There is good news for Pafford family researchers - it is a relatively uncommon surname
in England. When the 1881 census was analysed, it was ranked the 25,627th most common
surname in Britain. There were just 66 examples, two in every million, and even more
good news is that 63% of Paffords were living in Hampshire: notably, Portsea (25),
Portsmouth (12) and Alverstoke (which is just across the waters of Portsmouth Harbour)
(5). The remaining Paffords were living in the West Country: Somerset (5), Gloucestershire
(5) and Herefordshire (2). Add to this, that the International Genealogical Index
notes only 227 Pafford marriages in England since 1538 and the researcher might be
forgiven for thinking he is on a roll.
The euphoria is only pricked by the knowledge that the name, Pafford, has been corrupted
by parish clerks and transcribers which poses its own problems. So, the name may
be rendered: Pasfoot, Pufford, Putford, Pasford etc. Nobody said genealogy should
be easy.
My greatx4 grandparents were George and Mary Pafford. They had at least five children
who were baptised at Alverstoke or Holy Trinity, Gosport. However, although the family
was probably living at Alverstoke/Gosport between 1786 -1793, little else is known
about them.
A likely birth-year for George Pafford is around 1760 but the Hampshire Indexes contain
no baptism details that relate to him. A note of their marriage has also not been
found, but it is possible that Mary Pafford’s maiden name was Mills. This may be
deduced because one of their children was given Mills as a second name and Mills
was substituted as the family name instead of Pafford (as we will see).
There is a probable sighting of George in the books of Goliath, a hulk ‘in ordinary’
at Portsmouth Harbour during the first half of 1800 - the first of three known generations
of Paffords who found this type of work. He worked for 4 months and 10 days and was
paid a net amount of £3 2/- (see below). He was discharged on 30 June 1800. He is
described as an ‘Ordinary Seaman’. As he was probably aged about forty at the time,
this would seem to suggest that he had not previously served in the Royal Navy as
he surely would have been an ‘Able-bodied Seaman’. He is my ancestor, George Pafford,
this information confirms that he was alive in 1800.
The Hampshire Burial Index does not record George’s burial but a Mary Paffard (aged
56) was laid to rest on 20 December 1818 at St Thomas, Portsmouth. As she would have
been born in around 1762, it is possible that she was my ancestor, however no Mary
Mills was born in the district around this time.
So, George Pafford is my Melchizedek, being ‘without father, without mother...having
neither beginning of days, nor end of life’ and with this ephemeral person, my direct
maternal ancestral trail ends - for the moment at least.
A few notes about the family tree shown above: I haven’t traced more details of
George and Mary Pafford after their marriage. James and Lydia May had five children
and had probably moved to Brighton by 1826. Charlotte Pafford was privately baptised,
instead of a Church ceremony - which is often a sign that there were fears about
the survival of mother or daughter when she was born. John and Charlotte Antrim had
two sons who were baptised at Brighton. A witness at their marriage was William May
- probably a brother of James May who married Lydia. Charlotte signed her marriage
document. John and Maria Romane had two children who were baptised at Alverstoke.
However, John died before 1839.
