AYTON FAMILY HISTORY

This page is dedicated to the history of the branch of the Ayton family from Gissing in South Norfolk.

Robert Ayton 'of Burston' married Elizabeth Eighteen (Ayton) of Attleborough at Attleborough in 1807 before moving to nearby Gissing and initiating a substantial line of descendants which spread to North Yorkshire and elsewhere. An outline of the top of the tree and the connections of the various researchers is attached.

Robert's origins remain somewhat opaque, but two possibilities have been advanced by researchers. 

The first is that he was the son of Charles Eighteen (Ayton) and Racheal (nee Buck) who married in nearby Shimpling (next to Burston) in 1772 and had several children in the area. I'm not aware of any documentary evidence for this connection, but it is somewhat supported by the naming of Robert's eldest son as Charles. It has been further proposed that Charles was himself the son of the Charles Ayton buried at Shelfanger in 1771, and it may be that he was one of the Charles Aytons baptised in Diss in 1740 or 1742. There is another local line springing from Charles Ayton (b. 1776 Rushall) which may also connect into this family (see provisional tree on Gissing page), and this is being investigated further (see interests page).

The second suggestion is that Robert was the son of the Robert and Elizabeth Ayton buried at Gissing in 1819 and 1816 respectively, with Robert's age of 78 or 79 implying a birthdate around 1740. 

Robert's origins clearly remain a matter for further research, and anyone able to contribute suggestions or relevant material is very much invited to do so. 

Anyone interested in further details of this branch of the Ayton family, or who is able to provide additional relevant material, is invited to contact the coordinator for this page Ian Hall.

This page was last updated 16 May 2007