving at least one mystery about their family connections.
People: The Halls, Flogdells & Southgates
Updated on 23 July, 2012
A Circular Argument
Quite some time ago, I was sent a printout from the magazine of the Norfolk Family History Society. It was an article about families in the Snorings, especially the Flogdell, Hall and Southgate families.
Several questions arose in the article, including the question "Why is Mary Ann Flogdell described as the granddaughter of Charles Southgate?" This intrigued me, and I went on to solve to my own satisfaction the questions arising from it. You might like to read the original by clicking on the thumbnails below:
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After reading this (I love a challenge!) I decided to find out what family connections there were between the Flogdells, Halls and Southgates. I was later to discover that the Southgate branch were the MILLERS, the Flogdells were BAKERS and the Hall were FARMERS so they shared professional interests.
I confirmed the marriage of Alfred John SOUTHGATE to Mary Ann FLOGDALE, on Jan 20th 1875 in Walsingham, Norfolk - with children listed as Alfred 1876, Frederick 1877, Sydney 1880 and Alice 1881. So there's at least one connection - but the story gets much more complicated.
Alfred John Southgate turned out to be my ancestor. He was the son of William Southgate when he was married to Matilda Tuck. So I grew even more interested at this point. (See the graphic below).
Alfred John Southgate (born 1855 in Gt. Snoring) was a corn dealer. In the 1881 census he and his wife Mary Ann Flogdale (aged 26 from Walsingham, Norfolk) are living at 12, Keeton Road, Bermondsey, Surrey and they have young John Southgate - Alfred's brother - living with them.
The two youngest children were born in Bermondsey and Alfred and Fred were born in Gt. Snoring, so the guess is that the family moved away from Norfolk some time after 1877 and before 1880.
The Mysterious Mary Ann
But how does this connect with the Hall family? And why is Mary Ann earlier called the granddaughter of Charles Southgate? We need to go back a generation.
Mary Ann Flogdale's alleged father Joseph Flogdale (or Flogdell - many variations of names are used in the records) married Hannah HALL in January 1853 but Mary Ann was baptised in May that year, making her a Hall, but baptised as a Flogdale. Since Hannah's unmarried sister Sarah Ann Hall appears to have raised the baby Mary Ann, it might possibly be that Sarah Ann Hall was actually the mother, but that is conjecture.
In 1861 at the age of eight, Mary Ann was not living with Joseph and Hannah. Instead she was listed as the grand-daughter of Charles Southgate! But - as we already know, Alfred John Southgate was ALSO the grandchild of Charles Southgate... curiouser and curiouser!
In the 1861 census of Gt. Snoring, my ancestor Charles Southgate (William's father) was living with his “grand-daughter" Mary Ann Flogdell aged 8 and Sarah Ann HALL (unmarried) but Sarah is listed as the "daughter of Charles". That can be explained by Sarah Ann in fact being the daughter in law of Charles, but certainly Sarah Hall is Hannah's sister, for they were both the daughters of JAMES HALL of Jex's Farm Little Snoring.
| Chas | SOUTHGATE | Head | 71 | Farmer 88 Acres | |
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SOUTHGATE | Wife | 68 | ||
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SOUTHGATE | Daughter | 26 | None | |
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HALL | Daughter | 23 | (unmarried) None | Little Walsingham |
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FLOGDELL | Granddau | 8 | Daughter of Hannah? or Sarah Ann? |
Little Walsingham |
Charles Southgate (who married Ann Kerrison) was born in 1789, making him about 72 at the time of the 1861 census. It was his GRANDSON, Alfred John [son of Charles's son William Southgate] who married Mary Ann Flogdale (Flogdell).
It does appear as if Alfred had grown up in the same family as Mary Ann and was related to her by marriage. They were in effect cousins.
Another twist
But why is there a HALL girl living in the same house as Charles Southgate and Mary Ann Flogdell, and why is she said to be his "daughter"?
The presence of a HALL in the same house is because they were related by marriage. The daughter of Charles Southgate - Catherine Ann (or Jane) married Henry HALL. Henry was the brother of Hannah who had married Joseph Flogdale! Thus Sarah Ann Hall was his daughter [in law].
According to the 1841 census of Gt. Snoring, James Hall was married to Hannah (Howlett) and their children are:
- Mary aged 17
- James aged 14
- Henry aged 12 (married Catherine Jane Southgate)
- William aged 10
- Hannah aged 9 (married Joseph Flogdale)
- Rachel aged 7
- Robert aged 6
- John aged 4
- Sarah Ann aged 2 (lived with Charles Southgate and raised Mary Ann)
As we've seen, Mary Ann was raised in the household of Charles Southgate, by her supposed aunt Sarah Ann. However, Charles died in 1865, and this left Mary Ann without a guardian.
She now moves into the house of her paternal grandfather, James Hall, at Great Snoring. She is aged 18. As before, Sarah Ann Hall is present listed as the "housekeeper"; also two visitors from London, John and Henry Kitchin - I wonder if there is any family link there?
A few years later, in 1875 when Mary Ann was 20 years old, she married Alfred John Southgate as stated above. So she had married into the Southgate family who had first given her sanctuary, and Alfred John Southgate was the one who took up her guardianship from that point onwards.
