A Fractured Bassett Family History

The earliest records of the Bassett family are probably those of Henry and Ann Bassett who had a son named Benjamin Bassett in 1807.
Benjamin was baptised at the church of St Thomas a Beckett,Cliffe,Lewes and later moved to nearby Chailey but other than in his baptism record no other details of his parents have been found.
He married Elizabeth about 1833 and they had at least six chldren,named Maria(1835),Elizabeth(1836) Benjamin (1838),Jos (also about 1838)William (1839) and Mary (about 1844).These records must be incomplete. The abbreviation Jos could mean Joseph but that is not certain.

By 1867 Benjamin Bassett was listed in the local Kelly's Directory as a Carrier running a regular Saturday service between Chailey and Brighton.

The younger Benjamin was first listed as a poulterer but during his life he was also a groom and a greengrocer and finally a poulterer again.He was born in Chailey and christened there at St Peter's Church. He married Fanny Mary Howell in 1859. She was born at Ratton,Willingdon and was christened at St Mary's Church. Her family had connections with the villages around Chailey and this probably accounts for her meeting Benjamin.

Benjamin and Fanny had ten children-namely Fanny Mary,Elizabeth(Bessie),Edith,Benjamin,Miles William ,Amy and Ada Mary (twins born in 1869);Maria,Alfred and Henry.

For the first part of their married life they lived in Chailey where Fanny.Elizabeth,Edith,Benjamin and Miles were born. By the time the twins Amy and Ada were born the family were living in Barcombe but maybe the move was temporary because,by 1871 when Maria was born,they were back in Chailey.

The next move was to Isfield where Alfred and Henry were born and from there the family moved to 4 Star Lane,Alfriston.The actual dwelling has gone but Star Lane and the Star Inn still remain. Benjamin's occupation was listed as
"groom". Star Lane was mistakenly transcribed as Stan Lane in the 1881 census records available to researchers but the lane can still be identified correctly and runs from the side of the famous Star Inn.

Currently no trace has been found of Fanny Mary and Elizabeth after 1881 but Edith Bassettlhad eft home to go into service, Benjamin junior was a butcher and Miles William was an agricultural labourer.The rest of the family were still at school.

By 1891 when the next census was taken Benjamin,Fanny and family were at 13 Beamsley Road,Eastbourne where Benjamin's occupation was listed as some type of grocer.The script is difficult to read.
Alfred and Henry were both errand boys.
Edith was in service in Kensington,Ada and Amy were parlourmaid and nurse with a family in Oakhill Road,Wandsworth and Benjamin was a boarder at Lancaster Cottage,St Clement,Hastings with no occupation listed. Maria and Miles had left home but details are not available in the census. It is known that Miles had married Caroline Margaret French in Eastbourne in 1890.

When the 1901 census was taken Benjamin and Fanny were living at 56 Seaside, Eastbourne and his occupation had become Poulterer. Sons Alfred and Henry were both living with them and were both listed as butchers.

Alfred had married Maria Collins and they had a five months old son called Harold. Also at number 56 on the night of the census was a nine years old granddaughter of Benjamin named only by initials as M A Bassett. She was probably a daughter of Miles.

Edith moved back to Eastbourne to live at 53 Willowfield Road but what happened to Benjamin and Miles? Amy married William Turner and lived in the Fulham area and Ada married Albert Unstead from Litlington.

Amy and William Turner had two daughters and three sons,two of them being twins born on the 19th May 1904. Sadly one of the twins died at or soon after birth but the other twin reached his 101st birthday before he died in 2005.

Further information on this family will be welcomed but to protect privacy no living person will be identified on this website without their permission. The Bassett family history,as far as it is known is available to any interested relative.
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