Robert & Elizabeth Bishop of Blakeney

Robert Bishop, son of Benjamin and Elizabeth, was baptised in Bale on 20th February 1780.

Elizabeth Whisker, according to the 1851 census, was born in Hindringham around 1781 although no baptism has been traced.

They married in Hindringham on 14th July 1801 and one of the witnesses was Thomas Cook Whisker. Born around 1770 and married in Hindringham he must have been a relative but, so far, no link has been established.

Robert was a cordwainer, or shoemaker, and he and Elizabeth had at least six children baptised:

Robert

8 Nov 1801

Bale

Eliza

13 Mar 1803

Bale

Sarah

23 Mar 1807

Bale

Susan

11 Aug 1816

born Aug 5

William

9 Jun 1822

born Jun 7

Betsy

3 Jul 1825

buried 8 July

Their son Robert died when he was only 15 and was buried in Blakeney on 25th January 1816.

Betsy died soon after she was born and was buried in Blakeney on 8th July 1825.

The 1841 census showed Robert and Elizabeth living 'by the church' in Blakeney. The 1851 census showed them living in Croft Yard and gave their ages as 71 and 69. In 1861 their address was given as Crofts Court, High Street West.

Robert died in 1862 and Elizabeth in 1864.

Of their children:

  • Eliza married Zaccheus Baines in Blakeney on 23 April 1822 and their only known child was Zaccheus Murrell Baines, born in about 1823. Eliza died in about 1827 and Zaccheus re-married the following year.

  • Sarah married Robert Mansfield, a sailor, in Blakeney on 11 February 1829. One of the witnesses was Bodham Whisker, but again the Whiskers seem to have left little trace of how they are related. Sarah and Robert are known (mostly through census records) to have had at least 5 children in Blakeney:

    Robert

    ca. 1830

    Maria

    ca. 1831

    Betsy

    ca. 1834

    William Joseph

    bapt. 5 Jun 1842

    Blakeney

    Sarah Ann Eliza

    1847

    Sarah died in 1899 aged 91.

  • William was staying with his married sister, Sarah, in 1841. He married Frances Ramm in 1844 and they lived in Cley-next-the-sea.