Much of the information about him comes from a family bible currently owned by descendants of the Beaumont family of Ringshall. It has records of several owners written in it, the earliest being Richard Gants on 12th May 1676. The next was "Elizabeth Laflin Her Book, 16th February 1783". She was probably Philip's mother Elizabeth Hix (or Hicks) who married Jonathan Laflin in 1745 and died in 1805.

After her death in 1805, it probably remained with her youngest son Philip and it was later owned by Philip's son Abraham, with the entry "Abram Laflin His Book Novb 15 1814".
Another page in the bible records information about this family.
"1797 Benjamin Laflin (Born at Ringshall) was born on Sunday afternoon, Oct. 15th, about a quarter before three o'clock. Died 16th June 1830."
"1801 Abraham Laflin (Born at Battisford) was Born August 26th on Wednesday morning about half past three o'clock and Died on Sunday about 6 o'clock at night Feb. 22nd 1835."
"1804 Hannah Laflin (Born in Wattisham) was Born on Sunday morning about one o'clock .... "
(Note: For some reason, Hannah's entry was later deleted, probably by Abraham.)After Abraham's death in 1835, the bible probably remained with his nephew Hammond and came into the Beaumont family after the death of Hammond's second wife Elizabeth Beaumont.

Philip's marriage to Hannah has not been found, but probably took place around 1795. In view of the Baptist connection, the marriage may be recorded in a Baptist register, possibly at Wattisham. Their son Benjamin was born in Ringshall in October 1797 and baptised in Ringshall on 25th October 1801 - in this record his wife's name was given as "Susannah" but all other records showed her as "Hannah". Their son Abraham, born in Battisford in August 1801, was not baptised. Their daughter Hannah, born in Wattisham in 1804, was baptized in Ringshall on 20th March 1805. Then there is a long gap with no records, in which it is assumed that the family continued to live in Ringshall and the children grew up there.

On 13th October 1823, Hannah married her cousin Jonathan Laflin. No witnesses have been recorded, but it was noted that Jonathan "made his mark" while Hannah signed the register.

On 10th April 1824, one Benjamin Laflin married Phoebe Gosling in Ringshall. It has been assumed that this Benjamin was Philip's son,who died in June 1830.
The family bible tells us that Abraham died on 22nd February 1835.

The next record was the 1841 census (held on 6th June) and this showed Philip and Hannah living somewhere in Ringshall and Philip described as an "Agricultural Labourer". With them were two boys, Philip (aged 15) and Alfred (aged 10), who were probably their great-nephews (sons of Philip's nephew Abraham Laflin. Philip's grandson Alfred (aged 12) was with his parents Jonathan and Hannah in this census.

In 1851 they were still living in Ringshall and Philip was farming 31 acres and employing two labourers. These may have been Alfred and Philip, who were still lodging with them. Alfred was said to be 20 years old and born in Ringshall. Philip (actually 25) was also said to be 20 and had been born in High Holborn in London. By 1861, Philip was married and living in Putney while Alfred had disappeared.

Philip Laflin, aged 84, was buried in Ringshall on 7th January 1854.

In the 1861 census (held on 7th April), Hannah Laflin, a widow aged 88, was head of the household and farmer of 32 acres. Her birthplace was given as "Ringshall". With her were her son-in-law Jonathan Laflin, her daughter Hannah Laflin (said to have been born in "Wattisham") and their two youngest daughters - Caroline (aged 18 and working as a dairymaid) and Harriet (aged 13 and still at school).

Hannah Laflin of Ringshall, aged 92, was buried at Ringshall on 27th May 1865.

Sources for this section.

Parish registers for Ringshall - available in Ipswich Record Office.
Family Bibles and other records in possession of the Beaumont Family.
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.