1793
Born
1793 at Norfolk
1793 Welney, Norfolk— From Janet Brock’s research
Mum’s record Evidence
From Janet Brock’s research notebook.
John Padget
1793 – 1878
✓ Validated against records · 2026-07-08
John Padget was Thomas and Mary's eldest son, born at Welney over the Norfolk border in 1793 and baptised at Littleport that March — the eldest of their nine, and a Littleport agricultural labourer in every census of his life. Around 1815 he married a Mary whose maiden name no index holds; the Littleport marriage register of those years survives only at the record office, and until it is read she is plain Mary, born in the parish about 1795. Nine children followed between 1815 and 1840, Susanna the eldest of them.
The censuses keep the family within a mile of the river: Ten Mile Bank in 1841 — with Thomas and Mary Crabb for immediate neighbours, six years after his daughter had married into that family — then Little Street, then the City. In July 1851 John stepped briefly into print. Standing on the bank of the Ouse below Littleport bridge he watched a bather, Edward Gray, go under; a quarter of an hour later he rowed out and, with a Thomas Crabb in the second boat, pushed the body from the water. The Cambridge Independent Press printed his testimony at the inquest — a Padget and a Crabb on the river together, sixteen years after the wedding had tied the names.
He was still entered as an agricultural labourer at seventy-eight, in the census of 1871, and died at Littleport in the first quarter of 1878, aged eighty-five; Mary followed in the summer of 1880, aged eighty-six. They had been married more than sixty years, and of their nine children it was the two eldest daughters — Susanna, married to Thomas Crabb, and Hannah, married to Jacob Barber — who carried the family into this tree, twice.
Composed from validated records · 2026-07-08
- Birth
- 1793 Welney, Norfolk
- Baptism
- March 31st 1793, Littleport
- Marriage
- June 1815 to Mary Padget (Ancestry Family Trees)
- Death
- March q. 1878, Littleport, (BMD Ely) aged 85 years
- Parents
- Thomas Padget and Mary Apsland
- Siblings
- John Padget baptised March 31st 1793, Littleport Hannah Padget baptised December 31st 1800, Littleport William Padget baptised April 22nd 1806 James Padget baptised 1807, Littleport Mary Padget baptised January 21st 1810, Littleport Sarah Padget baptised November 17 1811 Littleport burial January 3rd 1812 Martha and Mary Padget baptised January 17th 1813, Littleport. Burial of Martha 1815 Matthew Padget born 1817, Littleport
- Children
- Susanna Paget born 1815, Little port John Padget born 1820, Little port Hannah Padget born 1822, Littleport Mary Padget born 1824, Burnt Fen, Little port Elizabeth Padget born 1825, Littleport Eliza Padget born 1828, Littleport Ann Padget born 1832, Burnt Fen, Little port Sarah Paget born 1835 Matthew Padget baptised March 29th 1840, Littleport
- 1841c
- Living in Littleport John Padget, 1796, born Cambridgeshire Mary Padget, 1796 born Cambridgeshire John Padget, 1821 born Cambridgeshire Hannah Padget , 1826 born Cambridgeshire Elizabeth Padget, 1826 born Cambridgeshire Mary Padget, 1826, born Cambridgeshire Eliza Padget, 1828, born Cambridgeshire Ann Padget, 1832 born Cambridgeshire Matthew Padget, 1840, born Cambridgeshire Address: 10 Mile Bank Occupation: Agricultural Labourer Immediate neighbours: Thomas and Mary Crabb
- 1851c
- Living in Littleport John Padget, 1793, Head, born Littleport Mary Padget, 1797, Wife, born Littleport Ann Padget, Daughter, 1833, born Littleport Frederick Cave, Son in Law, born 1827, Chatteris, Cambridgeshire Eliza Cave, Daughter, born 1829, Littleport Edward Cave, Grandson, born 1850, Littleport Address: Ten Mile Bank Occupation: Agricultural Labourer
- 1851
- LITTLEPORT A MAN DROWNED WHILE BATHING ' An inquest was held at the Bridge House in this parish on Thursday last by William Marshall Esq. coroner on the body of Edward Gray. John Padgett of Littleport, labourer, that on Tuesday the 22nd inst. he was standing on the bank of the Ouse river, below Littleport Bridge. Saw a man bathing in the river; he was alone; he was up to his middle in water; he appeared then to try to swim and he never saw him come up again. There were 3 or 4 women sitting on the bank at the time. About a quarter of an hour after witness rowed up to him in his boat with Thomas Crabb and Edward Gothard in another boat and pushed him out of the water; had seen a good many people bathe there this summer. Verdict: "Accidently drowned while bathing."' J uly 26th 1851 Camebridge Independent Express
- 1861c
- Living in Littleport John Padgett, 1793, Head, born Welney, Norfolk Mary Padgett, 1795, Wife, born Littleport Address: Little Street, Littleport Occupation: Agricultural Labourer
- 1871c
- Living in Littleport John Padgett, 1793, Head, born Littleport Mary Padgett, 1795, Wife, born Littleport Address: City, Littleport Occupation: Agricultural Labourer
- 1878
- Death of John Padgett aged 85 years
- 1880
- June q. Death of Mary Padgett aged 86 years
In your grandmother’s words · from her notebook
Family
Parents
The children of Thomas & Mary Aspland
John Padget b. 1793this page · · · · · · · ·
Marriage
Children
Life
Confirmed — anchored to a recordEstimated — inferred
1793
Baptised at Littleport — born at Welney
31 March 1793 at Littleport
March 31st 1793, Littleport— From Janet Brock’s research
Mum’s record Evidence
From Janet Brock’s research notebook.
1815
Married Mary
18 June 1815
June 1815 to Mary Padget (Ancestry Family Trees)— From Janet Brock’s research
Mum’s record Evidence
From Janet Brock’s research notebook.
1841
Census · 1841
1841
Living in Littleport John Padget, 1796, born Cambridgeshire Mary Padget, 1796 born Cambridgeshire John Padget, 1821 born Cambridgeshire Hannah Padget , 1826 born Cambridgeshire Elizabeth Padget, 1826 born Cambridgeshire Mary Padget, 1826, born Cambridgeshire Eliza Padget, 1828, born Cambridgeshire Ann Padget, 1832 born Cambridgeshire Matthew Padget, 1840, born Cambridgeshire Address: 10 Mile Bank Occupation: Agricultural Labourer Immediate neighbours: Thomas and Mary Crabb
— From Janet Brock’s research
Mum’s record Evidence
From Janet Brock’s research notebook.
1851
Census · 1851
1851
Living in Littleport John Padget, 1793, Head, born Littleport Mary Padget, 1797, Wife, born Littleport Ann Padget, Daughter, 1833, born Littleport Frederick Cave, Son in Law, born 1827, Chatteris, Cambridgeshire Eliza Cave, Daughter, born 1829, Littleport Edward Cave, Grandson, born 1850, Littleport Address: Ten Mile Bank Occupation: Agricultural Labourer
— From Janet Brock’s research
Mum’s record Evidence
From Janet Brock’s research notebook.
1851
The inquest at the Bridge-house — his testimony in print
1851
LITTLEPORT.—A Man Drowned while Bathing.—An inquest was held at the Bridge-house in this parish, on Thursday last, Wm. Marshall, coroner, on the body of Edwa[rd] Gray.—John Padgett, of Littleport, labourer, stated that on Tuesday, the 22nd inst., he was standing on the bank of the Ouze river, below L[ittleport] bridge. Saw a man bathing in the river; he was alone; he was up to his middle in water; he appeared then to try to swim, and he never saw him come up again; [there] were three or four women sitting on the bank at the time. About a quarter of an hour after witness rowed up to him in his boat, with Thomas Crabb and Edward Gothard in another boat, and pushed him out of the water; had seen a good many people bathe there this summer. Verdict, "Accidentally drowned while bathing."
— Cambridge Independent Press, 26 July 1851 — the drowning of Edward Gray
Read at the image record Evidence
Confirmed against the original record, read at the image:
- Cambridge Independent Press, 26 July 1851 — the drowning of Edward Gray — Cambridge Independent Press (British Library BL/0000418), 26 July 1851, page 3, 'Isle of Ely' column, article 024. Found and transcribed by Mum (her page titles it the 'Camebridge Independent Express'; the masthead reads Cambridge Independent Press); re-read at the British Newspaper Archive page image via findmypast, 8 July 2026 — her transcript confirmed effectively verbatim. read at the image
1861
Census · 1861
1861
Living in Littleport John Padgett, 1793, Head, born Welney, Norfolk Mary Padgett, 1795, Wife, born Littleport Address: Little Street, Littleport Occupation: Agricultural Labourer— From Janet Brock’s research
Mum’s record Evidence
From Janet Brock’s research notebook.
1871
Census · 1871
1871
Living in Littleport John Padgett, 1793, Head, born Littleport Mary Padgett, 1795, Wife, born Littleport Address: City, Littleport Occupation: Agricultural Labourer— From Janet Brock’s research
Mum’s record Evidence
From Janet Brock’s research notebook.
1878
In 1878
1878
Death of John Padgett aged 85 years— From Janet Brock’s research
Mum’s record Evidence
From Janet Brock’s research notebook.
1878
Died at Littleport, aged 85
March 1878 at Littleport
John Padgett — birth year 1793 — death Q1 1878 — Ely district, Cambridgeshire.— GRO death index — John Padgett, Q1 1878, Ely
Confirmed in index record Evidence
Found in an index or transcript — the original page not yet read:
- GRO death index — John Padgett, Q1 1878, Ely — England & Wales deaths 1837-2007 (GRO index), Q1 1878, Ely district — John Padgett, birth year 1793; the sole result for the name in the district that year. Searched findmypast, 8 July 2026. index entry — original not yet seen
1880
In 1880
1880
Mary Paget — birth year 1794 — death Q2 1880 — Ely district, Cambridgeshire.— GRO death index — Mary Paget, Q2 1880, Ely
Confirmed in index record Evidence
Found in an index or transcript — the original page not yet read:
- GRO death index — Mary Paget, Q2 1880, Ely — England & Wales deaths 1837-2007 (GRO index), Q2 1880, Ely district — Mary Paget, birth year 1794; the sole result for the name in the district that year. Searched findmypast, 8 July 2026. index entry — original not yet seen
Our research
John Padget — the register that holds Mary's name
Research · Littleport & Welney
His deaths, his children and his one newspaper appearance are pinned; the marriage is the wall. Mum's page gives 'June 1815 to Mary Padget (Ancestry Family Trees)' — a tree, not a record, and Susanna was baptised that same June, so the date itself is unconfirmed. Every index has been tried (findmypast, FamilySearch, Boyd's, CFHS banns, Ancestry): the Littleport marriage register 1813–1837 is simply not digitised. To do:
- Read the Littleport St George marriage register 1813–37 at Cambridgeshire Archives — the entry would give the date and Mary's maiden name. An archive visit or paid search: Jon's action (a purchase if ordered).
- His baptism, 31 March 1793 — Mum's reading; the entry sits in the unindexed years of the FamilySearch BT film we browsed for 1770. A targeted browse, ours.
- Welney (Norfolk) — his 1861 census gives Welney as birthplace; check Welney baptisms/marriages on Ancestry's Norfolk registers in case the family (or the 1815 wedding) crossed the border, ours.
- The 1841 and 1851 household images (Ten Mile Bank; the Cave son-in-law household of 1851) — a round-two upgrade, ours.
- Children not yet in any index (Elizabeth 1825, Eliza 1828, Ann 1832): the BT composite browse, ours.