In 1861, aged 6, Anna Maria was living with her parents in Ringshall, but had left home by 1871, when she was 16.

On 7th December 1877, when she was 23, she married James Beaumont (aged 25) in Ringshall. Since the Beaumonts were strict Chapel, none of their children appeared in the Parish Registers. Most of this information has been obtained from their descendants, who provided the pictures of Anna Maria and of her husband James Beaumont.

They had four children, whose births were recorded in the family bible. These were Kate (born 25th October 1878), James William (born 5th June 1880), John (born 21st February 1882 and Bessie Violet (born 20th June 1892). They also adopted Amelia Baker (born 28th January 1881). James William Beaumont was said to have died young, and civil registration shows his death in the third quarter of 1880 but this was not recorded in the family bible.

In the 1881 census, James and Ann Maria "Garrod" were living in Hadleigh Road, Ringshall with their 2-year-old daughter Kate. James was working as a farm labourer.

In 1891, James and Ann M. "Beamout" were living in Ringshall with their 3 children - Katy (aged 12), John (aged 9) and Amelia Baker (aged 10) -all three were at school.

Anna Maria’s second cousin Hammond Laflin had married an Elizabeth Beaumont in 1870, but they separated and he went to live in London while she remained in Stowmarket. When she died in 1901, James Beaumont and his father Abraham were the executors of her estate.

In 1901, James and Ann M. Beaumont were living "on the Hill", Ringshall and James was a yard man on a farm. Their daughter Kate (now 22) had left home, but the other children were still living with their parents. John (aged 19) was a stock man on a farm, Bessie (aged 7) was probably at school, although this was not specified, and Amelia (aged 20) was there as well. Also in the household was Anna Maria's mother, Mary A. Laflin, an 81-year-old widow on parochial relief.
James Beaumont died on 29th November 1903 at the age of 50. His father Abraham died on 26th August 1907 at the age of 75. The surviving children married and raised families but have not been so far traced any further. Ann Maria hereslf died on 3rd March 1917 at the age of 62.

Sources for this section.

Parish registers for Ringshall - available in Ipswich Record Office.
Entries in Anna Maria's bible.
Civil Registration Indexes available online from FreeBMD
Civil Registration Indexes and Census Data available online from Findmypast

Page maintained by Susan Laflin. Last updated in January 2008.