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St George’s Church parish registers

The manuscripts of the St George’s Church Litte Thetford parish registers containing Christenings 1599 – 1894, Marriages 1599 – 1963 and Burials 1599 – 1812 are kept by Cambridgeshire Archives. A typewritten transcript of the records were made in October 1981. Today we release a digital copy of the transcripts by kind permission of the Reverend J. S. Askey, rector of Little Thetford St George between 1974 and 1993.

THETFORD Cambridgeshire 1981 transcription notes (PDF 260 KB)
THETFORD Cambridgeshire Christenings 1599 – 1894 (PDF 1.9 MB)
THETFORD Cambridgeshire Marriages 1599 – 1963 (PDF 1.1 MB)
THETFORD Cambridgeshire Burials 1599 – 1812 (PDF 1.4 MB)

There are a total of 105 pages numbered sequentially across three volumes; pages 1 – 48 Christenings, pages 49 –81 Marriages and pages 82 – 105 Burials. You will need Adobe Reader to read these files. The files may take a long while to download, especially if you have a slow connection.

The registers are searchable if your version of Adobe Reader permits this. However, following the OCR process these registers have not been verified so OCR errors remain. Nevertheless, we feel confident that these registers will be useful to ancestry researchers as they are. We do not provide any warranty, express or implied, so please use these records at your own risk. Digitised June 2011 by John McCullough.

#1 | Written by Simon (mum is Marion Cornwell) about 13 years ago.

Thanks for these – fascinating and valuable. Do you know if there are any plans to transcribe and publish the 20th Century baptisms?
#2 | Written by John about 13 years ago.

To my knowledge, no.

I am sure you are aware but for others who might not know, there are other on-line records that can provide similar information. For example, the FreeBMD (Free Births, Marriages and Deaths project) has transcribed most of the Birth records for England & Wales between 1837 and 1983. FreeBMD FAQ here.
#3 | Written by bob young about 13 years ago.

Simon

The baptism records are still in St Georges Church.
#4 | Written by Diane about 13 years ago.

Thank you so much for publishing these registers on the Web. Part of my family originates from Thetford and I was struggling with sources for them, as very few of the records are in the IGI. Now with the registers, I can fill in lots of dates and family connections. I can see I will be spending many many hours scouring each of the Registers.
#5 | Written by anne pope about 12 years ago.

Thankyou very much Bob for all the hard work you have done,on behalf of myself and my family we thankyou very much kind regards jane.
#6 | Written by John about 11 years ago.

A remarkable effort. Being in Australia, this is a fantastic source. My ancestors “conned” the British Government into giving them a one-way, all expenses paid trip to Tasmania(Van Dieman’s Land). I am now able to piece together vital dates and family members. Little Thetford has become the centre of my family past. Many thanks for great work. Cheers, John.
#7 | Written by Bob Young about 11 years ago.

When did your ancestors leave, and what is your family name?
#8 | Written by John about 11 years ago.

Bob, James Murfitt, born 1810, Thetford, was convicted and transported to Tasmania in 1829 is the beginning of my Murfett Australian roots. Most of the Murfi(e)tts before that date seem to have come from Little Thetford, Ely, Soham Coates area. Another member from the same area was Matthew Cross, baptised 23/10/1810 at Holy Trinity Church, Ely…. another convict. Distance between “towns” certainly a factor in those days. I am currently trying to “enhance” interest in presenting a family tree by obtaining photographs of, in particular the churches involved in christenings, marriages and even headstones. Cheers, John.
#9 | Written by John McCullough about 11 years ago.
Hello John and welcome to our little corner of the web. The following resources might be of interest to you.

Gravestone Photographic Project

St George’s Church, Little Thetford

St James’ Church Stretham

Ely and Littleport riots of 1816

In the case of the Gravestone Photographic Project, unfortunately, St George’s Church of Little Thetford has not been surveyed. I found two Murfet/Murfitt’s in their directory. I suspect that neither are relevant to you. Nevertheless, you can find five entries under MURFET and one entry under MURFITT.

I hope this helps.
#10 | Written by Bob Young about 11 years ago.

John,
I am having my stairs rebuilt tomorrow by Murfitt’s from Soham. Sam Murfitt lives in the village, he runs MAC Construction. So Murfitt’s are well represented in the area still. Why was your ancestor transported? Do you have the court records?
#11 | Written by John about 11 years ago.

Thanks John, appreciate any assistance. Bob, James Murfitt was sentenced to life for horse stealing. He was tried at the Cambridge Assises, 23/3/1829. I don’t have a copy of that report, but horse stealing would have been very serious in those days. Probably lucky to receive life. Matthew Cross from Ely, was covicted of stealing lead from a building site. Tried Cambridgeshire Quarterly Sessions, 29/6/1836. Bit hard to imagine life experiences back then, compared today. Good on Sam. I have a son who works as a builder and another one as a plumber….. we must be related.
#12 | Written by John McCullough about 11 years ago.

John. I have forwarded a copy of the 23/3/1829 Cambridge Lent assizes document containing the details of James Murfitt’s sentence which was, as I stated, for House Breaking, not horse stealing. I also forwarded you a trace of his path from Cambridge to his arrival in Van Diemen’s Land (Tasmania) on 21/11/1829.

I am unable to categorically link the James Murfitt, 18 years old during sentencing on 23/3/1829 in Cambridge, identified above with another MURFITT, James son of John and Alice, Dairyman christened on 17 July 1814 in St George’s, Little Thetford. This is because I have found a James and Ann Murfitt living in March, Cambridgeshire during the 1851 census. In this census, James gives his birth place as Streatham, Cambridgeshire (a mis-spelling of Stretham, Cambridgeshire. Little Thetford is part of the Stretham parish) and his age at the time as 34 (thus born around 1817). There is a James and Ann Murfitt seen in following censuses such as 1871, 1881 and 1891 where his birth date was given as circa 1815, 1816 and 1814 respectively. I think the James and Ann recorded in the censuses for 1851, 1871, 1881 and 1891 is the same James born in Little Thetford and thus, unless your James returned to England for forty or so years after his 1843 pardon, he cannot be your James Murfitt.

Bob informs me that the all the legible gravestones in Little Thetford have been indexed (but not by the Gravestone Photographic Project) but he is not clear where those indexes are at present.

John, it seems to me that there is still a wonderful story here that Bob and I would like to include on the web site. Would you contact me by email so I can obtain your permission to write the story? We would, of course, need your help to trace James Murfitt’s life after his arrival in Australia with pictures if you have them.
#13 | Written by John about 11 years ago.

Hello John, Sorry for not communicating earlier, but events transpire. Following up on your last comments. The James I am interested on, born 1810, is the son of James Murfett and Alice Fletcher. James married Alice Fletcher 12/10/1808 St.Mary’s, Ely. The next generation is William Murfett(1750) and Ann Pope(1754). Before them, I become confused as dates don’t seem to line up. Trust you received notes on James’s life after arriving in Tasmania. Many thanks for your kind assistance. Cheers, John.
#14 | Written by Norma Bulman Gaertner about 10 years ago.

I was delighted to find so much information regarding Little Thetford. I greatly appreciated the church records which help in verifying and documenting dates from my Bulman ancestors. In 1981, I had the privilege to visit Ely and Little Thetford with my family. At that time, we were also able to visit with the family living in the Round house. Very special! James Bullman and Elizabeth Merrill Bulman were my great,great,great grandparents. Elizabeth came to live in Iowa with her son, Thomas, after her husband had died in 1873. His grave is in the cemetery of St. George church in Little Thetford.
Thomas Bulman and Phoebe Stocks were married in Chatteris in 1848 and emigrated to America in the same year. Their destination in America was Allamakee County öocated in the northeast corner of Iowa. The family names of Murfitt, Lister and Fletcher are also in our family tree. Will the church records of deaths after 1812 be recorded at some time? From where did the Bulman family come before they settled in Little Thetford? The first mention of the Bullman name came in 1763?
#15 | Written by Matthew about 9 years ago.

I too am also researching the Murfitt/Murfett (or Murfit) family in the Stretham area. After reading the posts about the name on here I’ll add what I’m looking for asap. My Murfitts were from Soham, Stretham and also Little Thetford (I suspect).

Matt
#16 | Written by Tracey MacKay about 9 years ago.

Hello all
I am James Murfitt and Anne Ramage’s GGG granddaughter in Melbourne Australia. Their son William (who married a Mary ? ) then their daughter was Rhoda Amelia Murfitt who married William Elijah Stubben MacKay residing in Queensland Aust but then moved to South Yarra Victoria later on where they lived til death. Their son Ernest Victor MacKay who married Elizabeth Seaby (from Lambeth, Middlesex, English Seaby’s) their child (My father ) Victor Henry MacKay who married Judith Margaret Joy Matthews who had me ..Ive left out other siblings on each line but can give full details if anyone would like them.
So from the top down goes as this
James and Anne Murfitt (nee Ramage)
William Murfitt and Mary (nee ?)
William MacKay and Rhoda (nee Murfitt)
Ernest Mackay and Anne (nee Seaby)
Victor Mackay and Judith (nee Matthews)
Tracey MacKay

Id love to know more about James and Anne so if anyone has any more info on both them and their parents please do email me [Editor: telephone removed] would love to hear from any relatives 🙂
warm regards
Tracey Mackay
Melbourne Australia.
#17 | Written by Tracey MacKay about 9 years ago.

I should add to the comment of mine above that my GGG grandfather James Murfitt I have his convict record as well as the Anne Ramage that he married who also had a record but they married in Hobart Tasmania 19th June 1832 so I don’t know if I have the same ppl as previous conversations here…its rather difficult as I have not been able to confirm James or Annes families as yet..

any info or help would be great appreciated.

cheers
Tracey MacKay
#18 | Written by John McCullough about 9 years ago.

Tracey. I have replied privately with some information and pointed out that a James Murfitt was baptised at St Mary’s, Ely on 6 October 1810 to James Murfitt and Alice Fletcher. They were married in Ely on 12 October 1808 and may be your GGGG grandparents.

There is an Ann Ramage, daughter of a William Ramage, porter, Age: 17, of West Campbell Close, Edinburgh who was convicted of housebreaking and transported on the “MELISH” with 117 other female convicts. The “MELISH” departed Sheerness on 2/5/1830 arriving at Hobart Town on 22/9/1830. Source: The Scottish Record Office via Ancestry member TrevorR51; information connected to Ann Ramage.
#19 | Written by Tracey MacKay about 9 years ago.

Thank you John
received your email and have replied accordingly with further info. I think you are correct in saying that the James Murfitt baptized 6/10/1810 is my 3 x Grandfather which makes Ann Ramage his wife married in Hobart Town 19/06/1832, later moving to Geelong Victoria, Aust, then about 5 yrs later move again and settle in Ballarat Vic Aust. They had several children, William being the first born, he married Mary Hillman who are my 2 x GG parents they had 4 kids, one of whom Rhoda Amelia Murfitt who married William Elijah Stubben MacKay, they had 4 kids one of whom Ernest Victor MacKay married Anne Elizabeth Seaby they had 2 sons Victor Henry and Ernest William (Bill).. Victor (my father) married Judith Margaret Joy Matthews then of course me (along with 4 other siblings-3 to my mother judith and 1 son Richard , my half brother to a previous partner (never married) Ms Patricia Darrington)
However I have hit a brick wall with going back further than James of 6/10/1810 other than know knowing his poss parents of Alice Fletcher and James Murfitt so more digging is required..lol

thanks for your help on this its very much appreciated. I have no family to speak of that can offer info or clues so anything concrete is very helpful indeed 🙂
warm regards
Tracey MacKay
Melbourne Australia
#20 | Written by mike armiger about 8 years ago.

Hi John,
What a wonderful collection of BMDs and so EASY to navigate! Your time and trouble in transcribing them is worthy of a thunderous round of applause! Thank you all very much,you’ve really assisted me with my family research!
Yours very appreciative,
Mike Armiger,
Adelaide,South Australia
#21 | Written by Stephanie about 8 years ago.

Hi Tracey,
I just read your post from 3 months ago….I am also descended from William Elijah Stubben Mackay and Rhoda Amelia Murfitt – through their son William Norman. I’m in Melbourne, Australia too! I’ve been researching the Mackay family back from Queensland to Scotland. I’ve also more recently been studying the Murfitts and Ramage family. I’ve gone back to 1671 with the Murfitts – to a Nicholas Murfitt, William’s (who married Anne Pope) grandfather. Would love to swap family tree details, what’s your email address? Cheers, Stephanie 🙂
#22 | Written by Tracey Mackay about 8 years ago.

HI Stephanie,
thanks for your reply, I had answered before now but not heard back from you so hoping you get this one. Id love to catch up with you 🙂 so you come down through Uncle John or Uncle Jack via William and Alice ..ok so we are cousins 🙂 Yay! Im in the outer east of Melbourne, would be great to speak and get our tree’s aligned and swap info etc etc.
please do email me and I very much look forward to speaking to you soon. You can reach me at inquiry@thefamilyfinders.org OR lady.tm.mackay@gmail.com

warm regards
Tracey x
#23 | Written by Robyn Thompson about 6 years ago.

Hello…Anyone able to help me out.. Searching for James Murfett Born ? married Mary Ann McLean. lived in Ballarat, Victoria….
They had around 6 children all born in Ballarat.
Please contact me on my email…..thombish@gmail.com
Thanks Robyn.

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