The Biggs Family of Staplehurst

The Bigg family was in Staplehurst since at least 1560 and probably earlier. There were Biggs in small numbers in other villages near to Staplehurst. 

Bartholomew BIGG c1530 - 1574
The Bigg family first appear in the register in 1560 with the baptism of Bartholomew’s daughter. There appears to be only one family of Biggs in the village. There is no record of the marriage of Bartholomew although it is likely he was married to Anne who remarried after the death of Bartholomew to John Moris.

Bartholomew  Bigg Had the following children baptised in Staplehurst.

• Sara Bigge, daughter of Barthelmew, was baptised 15 December 1560. There is a burial of Sara Biggs on 27 October 1608. This may or may not be the same person.
• Rebecka Bygge, daughter of Bartholomew, was baptised 25 April 1562. Rebecca Bygg was buried on 02 June 1574.
• Katryn Bygges, daughter of Bartholomew, was baptised 10 October 1563.
• James Bygg, son of Bartholomew, was baptised 13 May 1565.
• Anne Bygge, daughter of Bartholomew, was baptised 19 Jan 1566/7.
• Johan Bygge, daughter of Bartholomew, was baptised 19 December 1568.
• Mary Bygge, daughter of Bartholomew, was baptised 14 January 1570/1.
• Martha Bigges, daughter of Bartholomew, was baptised 19 July 1573. Martha was buried 6 months later on 22 January 1573/4.

Bartholomew was buried in Staplehurst on 26 October 1574. He was said to be a ‘poore housholder’. 

There is a burial on 28 May 1597 of John Bigges, the son of Jone Bigges, widow. We do not have a baptism of John. It is possible that Jone Bigges is the widow of Bartholomew or possibly she was the wife of James Bigg, the son of Bartholomew. There is a marriage in Staplehurst of  Anne Bigges, widow, on 28 September 1576 to John Morys (Moris). This is more probably the widow of Bartholomew.
There is also a burial of Annis Bigges on 19 May 1612 who was said to be an ‘olde woman’.

Possibly the family left Staplehurst after the remarriage of Anne as there is no further record of the family in the register.

William Bigg c1550
Bartholomew may have had a brother William. There is a marriage in Staplehurst of Willyam Bigge on 17 May 1573 to Margarett Parteredge. They were said to be young folk. There is no further reference to this family.

James Bigg d.1723
There is evidence that there was another Biggs family settled in Staplehurst . There is a James Bigg buried in Staplehurst on 16 May 1723. He may have been related to Mary who was buried on 09 October 1778 at the age of 78.

There are also two marriages of Bigg woman who may be related to this family. Elizabeth Bigg of Staplehurst married Richard Brunder on 25 November 1684. Also Susanna Bigg of Staplehurst married Thomas Baily on 01 May 1747.

John Bigg 1728 - 1792
There is a marriage licence dated 22 November 1752 for John Bigg who was said to be 24 years old and a bachelor of Staplehurst. He was to marry Sarah Love a 21 year old spinster of Staplehurst. The marriage took place in Maidstone on 23 November 1752.
We have no record of John’s baptism and it is likely he originated elsewhere.
Sarah Love was baptised in Staplehurst on the 10 November 1731, the daughter of Robert and Sarah Love. To see Sarah Love's family click here.

    
  

John and Sarah had the following children baptised in Staplehurst.

• John Bigg baptised 19 December 1753.
• Robert Bigg baptised 09 May 1755. Robert was buried on 03 August 1788. He would have been 33 years old. There is no record of Robert having been married.
• James Bigg baptised 13 July 1758.
• From John’s will, we know that he also had a daughter Sarah Bigg. Sarah married by licence in Staplehurst to Henry Jarvis of St. Nicholas parish in Rochester on 25 July 1779. We know that by 1792 when Sarah’s father made his will, that Henry and Sarah were living in Chatham and Henry was a bricklayer.

Sarah Bigg, wife of John Bigg, aged 61, was buried in Staplehurst on 20 March 1792.

John Bigg was buried 4 months later on 02 July 1792, aged 67. (His age at death implies a birth year of 1725 which conflicts with his age at marriage of  24 implying a birth year of 1728). 

John Bigg left a will is dated 30 May 1792 (reference PROB 11/1229). Probate was dated 16 March 1793.
He directs that his property in Staplehurst and all his goods and chattels are to be appraised and sold and then the proceeds divided equally between his sons John and James and his daughter Sarah who is married to Henry Jarvis a bricklayer of Chatham. Of John’s share, £20 is to go to John’s sons: John Bigg and Robert Wickings Bigg. If anything happens to the grandsons then the money goes to 2 unnamed granddaughters.
He makes James Bigg, carpenter in Whitechapel and son-in-law Henry Jarvis executors.
Witness : William Allen and John Spratt. 

John  Bigg 1753 - 1816
John Bigg was baptised in Staplehurst on 19 December 1753, the son of John Bigg and Sarah Love. John married Martha Wickings in Staplehurst on 14 July 1780.
Martha Wickens was baptised in Staplehurst on 04 February 1759, the daughter of Robert Wickings and Martha Harris. To see Martha Wickens family, click here.

      
 

John and Martha had the following children baptised in Staplehurst.

• Martha Big was baptised on 21 July 1782.
• John Bigg was baptised 25 July 1784.
• Robert Wickings Bigg was baptised 09 April 1786.
• Sarah Bigg was baptised 04 May 1788.

Martha, wife of John Bigg was buried in Staplehurst on 04 September 1788 at just 29 years of age.
John Bigg was buried in Staplehurst on 26 May 1816. He was said to be 63 years of age.

James Bigg  1758 - 1793
James Bigg was baptised in Staplehurst on 13 July 1758, the son of John Bigg and Sarah Love. There is a marriage licence dated 18 November 1782 for James Biggs to marry Sarah Wildish in Staplehurst. John was said to be a carpenter and a bachelor of Staplehurst. Sarah was a spinster of Staplehurst. The marriage took place on 19 November 1782 in Staplehurst. A baptism has not been found for Sarah.

 At the time of James’ father’s death in 1792, James was said to be a carpenter in Whitechapel.  

James and Sarah had one child baptised in Staplehurst. John Bigg, son of James and Sarah, was baptised on 09 June 1783.

We know that James lived away from Staplehurst at least some of the time so there might have been more children baptised elsewhere.
There is a burial of Charles Bigg, aged 2, on 06 March 1794. There is no record of a baptism but as James and Sarah were the only Bigg couple at child rearing age in Staplehurst at the time, it is probable that Charles was their son. 

Sarah Bigg, wife of James, was buried in Staplehurst on 08 October 1793. She was said to be 34 years of age which gives us a calculated birth year of 1759. James was buried the following month on 27 November 1793 at just 35 years of age. The death of 2 relatively young people might possibly indicate that they died of a contagious disease.

 There is no further reference to the Bigg family continuing in Staplehurst. By the time of the 1851 census, there are no Biggs listed as born in Staplehurst or living in Staplehurst.