Ancestry have added a number of non conformist and non parochial registers to their collection (with access to the original images).  This includes the Horsham Baptist chapel records such as the entry below recording the life of Matthew Caffyn.

One of my 'claims to fame' is that when I started my research I visited the Matthew Caffyn's chapel in Horsham and was able to use the original register books.  Of course now they are safely locked away at the National Archives and we only get to see the digital or microfilm image.  Much more sensible but it does give you an idea of how long I have been researching the Caffyn family!

Odd however that Ancestry have indexed the entry under Caffin not Caffyn.

In the news....Caffyns Field

http://www.littlehamptongazette.co.uk/news/local/littlehampton-tree-planting-drive-springs-into-action-1-4906571

As part of the Big Tree Plant initiative (which aims to see one million trees planted nationally) sixty trees have been planted in Caffyns Field in Littlehampton.

10th March

Some Caffyns connected to the 10th March:

Walter Caffin 1844-1907

Walter was christened on the 10^th March 1844 at St Peter the Great in Chichester.  He was the youngest child of Benjamin Charles Caffin and his wife Mary Ann Gilbert (nee Swan).  Benjamin was a successful tailor living in East Street but he died in 1855 when Walter was nearly 11 years old leaving Mary to earn a living renting out part of their property whilst Walter began working as a clerk for a brewer.  Later Walter moved to Lewisham with his mother where he was soon working for a bank, working his way up to manager for the London County and Westminster Bank.  Walter never married, his mother died in 1876 and he continued to live on his own although he employed Emily Richards as a servent and cook - she remained with him until he died in 1907.

Thomas Caffyn 1859-1923

Thomas was christened in Send and Ripley in Surrey on the 10^th March 1859, the fourth child of Thomas Caffyn and Sarah (nee Mitchell).  He remained with his parents until his mid 20s, working as an errand boy when he was younger and a gardener when he was a little older.  Thomas moved to London and was lodging in Croydon where he was working as a general labourer, he remained in Croydon but never married and by 1911 was resident in the workhouse.  He died in 1923 at the age of 60 years.

Peter Caffyn c1824-1842

Peter Caffyn died of TB at Guys Hospital on the 10^th March 1842 at the age of 18 years.  A year earlier he was living with John Caffyn in Southwark, possibly his brother but little else is known about him.

Lawrence Caffyn 1883-1976

Lawrence Albert Caffyn was born in 1883 in Eastbourne, youngest son of William Morris Caffyn and Harriet (nee Williams).  He followed his father into the ironmongery business but soon became a draper.  He married Emily Florence Duke in 1911 in Eastbourne and they had two children; Donald Duke born in 1915 and Edwina Joy in 1928.  Lawrence lived to 1976 and was buried on the 10^th March in Eastbourne.

Crawford Caffin 1844-1891

Crawford Caffin

Of all the Caffyns I have found, Crawford Caffin is my least favourite because in 1889 he changed his name by deed poll from Crawford Caffin to Crawford Crawford-Caffin.

Crawford is the son of James Crawford Caffin and Frances nee Atfield who married in 1843 in Widley, Hampshire.  Crawford was their eldest child born in 1844 and baptised in Portsea on the 18th August; he had six younger sisters.

The Crawford name comes from Crawford Caffin's paternal grandmother - Bethia Crawford.  Bethia married William Caffyn in Plumstead on the 18th December 1801.  They had six children including James Crawford Caffin who was their fourth child, he was baptised in Woolwich in 1812.   William worked at the Royal Laboratory where weapons and ammunition were designed and produced, he did well for himself and was considered a gentleman by the time he died in 1869 (he was worth the equivalent of £6-£13 million).

William and Bethia's son James joined the Royal Navy in 1824, making the rank of commander in 1842 just before his marriage to Frances Atfield.  He eventually became the director of stores in the war department until retirement in 1868 when he was made a civil KCB and in 1877 was made Admiral.  Frances died in 1871 and James in 1883.

The Times - 25th April 1889

Crawford Caffin also joined the Royal Navy, by 1879 he had reached the rank of commander, he was involved in the Zulu campaign and served in Alexandria during the Egyptian war.  He married Josephine Mary Rose in 1883 at St Judes in Southsea but they had no children.  As mentioned Crawford changed his name in 1889 but he died in Nice on the 9th March 1891 aged just 46 years.  His wife remarried in 1896 to Lauritz Holst, an artist from Denmark.

Sheepdogs, grocers and the zulu war

Findmypast in partnership with the British Library is digitizing historic newspapers.  Over the next 10 years they plan to scan 40 million pages covering 1710 to 1950 including many local newspapers from England, Wales and Scotland.

A browse of some Sussex newspapers found the following entries:

On the 24th May 1879 the Hastings and St Leonards Observer reported the death of Peter William Caffyn in South Africa.  Peter was a son of James Caffyn; until I found this notice I had had no idea what had happened to Peter.  He was born in Robertsbridge in 1853 and followed his father into trade, in 1871 he was working as a drapery assistant in Gravesend.    Between then and his death in 1879 he joined the Frontier Light Horse and had gone out as part of the Zulu campaign.

On the 23rd May 1837 the Brighton Patriot included a notice requesting anyone with a claim on the estate of Benjamin Caffyn, a grocer of Preston Street, to make themselves known.  Benjamin had died on the 31st March aged 37 years.

Alfred Caffyn of Ticehurst was fined 5 shillings and 6d for keeping a sheep dog without a licence.  It was reported in the Hastings and St Leonards Observer on the 10th April 1909 that Alfred was entitled to an exemption to paying for a licence but had forgotten to apply.  This is another son of James Caffyn; he was farming at Cottenden Farm in Ticehurst.

Remembrance Sunday

Harold Hunt Caffyn 1882-1915

Harold was born in Australia in 1882, the eldest surviving son of Stephen and Kathleen (nee Hunt).  The family returned to England in 1892 and Harold went to school at Rugby followed by Sandhurst.  He served in the South African campaign and by the time the First World War began he was a captain in the North Staffordshire Regiment.   He died on the 22nd March 1915 in Belgium.  He is remembered on the memorial at Ploegsteert.

His younger brother Chalenor died in 1917 and his cousin Joseph died in 1918.

Ernest Horace Caffyn 1896-1916

Ernest was born in 1896 in Newmarket, his father was Walter Caffyn, a stableman who married Lottie Moss in 1893.  He was one of five children but three of them had died in infancy leaving just Ernest and his brother Frederick.  Ernest joined the York and Lancaster Regiment aged 18 years and was part of the Gallipoli Campaign in Turkey.  He was one of the last to be evacuated on the 20th December 1915 and then saw action in Egypt before he arrived in France  Later in 1916 he was wounded during fighting and was not seen again, he was reported as missing on the 29th September and was believed killed.  He is remembered at the Regina Trench Cemetary in Grandcourt in the Somme.

George James Caffyn  1889-1916

George was the youngest son of Thomas William and Mary Ann (nee Whicker), he was born in 1889 in Marylebone in London.  He did national service in 1906 and then worked selling newspapers.  He married Gertrude Lewis in 1910 in Plymouth and their daughter Gertrude was born soon afterwards.  George joined the Royal Navy as a Petty Officer Stoker on the HMS Orion, he died of pneumonia on the 29th January 1916 in Edinburgh.  His body was returned to Plymouth and he is buried in Ford Park Cemetery.

Arthur Archibald Caffyn 1894-1917

Arthur was born in 1894, he was baptised in Stepney on the 2nd December 1894.  His father was Alfred Caffyn, an upholsterer and his mother was Martha nee Canon, he was the youngest son in a family of seven children.  He joined a London regiment but transferred to the 14th Battalion of the Royal Irish Rifles. It was whilst he was in France that he was injured, dying of his wounds on the 29th August 1917.   He is buried in the Wimereux Communal Cemetery in Pas de Calais.

Chalenor McCrae Humphrey Mannington Caffyn  1891-1917

Chalenor was born in Australia in 1891 whilst his parents Stephen and Kathleen (nee Hunt) were living there, the family returned to England when he was a year old.  On the 22nd August 1914 he applied for a commission in the Special Reserve of Officers and was part of the Officer Training Corps when he was at college and became a sergeant.  He was accepted as a 2nd Lieutenant in the 4th East Surrey Regiment on the 5th September 1914.  Chalenor was killed in action on the 28th March 1917 and is buried at the Avesnes-le-Comte Communal Cemetery in Pas de Calais, France.  

His older brother Harold had died in 1915 and his cousin Joseph in 1918.

William Gregory Caffyn 1878-1917

William  joined the 11th Battalion of the Australian Infantry as a private and died in November 1917 in Belgium and is buried at the Potijze Chateau Cemetery in Belgium.

Edward Hedley Caffyn  1899-1918

Edward was born in 1899 in Hereford, the second child of George Caffyn and his wife Deborah nee Tydeman.  Edward joined the Grenadier Guards but died of wounds on the 3rd April 1918. 

Joseph Mannington Caffyn  1880-1918

Joseph was the first of eight children born to Joseph and Sarah nee Ballard, he was born in 1880 in Northiam, Sussex.  He worked as a shopkeeper and married Florence Minchin in 1910.  They had two children Harold and John born in 1912 and 1916 respectively.    Joseph joined up in 1916 at the age of 35 years as a corporal in the Royal Garrison Artillery.  He died on the 15th July 1918 at the Military Hospital in Great Yarmouth from pneumonia.  He is buried at Caversham Cemetery near Reading.

His cousins Harold and Chalenor both died in the First World War.

Murray Cameron Caffyn  1913-1943

Murray was born in Maryborough, Victoria in Australia in 1913 just before the start of the First World War.  He became a Flying Officer in the Royal Australian Air Force and came to England during the Second World War.  He died aged 29 years on the 27th October 1943 and is buried in the Berlin War Cemetery.

James Caffyn 1818-1894

James Caffyn moved to Robertsbridge in 1840, it was in Robertsbridge that he ran his busy drapery and grocery shop, where he married Elizabeth Mannington on the 12th April 1842 and where they raised their large family. 

His first wife died there in 1864 and was buried on the 29th April, she was only 44 years old.  Their youngest surviving son was about 4 years old at the time.  James remarried on the 28th December 1865 in Mountfield to his second wife, Elizabeth Parsons. 

James Caffyn, not surprisingly, was a Baptist.  He purchased a house on the High Street in Robertsbridge for his friend James Weller to run as a chapel for the Baptists; it became the Bethel Strict Baptist Chapel and continued to operate until 1996 but it is now a private house again.

James and Elizabeth (nee Mannington)'s large family included:

James, born in 1843.  James initially worked with his father before becoming an auctioneer in Salehurst.  He married Martha Booth in Gloucestershire in 1865; their only child, Minnie Elizabeth, was born in 1871 in Robertsbridge but sadly she died the following year.  Martha died in 1884 aged 46 years and James remarried later the same year,  but his new wife, Delta (nee Kirby) was left a widow  when James died the following year.  Delta Caffyn never remarried, she died in 1918.

Martha, born in 1845.  Martha married Augustus Mannington, a farmer in nearby Ewhurst, in 1868 (probably a first cousin once removed from Martha's mother).  Five of their children (sadly 3 died young) were Isaac (1869), Kate (1870), Edith (1872), Frank (1874) and Mary Ann (1875).  Martha died in 1912 aged 67 years, Augustus in 1924 aged 79 years.

Elizabeth was born in 1846.  She never married and continued to live with her parents, after their deaths she moved to St Leonards on Sea for a while.  She died aged 80 years in 1927.

Mary, born in 1848.  She married George Ballard, a farmer, in 1872, their eldest son, George Caffyn Ballard was born in 1874, Horace (1875), Jane (1876), Emily (1878), Grace (1880), Winifred (1881), Elizabeth Caffyn Ballard (1883), James (1885) and Helen (1887).  Mary died in 1887 (apparently of scarlet fever) aged 38 years.  George never remarried and died in Kent in 1920 aged 74 years.

Stephen Mannington was born  on the 15th May 1850, he trained as a surgeon but was also an author and inventor.  He married Kathleen Hunt in February 1879 and they moved to Australia where their children were born, Stephen (jnr) and Winifred Zelma Mannington twins were born in 1881 and both died the same year, Harold Hunt (1882), Jack (1884) and Chalenor (1891).  The family returned to England in 1892 and were financially very well off, sending their children to schools in Europe.  Sadly things did not go well for them; Stephen was made bankrupt and then died of tb in 1896.  His widow wrote novels and was able to support her family but then their son Jack left to explore America in 1903 and was never heard from again (he was declared dead in 1919) and their sons Harold and Chalenor were both killed fighting in the First World War.  Kathleen died in Italy in 1926.

Daughter Sarah was born in 1852 and died the same year.

Peter William was born in 1853 and was an apprentice draper at the time of the 1871 census.  I have not found any record of him after this date and he wasn't mentioned in his father will (written 1893) suggesting he had died.

Joseph was born in 1855 and he married Sarah Ballard (probably a cousin of Mary's husband George Ballard) on the 8th April 1880.  They also had a large family including their eldest son Joseph Mannington Caffyn (1880) who was killed in the First World War, Harry (1882), Helen (1883), Elizabeth (1885), Jeannie (1887), Wilfred (1889), Gertrude (1893) and Daisy (1897).  Joseph was a miller, farmer and ran a post office and later on was a political agent.  Joseph died in 1922.

Jane was born in 1856 and went away to school in Hackney.  She died aged 24 years and was buried in Salehurst on the 4th December 1880.

Ellen was born in 1857 and like her sister she went away to school, in her case only as far as Uckfield.  She died in 1887 aged 29 years and was buried in Salehurst on the 14th March.

Alfred was born in 1860 and was a boarder at school in Lewes before he became a farmer in Burwash and then in Ticehurst.  He married Mary Florence Smith in 1984 and they had two daughters, Margaret (1885) and Norah (1891).  He was another well off member of this family as he was able to employ a governess for his children.  Alfred died in 1943.

The youngest child Charles was born in 1861 and died the following year.

James Caffyn lived to be 76 years, he was buried on the 27th October 1894 in Salehurst, seven of his children had predeceased him and many of them were buried in the same graveyard along with his first wife.  Elizabeth, James's second wife was also buried in Salehurst on the 27th January 1900 aged 89 years.