How far did Norfolk labourers travel to find work?

[Amlodhi]

That's extremely kind of you Bendywendy.
As you will have read, I can find no trace of the birth of Jonas Rich.  His marriage in 1741 to Mary Buxton in Woodton is there, as is his death, also in Woodton, in 1773.  But no birth.  The parish register records his age at death as 64, giving the year of birth as c 1709.
I hope at some stage this year to get back to Norwich and visit the Records Office (I live in SW London), but no idea when as yet due to other family considerations.  In the meantime, if you are able to devote a little time to looking for Jonas (and any forebears if they become apparent), I'd be very grateful.
Kind regards
Amlodhi

[Duodecem]

There is a Johans Rich on Free Reg,son of Thomae and Marthae, baptised East Harling (20 miles East of Woodton), March 1701/1702. The names are obviously in Latin as they often were in early C18th registers. It's possible that Johans was known as Jonas rather than the more common John.
http://freereg.rootsweb.com/cgi/SearchResults.pl?RecordType=Baptisms&RecordID=4401712
This Johans obviously died because there is another baptism on the 8th October 1708, which fits in with your estimated dob-this time the parents' surname is recorded as the commoner Riches
http://freereg.rootsweb.com/cgi/SearchResults.pl?RecordType=Baptisms&RecordID=4443342
It could be your Jonas -spelling was notoriously variable then-It's certainly worth checking the parish register for East Harling

[Amlodhi]

Thanks for this, Jan - definitely a route to investigate.  Interestingly, Jonas' name for his first four children was recorded as Jonas in parish records, but for his last two (both John) it was recorded as Jonah.  Spelling was indeed cavalier, to say the least!  The only downside of this is that, with naming traditions in those days, Johans' parents' names, Thomas and Martha, could reasonably be expected to figure in younger generations, but there is no mention of them in the Rich family.

As you say, it is something to check out more closely for that parish.  But thanks again for your help.

Amlodhi

[bearrpam]

My gt gt grandfather's brother and family moved from Stoke Ferry in Norfolk (Daniel Munton family - Daniel  born 1800 in Oxborough his parents from Stoke Ferry  ) to New York. He was involved in the building of the Capitol Building in Albany N Y.  His sons and their family moved out west to build the railroads. 

[Nick Carver]

My gg g/f moved from the Broads area (Langley) to Leeds in the late 1830s and shortly afterwards moved to Hull. Two of his brothers joined him there. Another branch of the family moved from Lowestoft Yarmouth area to Tyneside. Later, we find one of the men who stayed behind and worked as a fisherman, selling fish in Hull, where it must surely have been bought (in part at least) by my relative who was the first proprietor of a fish and chip shop that has carried his name for 4 generations.

[trixi button]

My gt gt grandfather charles henry bunn born east dereham norfolk c1854 became a sailor but by 1870s eas in middlrsbrough marrying mary ann packer who was born in torquay devon. they had a daughter elizabeth who married a joseph hazel. his father james llares hazel had also been born in norfolk at lexham. do it does seem as if there was a big migration to the north east at that time. charles ended up as an ironworker.

[Amlodhi]

A lot of interesting family histories here - no doubt that agricultural poverty hit East Anglia hard in the first half of C19, a result of cheaper wheat, etc, having started to be imported from the USA.

[Amlodhi]

To Janfurness
Hi Jan - I've found another, possibly stronger, candidate for Jonas Rich (birth c 1709) on FreeReg - it is one John Rich, baptised in St Andrew's, Hingham on 20 November 1712.  His father is recorded as being a John Rich as well, which follows the naming convention i have seen throughout almost all the Rich generations.  Are there any records I could check to see if he moved from Hingham to Woodton?

[Duodecem]

I can't think of any records that early that would trace the movement of someone from their place of birth to their place of marriage and death. The record I found was about 20 miles East of Woodton and your record is about the same distance North West. Since you have Johns in your tree but no Thomas or Martha I would say your record is possible-though not certain of course. He may have moved for work -or because he met his future wife and moved to her home area.
I don't know if this link will work but it's the Woodton parish register burial record from Familysearch which gives his age at death as 64.
https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-267-12124-33636-54?cc=1416598
If the link works it may help you search for his birth.

The problem with finding possible records is that there may be a definite in the same or adjacent parish, but the record is lost or damaged and unreadable.