Baxter Family History in Suffolk

Baxters of Southwold

Southwold

Southwold is an Anglo Saxon settlement standing on the river Blyth 41 miles from Ipswich. The Domesday book records Southwold as a prosperous fishing port. By the thirteenth century it had become a busy seaport with a market and fair, with herring cod and sole fisheries. By the fifteenth century it had become an influential port, however a hundred years later the harbour started silting up and destroyed the towns prospect of becoming a major port on the east coast. In 1659 the town was virtually destroyed by fire. It was rebuilt around seven greens to diminish the risk of another fire. Gun hill is the site of six cannons, the first arriving in the reign of Charles I to protect merchant ships from privateers operating from Dunkirk. In 1672 there was an indecisive naval encounter between the English and Dutch in Sole Bay off Southwold. The existing cannons came in 1745 during the reign of George II.

The Southwold skyline is dominated by the white lighthouse erected in 1886 on the North Green. The parish church is dedicated to St Edmund. Inside the church a painted screen dating from the fifteenth century which escaped the attentions of both Henry VIII and Oliver Cromwell.

Nineteenth Century Baxters

The Baxters that arrive in Southwold in the nineteenth century came from other Baxter families well established in the area.

What happened to the children of Benjamin Baxter and Elizabeth Holmes of Southwold?

Benjamin Baxter (1818 – 1851)

Born in Southwold, Benjamin spent his entire life in the town.

Marriage

Benjamin married Rachel Royal Lilly (1819 – 1908) the daughter of Meshack and Susan Lilly, on the 9th May, 1843, All Saints, Newcastle Upon Tyne. After Benjamin’s death Rachel marries Royal William Lilly (1806 – 1881) in 1872. Although describing herself as a widow, Rachel was recorded and signs under her maiden name of Lilly.

Children

Benjamin and Rachel had the following:

Born	Name	Comment	Where
1844	Jane Elizabeth Alger	Mother’s maiden name Lilly	Southwold
1845	Mary Ann/Marian	Mother’s maiden name Lilly	Southwold
1847	Henry William	Mother’s maiden name Lilly	Southwold

Merchant Seamen

166,564
Benjamin Baxter
Born at Southwold in the
County of Suffolk	18th day of July 1818
Age When Ticketed: 27	Can Write: Yes
Capacity: Seaman
Height: 6 feet 5 1/2	Hair: Brown
Complexion: Dark	Eyes: Grey
Marks: B B on left hand
First Went To Sea As: Apprentice	In the Year: 1832
When Unemployed, Resides at: Southwold
Issued At: Southwold	26th day of Feb 1845

Census

1851

Dwelling – Bartholomew Green, Southwold
Name	Relationship	Marital Status	Age	Occupation	Where
Rachel Baxter	Head	M	31	Mariners wife	Southwold
Jane E A Baxter	Daughter		6	Scholar	Southwold
Mary Ann Baxter	Daughter		5	Scholar	Southwold
Henry Baxter	Son		4		Southwold

1861

Dwelling – Bartholomew Road, Southwold
Name	Relationship	Marital status	Age	Occupation	Where
Rachel Baxter	Head	Wid	41	School mistress	Southwold
Henry Baxter	Son		14		Southwold

1871

Dwelling – Bartholomew Green, Southwold
Name	Relationship	Marital status	Age	Occupation	Where
Rachel R Baxter	Head	Wid	52	School mistress	Southwold

Directories

Directory Name	Year	Place	Private / Commercial	Name and Service
Suffolk History Gazetteer and Directory	1844	Southwold	Commercial	Master Mariners Baxter Benj. 6 North Green
Morris & Co’s Commercial Directory & Gazetteer	c.1869	Southwold	Commercial	Baxter Mrs Rachel R, day school, Bartholomew Green

Death

Southwold St Edmund

Buried	Name	Comment
22 Dec 1851	Benjamin Baxter	Aged 33

Henry William Baxter (1822 – 1902)

Henry’s job as a mariner meant he spent most of his early life at sea. In the 1880s he moved to Norwich before returning to Southwold in the 1900s where he died.