There were two Benjamin Laflins in Ringshall at this time, this one and his cousin, the son of James Laflin, baptised on 22nd July 1799. One of them married Phoebe Gosling on 10th April 1824, and the other married Harriett Mann on 30th March 1825. At this time, the father's name was not recorded in the marriage entry and without the information from the family bible it would be hard to decide which Benjamin was Philip's son. However Ringshall parish registers show that Harriet's husband was was alive long after 1830, so the Benjamin in the family bible was the one who married Phoebe Gosling.

The family bible shows a family of three children, Benjamin 1787-1830, Abraham 1801-1835 and Hannah born 1804. James had twelve children, including Benjamin (baptised 1799), Abraham (baptised 1808) and no Hannah. Philip had two children who were baptised in Ringshall, Benjamin (baptised 1801) and Hannah (baptised 1805) and may have had a son Abraham who was not baptised in Ringshall. Later census records show that his daughter Hannah had been born in Wattisham, which again fits with the entry in the family bible. Thus we may conclude that it was Philip's son who married Phoebe Gosling.

After Benjamin's marriage to Phoebe Gosling in Ringshall on 10th April 1821, they moved away from Ringshall and probably settled in Bildeston. Both the parish registers for Bildeston and those for Kersey have been searched from 1820 to 1845 and no entries found for this family.

Ipswich Record Office contains a transcript of the births recorded the register of the Wattisham Strict Baptists from 1763-1837. These show that the family was believed to be living in Bildeston when the five children were born, namely: Hammond (born 7 March 1822), Phebe (born 21 May 1824), Henry (born 13 Oct. 1826), Hall (born 2 Nov.1828) and Benjamin (born 30 April 1830). However they may have moved out of the parish in between times - probably taking work wherever it became available.

It seems likely that they lived in Kersey for over a year after November 1828 and had only been back in Bildeston for a few months when Benjamin fell ill in June 1830. Consequently the Overseers of the Poor sought to have them removed and paid for by the parish of Kersey. This may also reflect a feeling that Baptists should not be supported by the Church of England Poor Rate.

Order of Removal
To the Churchwardens and Overseers of the Poor of the parish of Bildeston in the county of Suffolk to remove and to the Churchwardens and Overseers of the Poor of the parish of Kersey in the said county to receive and obey. Whereas complaint hath been made by you the said Churchwardens and Overseers of the Poor of the said parish of Bildeston unto us whose names are hereunto set (Chas Cooke & John Gee Smyth) that Benjamin Laflin and Phobe his wife and their five children (viz:Hammond aged about 8 years, Phoebe aged about 6 years, Henry aged nearly 4 years, Halls aged nearly 2 years and Benjamin aged 5 weeks) did lately come to inhabit in the said parish of Bildeston not having gained legal settlement there nor produced any certificate owning them to be settled elsewhere and that the said Benjamin Laflin and Phoebe his wife and their said five children are actually become chargeable to the said parish of Bildeston, we the said Justices upon due proof made thereof as well upon Examination of the said Benjamin Laflin upon oath ----- do adjudge that the lawful settlement of the said Benjamin Laflin and Phoebe his wife and their said five children is in the said parish of Kersey in the said county of Suffolk.
We do therefore require you, the said Churchwardens and Overseers of the Poor of the said parish of Bildeston (or some or one of you) to convey the said Benjamin Laflin and Phoebe his wife and their said five children from out of your said parish of Bildeston to the said parish of Kersey and there to deliver to the said Churchwardens and Overseers of the Poor there together with this order or a true copy thereof. And we do also hereby require you, the said Churchwardens and Overseers of the Poor of the parish of Kersey to receive and provide for them as inhabitants of your said parish. Given under our hands and seals the 4th day of June 1830.

However on the back of the removal order is written:-
Whereas it doth appear unto us the undersigned, being the Justices within named, that Benjamin Laflin the pauper within ordered to be removed is at present unable to travel by reason of sickness and informity, we do hereby suspend the execution of the within order of removal until it shall be made appear to us that the same may be safely executed without danger. Given under our hands this 4th day of June 1830.

This was followed by a blank removal order whose dates and other details were never entered. This suggests that the family were not removed from Bildeston and the family bible indicates that Benjamin died on 16th June 1830. Burial records for both Bildeston and Kersey have been checked from 1830 to 1840 and no entry for Benjamin's burial appeared in them. The burial records for the Wattisham Strict Baptists have not yet been checked.

By the 1841 census, the family was certainly in Bildeston. In one household in Northgate Street, Phoebe Laflin, of independent means, was head of the household and with her were her eldest son, Hammond, a tailor and her youngest son Benjamin. Two other sons, Henry and Hall, were working as "male servants" in another household in the same street. Phoebe was missing, but was probably in her late teens and may have moved away in search of work. The 1851 census showed Hammond and his wife in Bildeston, but the rest of the family had moved away by this date.

On 25th February 1855, Phoebe Laflin died in Stockwell Street, Greenwich. She was 59 years old and the widow of Benjamin Laflin, a tailor. The causes of death were "low fever 2 weeks and general debility some years" and the death was reported on 3rd March by Benjamin Laflin (probably her son) Benjamin may have died in Greenwich in the last quarter of 1874 at the age of 49.

Sources for this section.

Parish registers for Ringshall - available in Ipswich Record Office.
Baptist Meeting House, Wattisham (Transcript in Ipswich Record Office).
Removal order FB70/G3/30. Dated 4th June 1830. - available in Bury St Edmunds Record Office.
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.