The Alabaster Chronicle

The Journal of the Alabaster Society

NUMBER ONE,  AUTUMN/WINTER 1993 

Contents

• Welcome by Laraine Hake
• The First Alabaster Gathering 1990, including photograph;
• W. A. B. Jones Memorial Window
• An Alabaster Memorial in Australia
• Thomas Alabaster - the convict
• The Branches of the Alabaster Tree from c. 1522
• Two Female Ancestors, Christian and Mary Alabaster
• The Alabasters of Hadleigh, 1588
• Plan of St. Mary`s Church, Hadleigh, Suffolk
• The Alabaster Family and its link with Hadleigh
• "Hadleigh through the Ages", book by W. A. B. Jones
  
• The Meaning of the Name of Alabaster

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 Welcome

by Laraine Hake

Welcome to the Alabaster Society and the first Alabaster Chronicle. My experience during the past few years of meeting a variety of Alabasters and Alabaster descendants gives me to believe that it will be an excellent "club" of which to be a member!!

So this is the first newsletter or journal. As many of you are aware, I have been threatening one for the past three years, and here it is at last! It would not be strictly true to say that I have "edited" this first edition: it is more accurate to say that I have "written" it! I do hope that this will not be the case in the future. I am well aware that my personal writing style can be irritatingly repetitive if viewed too often!

I do already have some "copy" for the Alabaster Chronicle of Spring 1994, but I would really appreciate more, as and when you feel able. There is such a wide diversification of people and interests within our family. In this issue I have tried to emphasise our common roots in the sixteenth and seventeenth century but I want to include much more up to date information about the Alabaster family too. Do you know what your grandparents or parents did during their lives? Please share it with the rest of us. I would also be grateful for information about any births. marriages or deaths in the family as well as any Alabaster references you happen to come across. anywhere in the world, in newspapers, books, or source material.I do appreciate that many of our family are not actively involved in family history research themselves, although they do like to hear of its results. Those of you who are involved in your own research. please send me details of what you find so that I can pass it on. Some people in the family are interested in one specific area. person or branch of the family. Please write down what you know. In fact many of you have had interesting lives in your own right. Here is the chance to write your own memoirs - or at least tell me something of your interests and hobbies. In the last two weeks I have been intrigued to discover that there is at least one Alabaster fascinated by steam trains, whilst another is an expert on cacti!

Laraine Hake,  31st August, 1993.

To Contents

 The First Alabaster Gathering

Hadleigh, Suffolk - 21st April 1990

It all began with the idea of a small family gathering to mark the reopening of the Hadleigh Guildhall, and ended with a weekend, based in Hadleigh, which was attended by 136 Alabasters and Alabaster descendants.

When Beryl Neumann of New South Wales, my third cousin, (both of us descended from Charles Henry Alabaster 1797-1861), suggested in a letter early 1988 that we should try to organise a family gathering in Hadleigh for Easter 1990. This was the target date for the completion of a drastic refurbishment of the Guildhall to meet new fire regulations. I agreed that it was an excellent idea, and then promptly pushed the idea to the back of my mind. When Beryl wrote to me in the summer of 1989, giving details of her travel plans, I was driven to action.

I contacted John Stammers Alabaster (Branch I) and Adrian Alabaster, (Branch IIA) both fellow researchers and distant cousins of mine, to pool our ideas. We drafted a letter which I sent during September 1989 to every Alabaster in the British telephone directories, Beryl Neumann did likewise in Australia, and another third cousin, Margaret Evans, (Branch IIA) did so in New Zealand. The letter was just a means to gauge the likely response if we did organise something. I did take the additional step of including a questionnaire with the letter - even if nobody was interested, I might gain a little more knowledge for my Alabaster One Name Study! The response was good. We sent out order forms to those who had expressed some interest. We had hoped for 20 to 30 people. It looked as if we were more likely to get 50!

Eventually there were 136 people named Alabaster, descended from Alabasters or married to Alabasters, who met in the United Reform Church Hall, Hadleigh, on 21st April 1990. We had been pleased when we received replies which indicated that people were willing to travel from as far away as Yorkshire. On the day, we not only had family members from Yorkshire and Scotland, but from Australia and New Zealand too! Beryl Neumann from New South Wales, whose mother was an Alabaster, was naturally there, but so, too, was David Alabaster (William of Woodford Branch) from Canberra, who had altered his travel arrangements to the UK to coincide with the Gathering.

Raewyn Alexander (nee Alabaster) from Atiamuri and Molly Duffy (nee Alabaster) from Dunedin were also there. They had travelled over together from New Zealand especially for the Gathering. Sharing the same maiden name, Raewyn and Molly have known each other for many years. Molly is descended from Reverend Charles Alabaster (1833-1865) (Branch IIC), born in London, who went to New Zealand and started one of the first preparatory schools in Christchurch. Raewyn is descended from Captain Daniel Alabaster (1836-1920) [Branch IV] born in the Gt Yarmouth area, who went to New Zealand in the mid 19th century as an explorer. Lake Alabaster in New Zealand is named after him. Raewyn and Molly have never been sure whether they were actually distantly related, but I was able to trace their common ancestor to John Alabaster, baptised 1624 in Hadleigh. He was the great grandson of Thomas whose brass is in the church and who was partly responsible for the return of the Guildhall to the town of Hadleigh after the Reformation.

A great deal was packed into that day. The Mayor of Hadleigh opened the proceedings, then Mr W.A.B. Jones, historian of Hadleigh, gave an excellent talk on Hadleigh during the century and a half in which the Alabasters lived there. Everybody who attended was presented with a booklet, prepared by John Stammers Alabaster. This contained notes on "Some Notable Alabasters" about whom he and Adrian Alabaster were giving talks. These included Henry Alabaster of Siam, who was interpreter at the British Consulate, Bangkok, during the "King and I" era, Thomas Alabaster, a convict transported to Australia in 1819 for stealing, Dr William Alabaster, scholar and poet, Captain Daniel Alabaster, and Reverend Charles Alabaster. A newspaper reporter came to take notes and took a photograph of those present.

Following a buffet lunch, there were guided tours of Hadleigh Church and The Guildhall organised by the good people of Hadleigh. In particular, Mr W.A. B. Jones, Mr Cyril Cook and Mrs Hilary Griffin. We had a dinner that evening, some at the Eight Bells, Hadleigh, whilst others were at The George.

The next day, Sunday, the thirty or so of us who could make it split into two groups and made a tour of various parishes in Suffolk which have connections with past Alabasters. We were welcomed at Snape, Friston, and Saxmundham, where gravestones or memorial inscriptions remain to the Alabasters. At Friston we were given a talk about the church. then on to Framlingham Castle, where Dr William Alabaster was once imprisoned. Here, again, we were given a talk about the Castle's history. It had been a truly wonderful weekend.

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In August 1990, Mr Jones died. Just before his death, I received a letter from him with news of fresh evidence he had found that Thomas Alabaster was in Hadleigh by 1555. He wrote, "I still look back with pleasure on our grand meeting."

In memory of this special man, and of our Alabaster forebears, we decided to pay for the re-leading of one of the windows in Hadleigh's church, close to Mr Jones's habitual seat and not far from Thomas Alabaster's brass memorial. After some delay, and problems of escalating prices, we succeeded in our intention, and on Saturday 24th April 1993, a gathering of Alabasters who were instrumental in fulfilling this goal met in Hadleigh.

This time we were able to hold it in the Guildhall itself. The atmosphere was wonderful, as distant relatives and friends met again. There was a splendid buffet lunch, more tours and lots of talking. Richard Jones, son of W.A.B. Jones, was our guest at the evening dinner, and gave a lovely after-dinner speech about his father.

On Sunday 25th April, during the morning service in Hadleigh Church, the Very Rev Arrand dedicated the window in memory of Mr Jones and our Alabaster ancestors, just about four hundred years after the death of Thomas Alabaster in 1592.

Members and Friends at the First Alabaster Gathering, 1990

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Click here for the universal printer-friendly version of the enlarged picture with identity key 

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An Alabaster Memorial in Australia

In November 1992 when Beryl Neumann (Branch IIA) of New South Wales, Australia, was in a library doing some Alabaster research, an interesting notice caught her eye. Hawkesbury City Council were planning their 1994 Bicentennial Celebrations. This included a "Pioneer Memorial Tree Planting Program" in McQuade Park, Windsor, New South Wales. By embarking on a tree planting project as well as formal memorials, the Celebrations Committee hoped to provide a lasting and living memorial to all pioneers of the district. In particular, family association members were asked to participate by sponsoring a tree. For $50 a suitable tree could be purchased and the cost of planting and maintaining would be included. In addition, a small plaque would be supplied to accompany each tree, displaying the name of the contributing Family Group.

It happened that the research in which Beryl was involved at this moment was into any information she could find about one Thomas Alabaster who had lived in Windsor from 1825 until his death in 1842, having arrived in Australia as a convict on 4th April 1820 in "Coromandel II", a ship which had sailed from Spithead on 1st November 1819.

Although we have been unable to ascertain exactly where Thomas fits in to our large family tree, Beryl decided that it would be pleasing to have a lasting memorial to one of the earliest "Australian Alabasters".

Thus it was on May 15 1993 at McQuade Park, Windsor, opposite St Matthew's Anglican Church where Thomas Alabaster was married to Jane Brown (also a convict) in 1825. Beryl and Hans Neumann (pictured) planted the tree.

The plaque that was erected reads:

Planted by Descendants of the Alabaster Family
as a Memorial to Thomas Alabaster

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Thomas Alabaster - "the Convict"

Excerpts from Old Bailey Sessions Papers - 1819

First Middlesex Jury, before Mr. Justice Holroyd

THOMAS ALABASTER was indicted for feloniously breaking and entering the dwelling-house of William Clark Blundell, about five o'clock in the afternoon of the 14th of June, at St Martin in the Fields (Caroline his wife, and other persons being therein), and stealing ten sheets, value 12s; two shirts, value 10s; one pair of stockings, value 1s; one whittle, value 6s; one scarf, value 5s; one hat, value 1s.. and one handkerchief, value 2s., his property.

Evidence heard at the trial included the following:

WILLIAM CLARK BLUNDELL. I am a bookseller, and live in Church-lane, Strand, in the parish of St Martin in the Fields................On the 14th June, between ten and eleven o'clock in the evening, I came home, found my wife alarmed, and missed these things which were in the house when I left. I had put the hat near the bed-room door in the morning.

CAROLINE BLUNDELL. I am the wife of the last witness. On Monday, the 14th June, I was very ill, and did not get up till three o'clock in the afternoon; I then locked and latched the bed-room-door, and took the key away. Between five and six o'clock, ................. I went up, and found the bed-room-door wide open - a false latch-key was left in the door. I missed the property stated in the indictment, and sent for a constable.

WILLIAM BROWN. I am a constable. On Wednesday, the 16th of June, about eight o'clock in the evening, I went and took the prisoner at No. 1, Church-court, at work in an old iron shop; he was filing a key, or doing something to a lock; there was another man and a woman in the shop. I asked the man if his name was Alabaster? He said. No. I asked the woman which was Alabaster? she pointed to the prisoner, and said that was the man. I took him into custody, and took him to Mrs Blundell, who took the hat off his head, and the handkerchief fell out. She claimed them, and gave me another hat...............

WILLIAM CLARK BLUNDELL re-examined. I know one of these hats to be mine from its general appearance; the maker's name is partly torn off, but there is the word Bristol, in old English letters left.

Prisoner's Defence.

I bought the hat in Church-court.

GUILTY -- DEATH     Aged 23.

Recommended to Mercy

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So this is how Thomas Alabaster came to go to Australia. Although transported for life, he received a Ticket of Leave in 1828, which allowed him to remain in the district of Hawkesbury on the recommendation of Windsor Bench, and Conditionally Pardoned on the 15th August 1835. On the Ticket of Leave, Thomas is given as a tailor. At the time of his death in 1842 he was a shopkeeper.

Both Adrian Alabaster (IIA) and Beryl have researched Thomas the convict in detail, but identifying Thomas is complicated by the various ages he is given. From his trial he appears to have been born in 1796. On the Conditional Pardon found by Beryl, 1778 is given as the year of birth, but on the 1837 New South Wales Muster his age is given as 33! Thomas's native place is given as Hampshire, which would make him the only Alabaster born there of whom we are aware, if it is true. I think it more likely that he was Thomas Lucas Alabaster, son of William Alabaster and Ann (nee Lucas), baptised 1793 at St Mary, Marylebone, London. If so he would be part of William of Woodford Branch, or Branch I. Perhaps one day somebody will find some further information to establish exactly where Thomas fits in!

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The Branches of the Alabaster Tree

by Laraine Hake

Over the years that we have been researching the Alabaster family it has become convenient to divide the family tree up into "branches".

These branches are, by their very nature, fairly arbitrary, but to show that there was some logic behind the classification, I will attempt to explain their derivation.

On the following double page spread there is a simplified family tree showing the descent of the Alabaster family from Thomas of Hadleigh for seven generations. It is "simplified" in that it only shows the offspring with direct descendants which form the branches. 

There is a memorial brass to Thomas Alabaster (1) in Hadleigh Church. On this it states that he was buried in January 1591 (actually 1592 by present day reckoning. because then the year started on March 25) aged about 70 years, having lived in Hadleigh for about 40 years. All living Alabasters appear to be descended from Thomas, so he is a convenient person to treat as the Patriarch of the family for the present purpose. [There is more information about Thomas and his immediate family on pages 10 and 11]

Thomas's grandson, Thomas (5) married Elizabeth Glanfield. They had ten children, of whom two are of particular importance to us: John (7), because without him we would not be here (he was our many times great grandfather), and his sister Jane who remained a spinster, lived to the ripe old age, for those days, of 72 years, and died in 1708 leaving a detailed Will giving us information about her nephews and nieces. She appears to have been the last Alabaster to have lived in Hadleigh, paying rent on a house in George Street, Hadleigh, in the 1690s. She died in Stuston, which is on the Suffolk/Norfolk border, possibly living close to her first cousin, Benjamin Bryan, son of Bridget, who was the sister of Jane's father, Thomas(5). Benjamin Bryan died in 1709 in Stuston, and he also left a Will which, conveniently for us, gave details of his Alabaster kin.

From these two Wills it is clear that John (7) had various children, John, himself, is referred to as "John Alabaster late of Ipswich, deceased". References to his children include "William Alabaster (9) of Claydon, co. Suffolk" and "the children of John Alabaster (11) of Saxmundham" implying that John (11) had probably already died by 1708/9.

At these two men, William Alabaster (9) and John Alabaster (11), the branches first split.

William Alabaster (9) married Ann Clarke (10), Claydon in 1682.

She came from a family that had been in Claydon for generations. which is possibly the reason that William and Ann settled in Claydon, where they raised a large family. Amongst their twelve or thirteen children were William (13) born 1689, and Benjamin (15) born 1697/8.

William (13) remained in the Claydon area. His grandsons represent the forefathers of Branch One, Branch Two, and. probably, "William of Woodford" Branch, too. 

John Alabaster (28) left Suffolk and settled in Rayleigh, Essex, where he married Ann Burrows (29). Amongst their children was John Abel Alabaster who married Mary Stammers in 1828, and thus began the tradition of using STAMMERS as a forename which is still in practice today. This is the line which we call BRANCH I.

John's brother, William (27), now appears to be the likely father of .the William Alabaster who married Mary Plummer in St Pancras, London. in 1806. William gave the details of his parish as "Woodford, Essex" at the time of his marriage. As no trace of any Alabaster was ever found in Woodford at this time this William has long been labelled by me, "William of Woodford". My apologies to this Branch of the family who are probably, rightly, the senior branch I!!

Other grandsons of William (13) include Robert (30), William (32), and Charles (33). They were amongst the nine or ten offspring of Robert (21) and Ann Mison who had married in Hessett, Suffolk, in 1754, although they raised their family in Bramford, another parish close to Ipswich. Ann Mison had a brother Chaloner Mison. She named one of her own sons Chaloner. He did not have any children himself, dying in Bramford in 1798, at the age of 32. His younger brother Charles (33) continued the use of the name CHALONER, however, and this is another traditional name still in use today with one branch of the ALABASTERS.

Robert (30),. William (32), and Charles (33), each went to London and became involved in the straw hatting business. They each started in the Worship Street/Chapel Street area of Shoreditch. Robert's family, (30) BRANCH IIA, also went into the licensed trade in Shoreditch. Descendants of this line include the Alabaster & Wilson jewellers of Birmingham today. Others moved to Bethnal Green but continued the trade of hat/bonnet making until the end of the 19th century.

William's family (32), BRANCH IIB, also continued with the hat trade and other fancy goods. They remained in Shoreditch for a while and also moved towards Bethnal Green.

Charles (33), BRANCH IIC, the youngest son of Robert (21) and Ann, was living in Chapel Street, Shoreditch, with his wife Mary nee Dearmer, when their children were baptised between 1804 and 1814. He appears to have done well in business and appears in a London Directory of 1817 as "Charles Alabaster, Straw hat manuf, 60 Piccadilly" Charles died in 1820 at the early age of 45. His wife continued with the shop in Piccadilly until her death in 1838.

To return to the division of the Branches, Benjamin Alabaster (15), brother of William (13), married Susan Hewitt in 1731 in Akenham, Suffolk. This was his second marriage, there having been no surviving offspring from his first marriage. His son John (23), also married twice and had two sons John (35) and Joseph (37) by his second wife Mary Querry whom he married in Ipswich in 1760. John's (35), BRANCH IIIA, second son, Roger moved to the Romford area of Essex where he started an Ironmongery. Many of Roger's descendants still live in the Romford and Hornchurch areas of Essex.

Joseph (37), BRANCH IIIB, moved to the East of London. His family became chairmakers and shoemakers in the Bethnal Green area.

BRANCH IV of the Alabaster tree are those descended from John (11). These Alabasters continued to live in Suffolk, including Saxmundham, Snape, and Friston, and then Kessingland and Great Yarmouth. Their careers varied, some being pillars of society as church wardens, and others being involved in occasional smuggling!

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THE "BRANCHES" OF THE ALABASTER TREE
with thanks to Ivor Smith 

Two Female Ancestors

Each summer Kentwell Hall, a Tudor mansion in Long Melford, Suffolk, opens its doors to visitors and re-enacts a specific year from the Tudor period. Visitors are encouraged to join in this "complete lifestyle" by going dressed in the costume of the period.

In 1988 -- the year 1588 was chosen to commemorate the defeat of the Spanish Armada -- I persuaded my daughter Mandy to accompany me to Kentwell Hall. not only dressed in costume but also attempting to adopt the personae of two of our ancestors who would have been living in Hadleigh, not far from Long Melford, during the sixteenth century.

Accordingly, I undertook some detailed research on Christian Alabaster (nee Warren) and Mary Alabaster (nee Forth). It brought home to me that it is worth remembering that the females of the family are as much our ancestors as the males!

These are the details Mandy and I took in our heads when we went to Kentwell on Saturday 2nd July 1988, in character.

I (Laraine) was Christian Alabaster (nee Warren); Mandy was my daughter-in-law, Mary Alabaster (nee Brond).

The known facts about the Alabasters of Hadleigh, as they stand in 1588.

Christian Alabaster, wife of Thomas Alabaster of Hadleigh, a clothier, is the daughter of John Warren of Newbourne (1) Suffolk, and Dorothy who was the daughter of Robert Forth Esq (1) of Hadleigh. Robert Forth, Christian's grandfather, was a very wealthy man. In 1568 he was the richest merchant in Suffolk and a strong puritan (2). Christian's sister, Agnes Warren, is married to Arthur Vesey (1) Her brother, Roger Warren dies during 1588 (1)

Christian's husband, Thomas Alabaster, was an executor to the Will of William Forth dated 1553 (1), although probate was granted in 1559 (1), William was another son of Robert, so presumably Christian's mother's brother, Thomas Alabaster, is actually first mentioned in the surviving records of Hadleigh in 1557 when he was appointed as bailiff to the market (3). Christian, presumably, married Thomas Alabaster at the end of the 1550s, that is: 30 years earlier. 

Their first son, John, was baptised 17th February 1562 (4). He is now married to Mary, daughter of John Brond of Boxford, co Suffolk, also a clothier (1). They have been married for just under four years, having married August 4 1584 at Boxford (5).

As well as John, Christian and Thomas have other children, all now in their twenties. They are Ann who is married to John Still, the Rector of Hadleigh (6), Priscilla, who has probably died by now, and was married to Thomas Lawrence (6), Margaret who is due to marry John Dorrington of London at the end of this year, 1588 (4), Christian (4) who is not married, and there is also Thomas, who is the illegitimate son of Christian's husband from a much earlier liaison, and is now in his late thirties, having graduated from Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, twenty years ago (7).

Christian's husband, Thomas, is one of the so-called Chief Inhabitants of Hadleigh. In 1574, that is 14 years ago, the accounts were presented to Thomas Alabaster, amongst others, as a Chief Inhabitant (3). In 1576, 12 years ago, Thomas Alabaster signed to help keep order in Hadleigh (3). In 1579, 9 years ago, Thomas made judicious payments of 13s 4d and 16s to avert the town of Hadleigh being indicted for not mending the highways within the town (2). Thomas is now aged about 66 years. In 1574, 14 years ago, Thomas`s Alabaster, gentleman, and others subscribed to getting the Guildhall back after the reformation (2).

Thomas's eldest son, or the eldest son he bore by Christian, John, is married to Mary Brond, daughter of John Brond of Boxford, Suffolk, who was himself a clothier (1). There was a marriage settlement made upon them in the 26th year of Elizabeth I's reign.1 Eventually, John and Mary had 2 sons and 9 daughters (8). Mary herself is now 23 years old, having been baptised December 10th 1564 (5). At this time in 1588, John and Mary have one child, Ann, who is now almost 2 years old (4), and Mary is again with child, which is likely to be born at the end of this year (4). John himself is a clothier by this time; he is also an important person in Hadleigh. Looking into a crystal ball, we can see that next year, in 1589, he is going to put his signature to a decision, namely,"with the full consent of all the Chief Inhabitants of Hadleigh the bushel, commonly called the market bushel, was cut and made equal with the standard in the presence of...."  ... many including John Alabaster (2).

Thomas, the husband of Christian, and the father-in-law of Mary, was born about 1522 (8), probably in Worstead in Norfolk (9). He was the son of William Alabaster who was himself the brother of another Thomas (9). Thomas Alabaster, husband of Christian, has another brother living in Hadleigh, namely Roger Alabaster who is married to Bridget, the daughter of Adam Winthrop. Her brother Adam is the father of John Winthrop, born this year and destined to be a Puritan leader and the first Governor of Massachusetts, America.1 The offspring of Roger and Bridget include William Alabaster, destined to become a poet who is at the moment in his final years studying at Trinity College, Cambridge (7). Thomas's other brother, John, died in 1557, 31 years ago, in Wiggenhall St Mary, Norfolk, leaving money to Thomas and Roger in his Will (10).

Thomas, himself, will die in 3 years` time (8), once again looking into a crystal ball. In his Will, made in 3 years time, he leaves land which we will presume he owns at the moment in 1588, namely, he leaves "unto Thomas Alabaster. my sonne, coppye lands in Carsey which I hold of Kings College in Cambridge. To John Alabaster, my sonne, land in Hadley. To Anne, my daughter, wife of Doctor Still, land in Hadley purchased of Stephen Upcher of Dedham, and to her children. To the children of my daughter Priscilla, late wife of Thomas Lawrence ........ to Arthur Dorrington, son of my daughter Margaret now wife of John Dorrington of London, to Roger Alabaster and his children .... to Sarah Still, Nathaniel Still, Ann Still the younger, Elizabeth Still, Mary Still, John Still, Elizabeth Shaxton, now the wife of Robert Mockett of Throwbye in Kent. To Mary Shaxton now the wife of Robert Carre of London, grocer. John Alabaster my sonne and Mary his wyfe. To John Alabaster the younger, sonne to my sonne John Alabaster, and to his sisters Anne and Mary whoe are daughters to my saide sonne. To Doctor Still a Ringe of golde of the price value of three poundes. To my daughter Anne Still, a Ringe of golde of the value of forty shillings. To Adam Wintropp a lyke ringe. Lyke rings to John Dorington and my daughter Margaret his wife. I name for my executors Doctor Still, my sonnes Thomas and John Alabaster, and my brother Roger Alabaster. Josia Speede a witness. My brother Roger Alabaster and his heirs shall pay on every Sondaye two shillings unto the churchewardens to be distributed by them amongst twelve honest aged impotent poore men and women ymediatly after evening prayer within the sowthe chappell of the churche of Hadley, twoe pence to everyone of them, exhorting them to be thankfull unto god for the same." (6)

References:

1. Manorial Families - Muskett
2. Hadleigh through the Ages - W.A.B. Jones
3. Hadleigh Town Records via Mr W.A. B. Jones
4. Hadleigh Parish Register
5. Boxford Parish Register
6. Will of Thomas Alabaster 1591, taken from Venn papers M11/9a-b
7. Alumni Cantabrigienses - Venn
8. Monumental Inscription, Hadleigh Church
9. Record of land dispute in Worstead, Norfolk 1562 C 3/1/147 PRO
10. Will of John Alabaster, 1557, Wiggenhall St Mary Magdalen

Postscript

All the facts above appear to be true with two important exceptions- both Christian and her daughter Christian, who is mentioned in passing, had died prior to 1588!!! I discovered this in 1989 when I found two entries for "Christian Alabaster" in the Burial Register of Hadleigh Church. One is dated 22 Nov 1565 and the other 29 Sept 1582. It is impossible to be sure which was the mother and which the daughter but it is likely that the mother was the one buried in 1565 since this would explain why no more children were baptised to Thomas and Christian after this date.

This discovery left me feeling quite bereaved!

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St Mary's Church, Hadleigh, Suffolk

Alabaster Family Memorials inside the Church
 

A - Memorial to Thomas Alabaster, 1592

B - Memorial to John Alabaster, 1637

C - Memorial to Ann Still (nee Alabaster), 1593

D- Memorial window to W.A.B. Jones given by descendants of the Alabaster Family, 1990

The Alabaster Family and its link with Hadleigh, Suffolk

by Laraine Hake

It was with pointers from Adrian Alabaster (IIA) and the writings of the nineteenth century genealogist Muskett that I first established, for myself, our family's link with Hadleigh, Suffolk. I well remember breaking the drive home that day, from the Record Office in Ipswich, to stop in Hadleigh and stare..........

I went into a local shop and picked up a book, Hadleigh through the Ages by W. A. B. Jones. I turned to the index. I can still recall the incredible thrill of finding "Alabaster family ...pages 31, 47, 58, 59, 63, 67". Thus began my personal link with Hadleigh, and Mr Jones!

Some of our Alabaster ancestors lived in Hadleigh. 1555 is the earliest documented reference to them in the town discovered to date, the latest being in the 1690s when Jane Alabaster was renting a house in George Street, Hadleigh. However, an educational bequest was made in the Will of John Alabaster who died in 1637 and still exists as the "Alabaster Charity".

As many Alabasters are aware, we have recently paid for one of the windows in the church to be releaded. It is also very pleasing indeed to discover that Malcolm Fowler, son of Valerie Henrietta Fowler (nee Alabaster) (Branch IIIA), has executed a drawing of the spire of St Mary's Church which has been printed on card as a bookmark. These are now on sale inside the church at 30p each in aid of church funds!

Web editor`s note: up-to-date details are to be found on the Contact us page.

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The publishers of  Mr. Jones`s book, "Hadleigh through the Ages" have now gone into liquidation. However some copies have been obtained by Richard Jones, his son. Many members of the family have already bought their own copy, but if anybody else should require one, they can be obtained at a price of £8.50 plus postage and packing. Also, if any bookmarks are required, Iwould be happy to organise that too:- 30p each plus postage (or an s.a.e.)       -- Laraine.

Web editor`s note: up-to-date details of items for sale are to be found on the Contact us page.

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The Meaning of the Name Alabaster

Dictionary of Surnames - Hanks and Hodges:

"Alabaster" English: alteration (by folk etymology) of ANF arblaster crossbowman (OF arbalestier, LL arcuballistarius, from arcuballista, a cpd of arcus bow + ballista catapult, ballista). 

The term was not only an occupational name for a soldier trained to use one of these weapons, but also denoted a category of feudal tenant in sergeantry, originally, no doubt, one who provided armed service with a crossbow." 

Dictionary of British Surnames - P.H. Reaney: 

"Alabastar, Alabaster, Albisser, Arblaster .................a soldier armed with a crossbow, a crossbowman. The surname is also due to office. Robertus Arbalistarius, Balistarius (1086 Domesday Book) and his son Odo Albalistarius (c1140 Holm) held their land of the king by serjeanty of performing the duties of arbalistarius. Others of the same surname held their land by serving at Wallingford Castle with an arbalest, by guarding Exeter gaol, or by providing two arbalests. As London arblasters are stated to have had apprentices, the surname may also mean "maker of crossbows". 

In his book, "The Origin of English Surnames", P.H. Reaney uses this name as an example of the debate as to when surnames became hereditary. He writes, "One of the chief difficulties in deciding when an early surname became hereditary is the absence of documentation between Domesday Book (1086) and 1155 when continuous national records begin. The names of many of the Domesday Book land-holders reappear in the twelfth century with the same surname in connection with the same land. The presumption is that both family and surname had continued in the interval, but we lack conclusive proof. Tengvik gives a list of heredity by names found in Domesday Book based on the mention of father and one or more sons, occasionally also of a grandson, or of two or three brother all bearing the same surname, but this is not always conclusive. (Tengvik) includes, for instance, Robertus Balistarius and Hugo Balistarius his son. Robert held Worstead in 1086 by serjeanty of performing the duties of arbalistarius, and his son Odo albalistarius (c1140 Holme) inherited the land and the office and owed his surname (now Arblaster or Ballister) either to inheritance or to his office. But his is also called Odo de Wrthesteda (c1150 Crawford) and his son Richard and his grandson Robert were both called de Worsted (1166, 1210 Holme)" 

So there we have it: a crossbowman or maker of crossbows, as seems likely from the Alabaster Coat of Arms.

Of course, this is all very well, but has it not occurred to anybody that the actual derivation might just be to do with the squeaky-clean image of the Alabaster family -- "whiter than white"?

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