The BIGG Family

Thomas Bigg (1776 - 1862)

Our part of the BIGG family is descended from Thomas (1776), the second son of Thomas (1740) and Mary. Thomas was born in Hadlow on 9 February 1776 and christened there on 3 March the same year. He was married to Ann Catt on 12 November 1798 at Boxley, Kent by Rev John Lloyd. Boxley is a small village about 2 miles north of Maidstone nestling at the foot of the downs. Boxley was in the news a few years ago when the rail link to the channel tunnel was routed through it, much to the disgust of its inhabitants. The church and churchyard make a lovely scene and the gravestone of John BIGG, Thomas's younger brother, dated 1826 can still be found in it. A map showing Boxley in relation to Maidstone is shown below. (Boxley is just over 2 miles NNE of Maidstone).

The Family Bible was Ann's bible and she used it to record details of her husband's brothers and sisters, all of whom appear to have survived to adulthood, together with details of her own children and some of her children's families. Ann died in on 26 May 1862 at the age of 84 and Thomas died the following 20 December, aged 86. Unfortunately, Ann did not record details of her own parents or brothers and sisters, and records of these have so far not been found.

Thomas and Ann's eldest son, Charles, pre-deceased them by a few years, so on Thomas's death, the bible went to the second son, Thomas (1811) and from him through his eldest son Henry Morley Bigg, and Henry's eldest son John Bolton Bigg to John Bryan Bigg, my uncle. Bryan had no sons and his only daughter Hazel, died before him. On his death, Hazel's husband, Ambrose, very kindly gave this bible, together with another older bible (the Morley bible), to me as the only person in the Bigg family that he knew was actively researching the family history.

Ann's bible consists of two volumes, but most of her entries are common to both. A transcription of the entries made by Ann can be found by using the links in the menu at the top of the page.

The Morley bible is even older. According to the printing on the first page of the New Testament, it was printed by Thomas Buck and Roger Daniel, printers to the University of Cambridge, Anno Domini 1638. It contains no new genealogical information, indeed most of what is written inside was written by my grandfather (JBB). However, there is one entry of interest. "This Book is Lent to Mrs Sparrow by me, Jonathan Morley, July the 2: 1782." This is written in what appears to be an adult hand and implies to me that Jonathan was born before, say, 1760, and probably some time before that.

Back to Thomas and Ann. They had six children, but although it is clear that at least one child died in infancy, namely Mary Ann Bigg who was born on 13 October 1815, no mention of this is made in the Family Bible. Many years later, details of several deaths are recorded, but Ann Mary's death must have been either too painful to document or too common an event to be worth recording. Perhaps it was both.

Thomas and Ann's first child, Charles, was born on 9 December 1808 at Maidstone, Kent. Charles was christened on 4 January 1809 at All Saints, Maidstone. As Charles's birth took place nearly 10 years after Thomas and Ann were married, it must either have been a great surprise or the result of some pretty careful planning! After Charles, the rest of their children were born at Boxley, where Thomas and Ann were married. First came the second son, Thomas, who was born on 11 October 1811, then Mary Ann the first (13 October 1815), Mary Ann the second (9 December 1817) and finally Valentine, who was born (guess the date!) on 14 February 1820.

Charles survived the difficult childhood years and married Ann Bull at a time and place not yet discovered. Charles and Ann had six children, three girls followed by three boys. The civil registration of Births, Marriages and Deaths was introduced in 1837, the year after their first child was born. However, the first child for which a birth certificate has been located is their fourth child and eldest son, Charles William, who was born on 18 September 1841 at Clifton Street just near Liverpool Street Station. Charles William's birth is also recorded in the Family Bible although no mention is made of any of Charles and Ann's other children. Finally, Charles's death on 26 August 1854 is also entered in the Bible.

Both Ann and Thomas lived to a ripe old age. They both died in 1862 when they were 84 and 86 respectively, Ann on 26 May and Thomas on 20 December.