Robert Staveley is the son of Robert Staveley (born:1637) and Elizabeth Staveley nee Moone (born: 1640). He was born on the 31st March 1673 in the tiny village of Millington, near Pocklington. This small village with a population of just 120 people and 30 homes would actually seem to have been home to more than one local Robert Staveley.

The first Robert Staveley was born in 1678 and married to an Alice but we also have a Robert Staveley born in 1682 who married an Elizabeth Jefferson. Our own Robert Staveley was born and baptized in the village of Millington but the family would move to Kirkburn.

Peter Staveley one of the main researchers of Staveley ancestry looked into this in some detail a few years ago. The Hearth tax was a local tax invented by Charles II to raise revenue. It was based on the number of fireplaces your house had. A bit like the equally hated Window tax of 1696. It shows us that there was only one Staveley household in Millington in 1672. This is recorded as a Robert Staveley with one fireplace. It would seem to be that of our Robert Staveley and his father.

Robert Staveley marries Frances nee Harrison on the 1st March 1702 at Kirkburn. The next year they have a daughter Ann. The family would live in Kirkburn for the next 40 years. Sadly Ann dies on the 20th April 1706 at the age of three. In the same year on July 10th their son John is born at North Dalton ( just 3.5 miles away )

Now back in Kirkburn their daughter Elizabeth is born on the 9th May 1709, followed by Ann on the 5th February 1711. Richard is born on the 4th October 1711 and Isaac in 1715. Finally we see the birth of William on the 20th August 1719.

Richard, John and Isaac all survive and get married. You can see their details on the family tree. Robert Staveley is buried at Tibthorpe on February 15th 1753. Frances Staveley dies two years later in 1755.

Isaac Staveley is born in 1715 the son of Robert Staveley (1673-1753) and Frances Staveley nee Harrison (1674-1755). He is born in Kirkburn, Yorkshire which is just 3 miles south-west of Driffield. His baptism takes place in 1721 at the age of six.

Isaac marries Ann Piercy on the 3rd July 1748 at Leven, York. Their first child named Elizabeth has already been born at Kilburn on January 29th. They have a son named Michael who is born on the 19th November 1750. They then have three daughters in succession; Dinah born May 1st 1753, Hannah born June 24th 1755 and Mercy ( Mary ) born February 19th 1758. All born in Kirkburn. The church at Kirkburn has been a place of worship to the Staveleys for 300 years. There are number of Staveley graves here both with and without headstones.

William is born on the 8th June 1760. Unfortunately their daughter Elizabeth dies in December 1760 and by the following March William has also passed away. Isaac is born on the 3rd December 1761 in Kirkburn. Ann, their last child, is born in 1764 but not in Harpham. It would appear that the family are now in Nafferton.

Isaac would have been one of the last gentleman farmers in our own Staveley line. His descendants would find farming much more of a struggle with some managing to make a reasonable living but many more suffering from the changes that were about to take place.

Isaac dies on January 28th 1771 at Kirkburn. Probate from the Exchequer Courts of York is in December 1771 at Nafferton. Isaac is buried at St Mary Churchyard at Kirkburn. His wife Ann Staveley ( Piercy ) dies on the 10th August 1810.

The family would have been of good standing in the local area. They certainly had the means to ensure that they received a proper burial. Their memorial (pictured above ) is by the entrance door of the Kirkburn Church alongside Isaac’s brother William. There is very little else that we can tell you about Isaac.

Michael Staveley is the son of Isaac Staveley (1715-1771) and Ann Peircy (1726-1810). He was was born at Kirkburn, Yorkshire. Michael later moved to Nafferton where he would marry Mary Rawson. They had a son called Michael who was born on the 9th June 1773. Unfortunately their son would die in infancy in September 1774. Mary Staveley is thought to have died a year later in 1775.

On the 5th January 1776, Michael marries Penelope Jefferson in Nafferton. Their first child is born on the 17th July in the same year at Harpham but he dies in infancy in 1777. They have a daughter called Frances who is born on the 21st December 1777 at Burton Agnes. This is followed by the birth of a son named Richard, also at Burton Agnes, on the 10th November 1779. As you can see from the map, Burton Agnes is just 1.4 miles from Harpham.

On February the 14th at Harpham in 1782 we see the birth of another daughter named Judith. Their son William is born on March 21st 1784 at Harpham. Samuel Staveley is born on June 15th 1788 at Harpham, and Hannah on June 10th 1791. The family is expanding and Michael must be doing reasonably well as a farmer. Michael is a husbandman by occupation. This means that he is a farmer below the rank of Yeoman. An average farmer in his local area.

The couple are settled in Harpham and continue to have more children. Francis is born on September 14th in 1795 but dies in infancy later in the year. Mark Staveley is born on the 13th March 1972 but he dies in April of the same year. Their daughter Frances marries a Thomas Anderson on October 15th 1798.

In 1800 Michael was left a bequest of £150 in the will of his Uncle William. Michael and Penelope have their last child, also named Penelope, on the 17th May 1801. Michael is aged 50 when this child is born. His wife is 46. This year we see the first British Census and the results show that the population number 8,892,536.

In 1820 Sir Francis Boynton leased Michael and his son Richard over 200 acres of land at Barmston. Sir Francis Boynton, one of the Boynton Baronets, had a stately home in Burton Agnes near Harpham. He would have known Michael Staveley and his family quite well. I am fairly certain that this move by Michael was to help secure his sons future in farming. Since Michael was now 70 years of age it was unlikely to be of any benefit to him.

Michael dies in 1820 in the same year that he signs the lease. He is buried at the St. John of Beverley Churchyard, Harpham. Richard would continue with the leased land at Barmston. To follow the history of this family take a look at the life of William Staveley his son.

Penelope dies at the age of 67 at Kirby Grindalythe near Malton.

William Staveley is the son of Michael Staveley (1750-1820) and Penelope Staveley, nee Jefferson (1758-1825). He was born on the 21st March 1784 in Harpham. The village of Harpham is approximately 5 miles north-east of Driffield and 7 miles south-west of Bridlington.

It is important to note that the first census in England did not take place until 1801 and it was not until 1841 that a more detailed census would appear. Consequently this makes tracing family history more difficult before this period.

William married a Mary Wilson at the Parish Church of Wharram Percy on the 19th July 1806 at the age of 22. Mary Wilson was 15 years old. Together they would have nine children including a son named William. Wharram Percy is a deserted medieval village in the Yorkshire Wolds. The marriage actually took place at Burdale which is 8 miles south east of Malton. Although just a hamlet, Burdale is mentioned in the Domesday Book. It is also a deserted medieval village. The farm here was probably quite remote.

William had nine children including a son named William who would die young and who married a Frances Proctor and lived in Muston. William’s brother Richard and his father Michael had leased a 200+ acre farm at Barmston from Sir William Boynton in 1820. William may have worked on this farm since the family were living in Harpham nearby. Click to view the lease.

In 1807 Their daughter Mary is born in Harpham. Their son Michael follows in 1808 and is also born in Harpham. Samuel is born in 1810 but he dies in infancy and they have another son called Samuel in the same year. Wilson is born in 1812 and their first daughter Penelope in 1814. In 1815 Daughter Elizabeth is born, followed by Julia in 1817. William their last child is born in 1819.

Up until the birth of Penelope in 1814, the family had remained in Harpham but in 1815 they are in Reighton and by 1817 in Fridaythorpe. The situation in farming is becoming difficult. It is becoming harder to find work. Despite the fact that there are two generations of Staveleys being born in Harpham by the time the 1841 census arrives there are no Staveleys left here. His brother Samuel would move to London. Other members of the family to Tibthorpe and other Yorkshire villages.

Elizabeth Staveley died on the 18th December 1849 at Reighton. William died in February 1857 at Driffield and was buried on the 25th of February in Great Driffield. Things were now becoming desperate in farming and for his sons and their families it would be a fight for survival.

I did not include all of William’s brothers and sisters here but you can learn more about them by visiting our Family Tree.

Francis Staveley, the son of William Staveley (1819-1849) & Frances (Fanny) Staveley nee Proctor (1824-1882) was born in Reighton on the 29th March 1846. It is worth mentioning that there is also another Francis Staveley at North Burton who was born 21st November 1846. North Burton ( Burton Fleming ) is just 3.7 miles from Hunmanby. They are related and would have known each other well.

Francis would never have known his father who died in 1849 leaving Frances (Fanny) responsible for the children. He would have been two or three years old. His sister Elizabeth was born in 1848 the last of the children of William Staveley. His brother John is a half brother and the father is likely to have been Richard Jenkinson, a family friend.

The 1851 Census tells us that Francis was living in Muston at 5 Hunmanby Street. It looks nice now but if you have read the details about his father you will know that living conditions would not have been ideal. He probably lived in cramped, overcrowded and damp lodgings during his entire childhood and working life. His father died from Typhus Fever, a bacterial disease associated with unhygienic conditions and caused by fleas, lice and mites. This family was poor and farming was in crisis.

At the time of the 1861 census he can be found in Grindale at the age of 15 and working as plough boy. Grindale is a small village located in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The village is situated approximately 3 miles north-west from the town of Bridlington. Grindale is part of the civil parish of Bempton. The village is surrounded by beautiful countryside and farmland.

At the age of 25 we know that Francis is still living at 5 Hunmanby Street in Muston with his mother Fanny Staveley who is a char woman ( a cleaner ) and his half brother John who is now aged 9. Fanny is now 48 and Francis is an agricultural labourer. Elizabeth is not shown as living here and could have moved to find work. On the 11th November 1871 Francis marries Eliza Mary Burrows, aged 24, in Muston.

In 1881 Francis is a widower. He has no children. Either he divorced Eliza or she possibly died in child birth. He is living at West Street in Muston and is a farm labourer aged 34. We are fairly sure that the residence in West Street was the Ship Inn. I have not at the time of writing managed to find a record of the death of Eliza Mary Burrows.

Francis would then go on to marry Elizabeth Peam and the couple would have 5 children: Betsey born 1881, John Francis born 1883, Jane E Staveley born 1887, George born 1888 and Maud Mary born 1891.

There is an entry in the local press – Driffield Times 21st August 1886 – Farm servant Grindall was charged with assaulting Francis Staveley at Muston. The costs were a heavy fine amounting to 19s 10d and defendent was fined £1 10d including costs.

His half brother John Staveley would die from Tuberculosis in October 1909 and Francis had a heart attack and died on the 3rd December 1909. Anne Wilson is present at his death and is witness on the death certificate ( Note: his grandfather married a Wilson ). His wife Elizabeth Staveley ( nee Peam) died in Bridlington in 1913.

Note: The Imperial Gazetter of England describes Muston in 1870 as follows:

MUSTON, a parish, with a small village, in the district of Scarborough and E. R. Yorkshire; on the coast, and on the Hull and Scarborough railway, midway between Hunmanby and Filey r. stations, 1¾ mile S W of Filey. Post-town, Filey, Yorkshire.

Acres, 2, 226. Real property, £4,068. Pop., 391. Houses, 74. The property is subdivided. The manor belongs to Admiral Mitford. Muston Hall and Muston Lodge are chief residences. Stone is quarried.The living is a p. curacy in the diocese of York. Value, £256. Patron, Admiral Mitford. The church is ancient but good, and has a bell-turret.There are chapels for Independents and Primitive Methodists, and a national school.

John Staveley was baptised on the 13th October 1861 at Muston. John is the son of Frances ( Fanny ) nee Proctor (1824-1882). I have been unable to locate his birth certificate although the family were Methodists at the time and it is not uncommon for Methodists to christen their children and pay little attention to the requirements of birth registration.

Frances is entered on record as the mother on John’s Birth Certificate but no mention of the father until it appears on John’s marriage certificate as William Staveley. William was a labourer in what were particularly hard times for Yorkshire farmers. Conditions at home would have been cramped in a house with few creature comforts.

William Staveley died in 1849 at the age of 30. His untimely death would have placed a considerable strain on his wife Frances who had to bring up the two young children on her own. It is highly probable that other members of the family rallied round and supported Frances in bringing up young Elizabeth & Francis. We know that the family remained in Muston. Since you will have already deduced the fact that John was born in 1861 the two children of Frances are actually his half brother and sister.

Frances Staveley possibly married again ( or lived with ) a Richard Jenkinson whose name is shown as a witness on the marriage certificate of John Staveley. However he took the Staveley family name and we inherited it!.

John would would have started working life as a farm labourer at an early age to help support the family, He was 23 years old when he married Mary Elizabeth Boynton, a domestic servant, the daughter of George Boynton, a fisherman living at Spring Row in Filey. Mary was 19 year old at the time and the couple got married at the Primitive Methodist Chapel in Union Street, Filey on 6th May 1885.

John and Mary Staveley set up home in Muston and their first child, George William, was born in 1886. Edith Annie was born in 1887, Eliza in 1888 at Kilham ( probably whilst John was working at a farm in Kilham ) and Hilda May, again from Muston, was born in 1890.

The 1891 census shows the family as residing at Hunmanby Street, Muston. I have visited Muston, a small rural village with a few scattered farms, a church and only a few houses. Muston is set at an almost equal distance from Hunmanby and Filey, both of which are within walking distance of Muston.

I have visited the churchyard at St Oswalds Church in Filey and several members of the Boynton Family are buried in the grounds.

The family moved to Scarborough sometime between 1891 and 1893. Ethel May was born in 1893 and the address on the birth certificate is that of 11 Prospect Road, Scarborough ( shown here above to the right of the shop, a very small property which looks like a one bedroom terrace house today ).

John was no longer a farm labourer and had changed his occupation to that of drayman or van man which today would mean delivery driver. He worked for a mineral water manufacturer delivering their products locally by horse and cart. Walter Staveley remembered John, his grandfather, as being referred to as ‘Old John’. He would have been a familiar sight riding his horse and trap from village to village with his mineral water.

Old John would have been out in all weathers with only an old sack across his back as protection from the elements and cover in an attempt to keep his clothes dry and warm as he went about his work. John certainly had a hard life and with a family of six to feed he could not have afforded to be ill or have days off.

Walter Boynton Staveley, my grandfather, was born on the 10th of January 1896 at Prospect Road. Conditions would have been very cramped in a small house such as this. The family later moved to a new address at 1 St James Place in Scarborough, an address which I have been unable to find.

On the 5th April 1903, young George outgrew his strength as they used to say in those days and he passed away at the age of 17. Walter Boynton Staveley would have been 7 years old at the time. Mary Staveley, his mother, was becoming mentally unstable. This may have been exacerbated by the death of young George although although my father ( Walter Staveley ) recalls Walter Boynton Staveley mentioning that his mother once chased the children around the kitchen with a knife, the children finally frightened and cowering under the kitchen table.

Such things were not openly talked about in those days, tending instead to be ignored or brushed away rather than discussed. For this reason we know very little about Mary. For years my had been under the impression that she had died early although we have since discovered that she died in Bradford in 1944 aged 79.

Mary had been living with her daughter Edith Annie, her husband and son John. It is now known that Walter Boynton Staveley paid visits to his mother from time to time but never took his children along when making those trips.

John Staveley died on the 5th October 1909 at 17 Wooler Street, Scarborough at the age of 47 years. He died of the disease tuberculosis which was common in those days. Witness to his death certificate is daughter Hilda May. Walter Boynton would have been 13 years old, Edith Annie was 22, Hilda May 19 and Ethel May was 16 years old. Eilza would marry and move to Durham.

As previously mentioned, Edith Annie married Charlie Hall and moved to Bradford. Hilda married, became Hilda Godfrey and moved to Cornwall. Hilda’s daughter and children still live in Cornwall. Ethel May emigrated to Australia and I am fortunate enough to remember vividly a visit we made to Aunt Ethel in 1969 whilst returning to the UK on the cruise ship “SS Oronsay” after my father’s tour of duty in Hong Kong. I remember this dear lady well, having sat with her looking through album after album of her extensive stamp collection. ( I was 9 years old and had just started collecting stamps myself ).

Aunt Ethel gave me many Australian Stamps to start my collection. I regularly wrote to Aunt Ethel until she passed away and still correspond with her daughter Clarice albeit not as regularly as I should.

William Staveley, was baptised in 1819 at Fridaythorpe, He was the son of William Staveley (1784-1857) and Elizabeth Staveley nee Wilson (1791-1849). I have been unable to locate his birth certificate although the family were Methodists at the time and it is not uncommon for Methodists to have their children christened and pay little attention to the requirements of birth registration.

Most of our family are descendants of farmers spread through the East Yorkshire villages. The original Staveleys appear to have been landowners with quite large farms. The farming community however went through considerable turmoil from the 1850’s, leaving several members of the Staveley family to branch out and fend for themselves. They left their own family farms and took up employment as farm labourers, tending to move from village to village as work became available. These were bad economic times. Labour was cheap and life was hard. It was a struggle for survival. More information.

William was a farmer at Reighton when he married Frances Proctor, the daughter of a labourer of Muston on June 2^nd 1844 at Muston Church.

Their first child, Francis, was born at Reighton on the 29th March 1846. It is interesting to note that various family birth certificates the name Staveley is mis-spelt e.g. Stavely and Stavley which would strongly indicate that various family members were unable to read or write leaving this minor detail to the clerks who completed the paperwork to take a guess at the correct spelling.

Francis married Elizabeth Peam at Hunmanby and the couple went on to have five children. Unfortunately we know little about them or what became of them other than their names and dates of birth.

By 1848 the family had moved to Muston where William worked as a farm labourer. Elizabeth was born in 1848 at Muston. Again, I have no information to suggest what happened to Elizabeth or her son. At the time of Williams birth Elizabeth was a domestic servant. Willliam Staveley died in 1849 leaving Frances Proctor a widow. The cause of death was Typhus Fever – a group of diseases caused by bacteria that are spread to humans by fleas, lice, and mites. Whilst common in those days it is very rare in modern times.

1851 Census shows Fanny Staveley living at 5 Hunmanby Street in Muston as head of family living with son Francis and daughter Elizabeth. She is described as pauper under occupation. By 1861 they live at 24 Hunmanby Street and her son Francis is a servant ( Plough Boy ) in the Crowe household in Grindale. Elizabeth is a house servant in Filey with the Crawford household. Fanny, aged 38 has found work as a Laundress.

William appears to have been born out of wedlock. He was christened in Muston on October 13th 1861 where the father is not named on the record. In actual fact, Frances Proctor was now living with a Richard Jenkinson but we have no idea if they were to get married.

This is where our Staveley line is disconnected since John Staveley cannot claim to be a direct Staveley descendent. However, he did keep the Staveley family name which we inherited.

Edith Annie Staveley was born on March 15th at Muston. Edith Annie is the daughter of John Staveley (1861-1909) & Mary Elizabeth Staveley nee Boynton (1864-1944). Edith Annie would have been just 22 when her father died. Her mother had been suffering from mental problems for some time.

In 1901 it appears that John’s wife, Mary Elizabeth, is a patient at the North Riding Lunatic Asylum shown above, at just 35 years of age. It was now down to the older sisters to look after the younger members of the family. Mary Elizabeth Staveley who had been committed to a lunatic asylum was moved to Bradford. The sisters would have moved up this way to be closer to her. Ethel May and Eliza join them in Bradford.

Edith would appear to be the first of the three sisters to be living at Tong at the time of her marriage to Charles Hall on October 8th 1910, the couple were living at 13 Crossland Buildings. Charles is 29 years of age and a Dyers Labourer. Edith Annie is 23 years of age – unpaid domestic duties.

In the 1911 Census we see Charles and Edith Annie with their 6 week old son John Hall. They are now living at 16 Law Street Dudley Hill, Bradford. In 1912 her sister Eliza will join her at this address.

Ethel May would get married and head off to Australia while Eliza would marry and live in Durham. Edith Annie would remain in Bradford with her husband and their son.

In 1939 the family are living at 18 Dawson Terrace in Bradford. Her mother is not shown as living with them but she is likely to have been in a local lunatic asylum.
Such things were not openly talked about in those days, tending instead to be ignored or brushed away rather than discussed. For this reason we know very little about Mary Elizabeth Staveley. For years the family had been under the impression that she had died early although we have since discovered that she died in Bradford in 1944 aged 79.

Edith Annie Hall passed away in Bradford in April 1950 at the age of 63. Charles Hall also died in Bradford at the grand old age of 93.

Eliza Staveley (1888-1946) was born in Kilham, a village and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire. It is situated near Rudston, Langtoft about 5 miles (8 km) north-east of Driffield town centre and approx 7 miles from Bridlington.

Eliza is the daughter of John Staveley (1861-1909) & Mary Elizabeth Staveley nee Boynton (1864-1944). John is a farm labourer from Muston and would move around the local area in search of employment. The family would later move to Scarborough since the larger towns and cities provided better work opportunities. Her brother George aged 2 and her sister Edith Annie who were both born in Muston are living with the family when Eliza was born.

Eliza remains with family in Muston until after Hilda May is born in 1890. The family then move to 111 Prospect Road in Scarborough where John Staveley starts work as a mineral water vanman with his horse and cart. This is a pretty tough job in all weathers with little protection from the wind and rain.

In Scarborough the family continues to grow with Mary Elisabeth being born in 1892. Sadly she dies just 17 months after she is born. In 1893 there is a new addition to the family with Ethel May. Finally Walter Boynton Staveley is born in 1896.

The family are at 1 James Place in 1901 which is now a dilapidated row of shops. In 1901 it appears that John’s wife, Mary Elizabeth, is a patient at the North Riding Lunatic Asylum, in Clifton at just 35 years of age. John and Mary’s daughters, Edith Annie and Hilda May, are staying with their grandparents, George and Ann BOYNTON, at 11 Spring Road in Filey in 1901. John and Mary’s son George died on April 5, 1903 at the young age of 17 years.

In 1909 John Staveley dies as a result of Tuberculosis. John’s daughter Hilda May was the witness on the certificate. He was living at 17 Wooler Street in Scarborough.

In the 1911 Eliza is working as a parlour maid and living in Scarbrough:  The 1911 census records the address as 18 Esplanade Scarborough. She works for the Coates family who have several boarders so the building was probably a hotel or Guest House. It is quite close to the sea.

Around 1912, Eliza moves to Tong in Keighley and takes up residence at 16 Low Street. She would have gone there for work and it is in Tong that she meets her future husband George Harry Painter.

George Harry Painter is from Murton, County Durham. This is not far from Sunderland. George and Eliza clearly get on well because the next thing we see are the marriage banns dated 7th December 1913. On 19th March 1914 the happy couple get married at Easington, Durham.

I have not researched further to see if they had children or what kind of employment they had through their working lives. They settled and stayed in Durham

George Henry Painter Died in April 1932. He was remembered in the Sunderland Daily Echo & Shipping Gazette for his service in the Royal Navy. He was a keen sportsman and the middle weight boxing champion of the fleet. He died at 1 West View, Murton, Durham at the age of 44.

Eliza Painter ( Staveley ) age 57 died in Durham on March 12th 1946. Ever remembered by Susie & Chrissie