This section contains brief resumés, as far as I have been able to ascertain them, of many of the individuals mentioned in the letters. There is much more information on John Broughton (1768) and Ann Bugg, and on the line of his son, John Broughton (1809), at:

http://www.mjra.net/broughton-j-1809.html

Where the biographee concerned is a writer of one or more of the letters, the letter numbers are shown in brackets after his or her name.

Broughton, Edward (1805-1893) & Remmington, Elizabeth (1809-1893)
Edward was the fourth child of John Broughton (1768) and Ann Bugg. He married Elizabeth Remmington, the eldest child of William and Christain Remmington of Frettenham, in 1830. Edward and Elizabeth emigrated to Ontario in 'Upper Canada' in 1836. The journey would have taken many weeks from embarkation to final destination in Toronto. Canada also appears to have been an unsettled and turbulent place, with hundreds of immigrants streaming in from Great Britain and many other countries. The family farmed successfully, first in Chinguacousy and then in Blenheim. That part of Canada - close to the Great Lakes and the border with America - was divided into 'concessions' - blocks of lots of anything from 100 acres to 1,000 acres - which were apportioned to immigrants for farming and building. From the addresses given in the individual letters, the Broughtons appear to have had several lots before finally settling on the Blenheim land.

Edward and Elizabeth had six children:

The family were Methodists - though whether before or after emigrating is impossible to say - and Edward is described as a strict but loving father in his obituary. They built a large home in Blenheim and appeared to have been prominent and respected citizens in the district. Both Edward and Elizabeth died in Blenheim in 1893. He was aged 88 and she was aged 84.

Other Broughtons, Remmingtons and relations

Brighty, John (1820-?)
John Brighty was born in Hockering in 1820, and was the son of James and Ann Brighty. He worked as a woodman in Hockering and married Charlotte Remmington, the daughter of William Remmington (1778) and Christain sometime after 1851.

Broughton, Elizabeth (1847-1883) [11, 12, 13]
Elizabeth - known as Betsy - was born in Edgefield in 1847 and was the only living daughter of William Broughton (1815) and Rebecca Dagless. She went into service and was working for a Mr. Reeve in the King's Road, Chelsea in 1864. She had a daughter - father unknown - called Rebecca, in 1869. She died in 1883.

Broughton, George (1818-?)
George was the tenth child of John Broughton (1768) and Ann Bugg, and was born in Edgefield in 1818. He married Amelia Pegg, the daughter of Edgefield farmer Moses Pegg, in 1854. Amelia died and George emigrated to Canada in 1855. He had remarried in Canada and had three children by 1868. George appears to have been the black sheep of the Broughton emigrés, dropping out of sight for long periods at a time, and thought dead on several occasions.

Broughton, John (1809)
John was the sixth child of John Broughton (1768) and Ann Bugg, and was born in Plumstead in 1809. He became a blacksmith, probably under the tutelage of elder brother Robert, and moved to Frettenham to work for brother-in-law William Remmington (1778). In 1837 he moved from Frettenham to Spixworth to work as master in the forge of John Coe, and married the blacksmith's daughter, Mary Catherine Coe, in 1838. John and Mary had four children. When the Coes died in the 1850s, John and his family moved to Norwich. Mary died in 1874 and John remarried, to a woman called Augusta Bailey. He seems to have lost touch with the Broughton family after his first wife's death.

Broughton, Robert (1797-?)
Robert was the eldest son of John Broughton (1768) and Ann Bugg, and was born in Butley in Suffolk in 1797. He married Sarah Woodyard in Edgefield around 1820 and was a blacksmith and farmer in Edgefield all his life.

Broughton, Sarah (1800-1871)
Sarah was the second child of John Broughton (1768) and Ann Bugg, and was born in Butley, Suffolk in 1800. She married Robert Riseborough from Edgefield in 1821 and they emigrated to Ontario around 1836. Sarah and Robert had thirteen children. Sarah died in 1871 and Robert in 1888.

Broughton, William (1815-1900) [8, 10, 14, 15, 29]
William was the ninth child of John Broughton (1768) and Ann Bugg, and was born in Edgefield in 1815. He married Rebecca Dagless in Edgefield in 1845 and was an agricultural labourer all his life. William and Rebecca had four children, but only the eldest, Elizabeth (1838) lived to any age. Rebecca died in 1887 and William in 1900.

Bugg, Ann (1778-1869) [9, 28]
Ann was born in Hinton, Suffolk in 1778, married John Broughton in Butley around 1796 and moved to Plumstead by 1805. Ann and John moved to Edgefield around 1815. After John's death, she worked as a nurse in the household of William Lugg, an Edgefield blacksmith. William Lugg shot himself in 1854. Ann went to live with her son, William and she died there in 1869. No more is known of Ann except that she had a sister who lived in Lowestoft.

Burton, Charles (1847-?)
Charles was the son of Mary Remmington and Joseph Burton and was born in Lyng in 1847. He became a miller, working some 9 miles from Lyng. He moved to 'Stockton in Yorkshire' - perhaps Stockton-on-Tees - and then to Middlesbrough. He married Mary Ann Sergeant in 1867.

Burton, Charlotte (1854)
Charlotte was the youngest child of Mary Remmington and Joseph Burton. By 1873 she was working as a barmaid in Great Yarmouth. Charlotte married an ex-sailor called Robert Gibbs in 1873 and went to live with him in Acle. By 1881, he had left the police force and was working as a railway guard.

Burton, Elizabeth (1838-?) [20, 32]
Elizabeth - known as Betsy - was the eldest child of Mary Remmington (1819) and Joseph Burton, and was born in Lyng in 1838. Betsy never married, and spent her life as a housemaid in one grand home after another. Betsy seems to have have acquired a few airs and graces as a housemaid. She comes out with a malapropism in both of her letters when referring rather loftily to good health as being "our greatest temporary blessing". Perhaps she meant temporal…

Burton, Hannah (1840-?)
Hannah was the second daughter of Mary Remmington and Joseph Burton and was born in Lyng in 1840. She married a corn merchant called William Hannant in 1865 and lived in Reepham. They had four children and went to live in London, where her husband and one child died. She was therefore widowed by the time she was 40 and, in 1881, was living in Hackford with her three children, Solomon, William and Kate. She eventually moved to Middlesbrough to the home of her brother Charles.

Burton, John (1844-1904)
John was the son of Mary Remmington and Joseph Burton and was born in Lyng in 1844. He set up as a wheelwright in Lyng and married a woman called Harriet Sewter in 1867. In 1881 he was also the landlord of the Bell Inn in Lyng and had eight children. He died in 1904.

Burton, Joseph (1811-1893)
Joseph was a carrier in Lyng, and was born in Lyng in 1811. He married Mary Remmington from Frettenham in 1837, and they had eight children. Although Joseph is listed as being the co-author, with his wife, of many of the letters, his voice is singularly silent. He also appears to have been strangely reluctant to have his 'likeness' taken. He seems to have been a hale and hearty man, staying healthy into old age and dying in 1893.

Burton, Mary Ann (1842)
Mary Ann was the daughter of Mary Remmington and Joseph Burton and was born in Lyng in 1842. She married Alfred Francis in 1860. After he died in 1871, she married a Yarmouth boat builder called Edward Norton. In 1881 they were living in Great Yarmouth with their three daughters and Edward's mother.

Burton, William (1852-1880)
William was the youngest son of Mary Remmington and Joseph Burton and was born in Lyng in 1852. By 1873 he was working in Great Yarmouth as a carpenter. He married Elizabeth Mace in 1874 and died in 1880.

Evans, Henry (1793-?)
Henry Evans was the Rector of Lyng and was born in Kirby Bedon in Norfolk in 1793. He married a woman from Horning called Sophia - possibly in the late 1820s - and the family lived in Smallburgh before moving to Lyng. Mary Remmington may have been either in service with Evans, or working as a schoolmistress under his patronage, from the late 1830s onwards.

Potter, William (1833-?)
Referred to rather contemptuously as 'Bill Potter' in Ann Broughton's letter of around 1883, William Potter was the son of Edgefield broom maker Richard Potter and his wife Ellen. William was born in 1833 and was a bricklayer. He married Mary Broughton, the eldest daughter of Robert Broughton (1797) and Sarah Woodyard. James Broughton, Mary's elder brother, married William's younger sister, Sarah Ann Potter.

Read, Ellen (1840-?) [7]
Ellen was the second daughter of John Read (1810) and Christianna Remmington. She was living with her parents in Frettenham at the time of the 1851 census, and when she wrote to her aunt and uncle in Canada in 1854.

Read, John (1810-?)
John Read was a Frettenham labourer, born in 1810. He married Christianna Remmington, the daughter of William Remmington (1778) and Christain around 1830, and they had seven children.

Read, Robert (1849)
Robert was the youngest son of Christianna Remmington and John Read and was born in Lakenham in 1849. He became a shoemaker and married a woman from Norwich called Martha around 1873. In 1881 he was working as a shoemaker in Heigham with his wife and four children.

Remmington, Charles (1820-801)
Charles was the sixth child of William Remmington (1780) and Christain, and was born in Frettenham in 1820. He worked as a blacksmith with his father, taking on a small farm as his parents got older. He married a woman from Shipdon called Lydia in 1845, and they had at least one child, also called Charles. For whatever reason, Charles lost the smithy, which was then taken over by his son. He ended up working for his son.

Remmington, Charlotte (1824-?)
Charlotte was the youngest daughter of William Remmington (1780) and Christain, and was born in Frettenham in 1824. She became a dressmaker and was lodging in the house of James Brighty, a Hockering woodman, in 1851. She married James's son, John Brighty.

Remmington, Christianna (1815-1854)
Christianna was born in Frettenham in 1815, the fourth child of William Remmington (1780) and Christain. She married John Read, a labourer from Frettenham, around 1830 and they had seven children.

Remmington, Hannah (1817-?)
Hannah was the fourth child of William Remmington (1780) and Christain. She married - husband as yet unknown, though it might possibly be Frary - and lived variously in Thorpe and Heacham. In 1851 she was a domestic servant in Foundry Bridge Road, Thorpe, working for Edward Saint Quinton - a 65-year old naval surgeon on half-pay - and his wife Jane. After her marriage, she and her husband bought a small farm, then borrowed money to buy a larger farm. The business failed and was auctioned off.

Remmington, Henry (1799-?)
Henry was a younger brother of William Remmington (1780), and was born in Hainford in 1799. He married a woman called Honor, and they had at least one son - Richard - born in Frettenham in 1819. In 1851, Henry and Richard were working in Frettenham as wheelwrights. Henry had died by 1854.

Remmington, Henry (1837-?)
Henry was the illegitimate son of Susan Remmington (1825) and an unknown footman at Horstead Hall. He had married a woman called Elizabeth from Tuddenham by 1869 and was living at King's Lynn. In 1881 he was a blacksmith and the landlord of the Albert Inn in Albert Street, King's Lynn. He and Elizabeth had five children at that time.

Remmington, Mary (1819) [16, 17, 18, 19, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 30, 33, 34]
Mary was the fifth child of William Remmington (1780) and Christain, and was born in Frettenham in 1819. She married Joseph Burton, a carrier from Lyng, in 1837 and they had eight children. Mary was probably working for Mr. Evans, the Rector of Lyng, in the 1830s, and is listed as a schoolmistress in Lyng in the 1851 census.

Remmington, Richard (c1780-?)
Richard was a brother of William Remmington (1780) and lived in Eye in Suffolk. He is referred to as 'Uncle Richard' in the letters. He had died by 1854.

Remmington, Susan (1822-1864)
Susan was the child of William Remmington (1780) and Christain, possibly born around 1821 or 1822. She went into service and, in 1837, had a boy (Henry) by one of the footmen at Horstead Hall, the home of Lord and Lady Suffield. In 1851 she was lodging in the house of John Hall, a farm labourer in Frettenham. She died in 1864.

Remmington, William (1780-1846) [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
William was born around 1780, possibly in Hainford, and worked in Frettenham as a blacksmith. He was one of four brothers, the others being Richard, Henry and Christmas Remmington. He married a Norwich woman called Christian, always known (or spelled) in the letters as Christain, sometime around 1807 and they had eight children. William died in Frettenham in 1846. Christain was alive in 1851 - her name spelled as Christon in the census!

Remmington, William (1810-1874) [6]
William was the second child of William Remmington (1780) and Christain and was born in 1810. He married a woman called Ann, worked as a blacksmith in Frettenham and died in 1874.