Introduction

The study of genealogy is never more intriguing than when the records throw up a detached sprig that just will not fit to the main body of the family tree. Such is the case with Robert Craxford who lived with his family and worked in the small Cambridgeshire town of Huntingdon in the latter half of the eighteenth and early years of the nineteenth centuries. Best estimates suggest that he was born about 1756 but there is no evidence of the surname in the vicinity at the time, and no record of a Robert born in the main Craxford neighbourhoods in Northamptonshire. Nothing is known of his family, childhood or early adult life and the first mention of him is the occasion of his marriage.

Of equal curiosity is the marriage record for Elizabeth Craxford, to John Ashton (a widower at the time) in 1792, who must surely have been Robert's sister. There is no confirmed evidence for her history either before or after this date. There was another isolated nucleus of Craxfords who lived in the town of Crowland near Peterborough on the border of Lincolnshire and Cambridgeshire in the middle decades of the eighteenth century. The name faded from the local records by 1800, but Richard Craxford and Mary Green had a daughter, Elizabeth, in 1760 who may be the same.

The Craxford surname disappeared from the Huntingdon archives in the 1830s for reasons recounted here and in a companion article. However, for fifty years the name played a small but well-recorded part in the community and civic life of the town.

Family life

For centuries the historical county of Huntingdon was a small landlocked shire in the East Midlands and East Anglia bordered by Northamptonshire, Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire (with which it was merged in the local government reorgansiation of the 1970s). Huntingdon, the administrative centre, is a compact market town which still bears the imprint of its medieval layout although it had been a strategic river crossing from Roman times. One of its most famous sons, Oliver Cromwell (who became Lord Protector of England during the interegnum between King Charles I and II) was born here in 1599. A persisting landmark of the era is the George Hotel, an old coaching inn which still stands on the High Street, of which Oliver's Grandfather, Henry, was the landlord.

In the early thirteenth century there were sixteen churches in the town but by 1500, these had been reduced to four ecclesiastical parishes. Of particular interest here is the Church of St John the Baptist which was severely damaged during the Civil War and the building was demolished shortly afterwards. Its parish was amalgamated in 1668 with All Saints Church and for two centuries was known as the Church of All Saints & St John, although the second half of the name has now been dropped. All Saints Church stands immediately opposite the George. Occupying the north edge of a small square it faces Huntingdon Town House.

Robert married local girl, Mary Cockerill, at All Saints & St John's Church by licence in 1784. The Pallot Marriage Index indicates that they were both of St John's Parish. Mary was the daughter of Francis Cockerill who, from the appearance of his will written in February 1785, was a well-to-do member of the town. Francis had two sons, Robert and John, and a daughter, Alice, who was married to Thomas Jarvis.

At the time of their marriage, we can compute Robert's age to be about 28 years and Mary's to be 19 years. They settled down to married life in the town and over the next fourteen years, Mary gave birth to six daughters. They were all baptised at the same church: Mary (August 1785), Elizabeth (July 1788), Sarah (July 1790), Eleanor (May 1793), Charlotte (June 1795) and Ann (January 1800).

Hard times

It is apparent from the records that Robert Craxford was an established trader and businessman in the town. With his partner, John Hollidge, he established Huntingdon Old Stage Waggons. His occupation was described variously as carter / carrier (a driver of a horse-drawn waggon used for delivering goods), dealer and chapman (before the advent of factories, a merchant who invested in the raw materials of the cotton, woollen or silk trade, put out the work to spinners and weavers at home on piece-rates, and sold the products for profit) (2)

We do not know when the company was founded or for how long it traded, but it is clear that by 1790 Robert was in trouble. Writing with his partner in March 1791 from the Three Cups Inn, an old coaching inn which stood in Aldersgate, London EC (now the site of the Clarence Hotel), he made the following announcement in The Times: "Robert Craxford returns thanks to his Friends for favors received and begs leave to inform them that he has resigned the Business to John Hollidge at the Cross Keys Huntingdon for whom he felicits a continuance of their favors. And John Hollidge begs leave to inform the Friends of Mr Craxford and the Public in general, that he will take care that every part of that business shall be performed with the utmost punctuality, and their favors most gratefully acknowledge."

Robert's financial situated deteriorated as the summer progressed and by the end of July his position was untenable. He was declared bankrupt and was summoned to surrender himself to the Commissioners at the George Inn, Huntingdon the following month. The formal statement (A) was published in the London Gazette (4) "Whereas a Commission of Bankrupt is awarded and issued forth against Robert Craxford, late of the Town of Huntingdon, in the County of Huntingdon, Carrier, Dealer and Chapman, and he being declared a Bankrupt is hereby required to surrender himself to the Commissioners in the said Commission named, or the major Part of them, on the 16th and 17th of August next, and on the 10th Day of September following, at Eleven in the Forenoon, on each of the said Days, at Susannah Gimber's, the George, in Huntingdon, and make a full Discovery and Disclosure of his Estate and Effects; when and where the Creditors are to come prepared to proved their Debts, and at the Second Sitting to chuse Assignees, and at the last Sitting the said Bankrupt is required to finish his Examination, and the Creditors are to assent to or dissent from the Allowance of his Certificate. All persons indebted to the said Bankrupt, or that have any of his Effects, are not to pay or deliver the same but to whom the Commissioners shall appoint, but give Notice to Mr. Maule, Huntingdon, or Mr. Dix, Cook's-court, Carey-street, London."

After this initial series of three day hearings where Robert was required to account for his assets and meet with his creditors, the bankruptcy process ground on in its inevitable way. Later that year the first part of his debt (the first dividend B) was repaid to his creditors. The final dividend (C,D) was rendered towards the end of 1793 (5-7). There is no record of the proportion of reparation was made or even that his bankruptcy was ever discharged.

Council business

It seems, however, that Robert had a good eye for business and was an accomplished book-keeper because he did not remain unemployed for long. Under the stewardship of the Earl of Sandwich he created and maintained the Assembly Subscription Lists for Huntingdon and for the first decade of the century he was working as a collector for the Town Council.

Receipts in the archives give an indication of the range of his functions and duties. He was responsible for employing temporary servants, ordering stationery and paying various rates and utility bills. For this he received a remuneration of £5.5.0d per annum (£168.89 in today's money (8), which was raised to £6.15.0d in 1806.

At the same time, Mary was providing various housekeeping services at the Town Hall although there is no evidence that she received any payments in her own right.

DATE	DESCRIPTION	TITLE	REFERENCE (9)
30/04/1801	Waiters etc -for Assembly	Accounts 1800-1801	Box 9 Bundle 42: H/9/42
27/01/1802	Provisions & attendance at Court Hall	Hospital and Corporation Receipts and Bills 1801-1802	Box 10 Bundle 4: H/10/4
29/03/1802	Paving & lighting receipt	Hospital and Corporation Receipts and Bills 1801-1802	Box 10 Bundle 4: H/10/4
19/04/1802	Printing cards & Advertising	Assembly Accounts 1800-1802	Box 10 Bundle 6: H/10/6
21/05/1802	Paving & lighting rate	Hospital and Corporation Receipts and Bills 1801-1802	Box 10 Bundle 4: H/10/4
27/12/1802	Receipt 1 yrs salary £5.5.0d	Accounts 1801-1802	Box 10 Bundle 5: H/10/3
29/12/1803	Butter and cream supplied	Assembly 1802-1835	Box 7 Bundle 43: H/7/33
16/01/1805	2 years salary: receipt £10.10.0d	Receipts and Bills 1804-1805	Box 10 Bundle 9: H/10/9
20/05/1806	Receipt £6.15.0d: 1 yr salary	Corporation & Waldens Charity 1804-1806	Box 14 Bundle 8: H/14/8
15/11/1806	Salary re: 7 councils	Accounts 1801-1814	Box 8 Bundle 21: H/8/21
29/10/1807	Yearly salary	Corporation and Hospital Receipts and Bills 1805-1808	Box 10 Bundle 11: H/10/11
1810-1811	Yearly salary	Corporation & Waldens Charity 1810-1812	Box 9 Bundle 45: H/9/45

TABLE 1: Examples of Robert Craxford's activities for Huntingdon Council

DATE	DESCRIPTION	TITLE	REFERENCE (9)
13/03/1800	Wax candles & Groceries	Accounts 1798-1800	Box 7 Bundle 42: H/7/42
03/11/1803	Butter and cream supplied	Assembly 1802-1835	Box 7 Bundle 43: H/7/33
29/12/1807	Making window curtains for Assemby room	Mostly Assembly Accounts 1807-1808	Box 10 Bundle 12: H/10/12
28/07/1808	Cleaning chandeliers	Mostly Assembly Accounts 1807-1808	Box 10 Bundle 12: H/10/12

TABLE 2: Examples of Mary Craxford's activities for Huntingdon Council

To the end of an era

Robert died in 1812 and was buried on April 30th in the churchyard of All Saints & St John's Church. There are no residual signs to mark his grave. Mary continued to work in her husband's stead, at least on a temporary basis as Assembly Hall Keeper. The Council records show that she was paid for Corporation meetings during the first half of 1812 and received £3.18.9d as three quarters of a year's salary in January 1813.(10)

Nothing appears in the records for the next ten years. After that, her financial situation seems to have become more tenuous although it does appear that she was receiving ongoing support from the Council. Repairs were carried out on her property in 1822 for which John Bushell was paid £3.14.6d (11). She was also in receipt of annual payments of £5.0.0d (12,13), described as an annuity, from Fishbourne's Charity. Richard Fishbourne (14), an early seventeenth century mercer, by his will dated 30 March 1625, gave to the wardens and commonalty of the Company of Mercers, among other large sums of money, the sum of £2,000 to purchase land and hereditaments to the clear yearly value of £100, and to distribute the same to some good and charitable uses in Huntingdon, as in the maintenance of a lecture, etc. A legacy of £2,000 with other charitable funds was laid out in 1630 in the purchase of an estate at Chalgrave. The rent is distributed by the mayor to four poor widows not in receipt of parish relief. There are no further entries in the Council records after 1824. Mary died on August 24th 1828. She was 70 years of age. The local newspaper (15) reported: "She had dined and spent the day with her son-in-law, but a short time after retiring to her bed, she expired without a groan."

Of Robert and Mary's children, oldest daughter Mary died in April 1830 aged 44 years. She was buried at St James Church in the village of Little Paxton on the outskirts of St Neots, a distance of about 8 miles south of Huntingdon. She was apparently unmarried. We also know that youngest daughter Ann married Richard Hardwick, a cordwainer, in Huntingdon in 1828. By 1841 they had a son Robert (born 1836) and two daughters Ellen (born 1829) and Sarah (born 1838). The census of 1851 shows that Richard had died during the previous decade. Robert had become apprenticed as an errand boy to a watchmaker in the town, an occupation he was to follow for the next thirty years. Ann continued to live with her offspring in the High Street until her death in 1881. Robert died six years later and there is no evidence that any of them married.

There are two Craxford baptisms recorded in the Latter Day Saints Archives (Francis Cockerill Craxford in 1814 (16) and David Robert Stapleton Craxford in 1817). No formal identity of parentage has been confirmed but it seems likely that they are the illegitimate sons of at least one of the six daughters. Francis Cockerill Craxford fell foul of the law in 1834 and after a court case he was summarily removed from the country, abruptly ending the Craxford name's association with the town. His story is recounted in the companion article The Mystery Of Francis Cockerill Craxford

Footnote

The recent release of parish records and banns from the London Metropolitan Archives has led us to circumstantial but very strong evidence of the whereabouts of three more of Robert and Mary's daughters. Sarah Craxford married Jeremiah Summerhill at the Church of St James the Evangelist, Westminster on November 14th 1821. Sarah had two children; a son, Thomas, born in 1826, and a daughter, Mary in 1828. Charlotte Craxford married Henry Ifield at the same church just over a year later. Witness at both ceremonies was Eleanor Craxford. We have not found a similar pattern of female relatives anywhere else in the family tree.

References

1. The George Hotel, Huntingdon. Photograph: © Catherine Evans, and licenced for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence
2. Old Occupations (c): Hall Genealogy Website
3. Robert Craxford transfers business to John Hollidge: The Times 1C Issue 1493 (March 3rd 1791)
4. The Declaration of Bankruptcy: London Gazette Issue 13329 437 July 26th 1791
5. Payment of the First Dividend: London Gazette Issue 13356 599 October 25th 1791
6. Issuance of the Certificate of Bankruptcy: London Gazette Issue 13365 659 November 26th 1791
7. Payment of the Final Dividend: London Gazette Issue 13507 187 March 2nd 1793
8. "Convert old money into new". Find out how yesterday's prices compare with today's: Currency Converter at The National Archives
9. Huntingdon Borough Records 1205-1906: Cambridgeshire County Records Office, Huntingdon held at The National Archives
10. Receipts 1812-13: Box 10 Bundle 21; H/10/21 Huntingdon Borough Records 1205-1906: Cambridgeshire County Records Office, Huntingdon
11. "Building work on Mrs Craxford's house - 14/02/1822": Corporation Bills & Receipts 1821-23: Box 10 Bundle 42; H/10/42 Huntingdon Borough Records 1205-1906: Cambridgeshire County Records Office, Huntingdon
12. "Receipt £5 -amongst others M Craxford 08/07/1822": Fishbourne's Charity 1822-23 Box 10 Bundle 39; H/10/39 Huntingdon Borough Records 1205-1906: Cambridgeshire County Records Office, Huntingdon
13. "Receipt £5 1 yrs Annuity -amongst others M Craxford 10/07/1824": Corporation bills and recipts, Fishbourne's Charity 1823-1825 Box 10 Bundle 42; H/10/42 Huntingdon Borough Records 1205-1906: Cambridgeshire County Records Office, Huntingdon
14. 'The borough of Huntingdon: Religious houses, churches and charities', A History of the County of Huntingdon: Volume 2 (1932), pp. 139-148. British History Date accessed: 10 June 2010.
15. Death of Mary Craxford in "Died": Cambridge Chronicle and Journal. Friday August 29th 1828. The British Newspaper Archive; © The British Library Board.
16. International Genealogical Index file: Batch C168872: The LDS Church web site.
17. The marriage of Sarah Craxford and Jeremiah Summerhill: London, England, Marriages and Banns, 1754-1921 Westminster, St James the Evangelist 1821 Page 122: The London Metropolitan Archives
18. The marriage of Charlotte Craxford and Henry Ifield: London, England, Marriages and Banns, 1754-1921 Westminster, St James the Evangelist 1823 Page 163: The London Metropolitan Archives

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Added June 12th 2010
Updated: December 1st 2011

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