Heroes and Rebels in the Family Tree -- Tragedy in the Tripp Family

 

William Tripp was born on June 23, 1809 in Lowestoft, Suffolk, England as the 9th child of 10 children born to Thomas Tripp (1770-1852) and Elizabeth Ramsey (1771-1851).  His father, Thomas Tripp, was a carpenter and later a well-known cooper in the town of Lowestoft.  Thomas Tripp was registered in the England and Wales Criminal Register as being in prison in 1834, aged 64, serving 2 years for assault. No other information is available concerning the assault or the altercation leading up to the charge.  Among their 10 children -- all born in Lowestoft, Suffolk, England -- Robert Tripp (1800-1815) died at just 16 years of age; Ann Ritson and Bartholomew Tripp, twins, died within months after their birth; and the last child, George, was born on August 11, 1811 but died on October 5, 1811.

William Tripp managed to survive to adulthood and married Elizabeth Whincop (1808-1893).  This couple had 10 children themselves and raised them into adulthood.  However, if there were ever a curse placed upon one family, William and Elizabeth did not escape its evil.  In 1862, they lost two of their sons.  Ritson Tripp (1835-1862), a fisherman at age 26, drowned while trying to save his younger brother Robert Tripp (1839-1862), age 23.  Robert had gone aboard the vessel ‘Sally’ of Newcastle, on January 1, 1862, to visit his brother when he fell overboard.  Ritson jumped in, endeavoring to save his younger brother. He was unsuccessful in his efforts and both boys drowned.  They rest beneath the waves off the coast of Kessingland.  Ritson Tripp was survived by his wife of only two years, Patience Catchpole, and their two young children, Ellen and William Thomas Tripp. Robert was not married.


 


     The last son of William Tripp and Elizabeth Whincop was Thomas Tripp.  Thomas was born in late 1843 in Kessingland, Suffolk, England. Like so many others in his family, Thomas was a fisherman.  On January 9, 1867, Thomas married Elizabeth Durrant (1848-1905), daughter of Daniel Durrant and Elizabeth Holmes.  Thomas and Elizabeth had 5 children during their 8 years of marriage.  As a fisherman, he also assisted with launching lifeboats when needed to supplement his family income.

     Quite the hardest part of many a difficult and dangerous lifeboat service was getting the lifeboat afloat and away from the shore; usually the crew were soaked to the skin and chilled to the marrow by a bitin, icy wind even before the rescue work had begun.  It was either during the launching of a boat, or soon after, while the boat was still in shallow water or was crossing an inshore shoal on the way out, that most accidents occurred.

 

" On the morning of July 15th 1875, the ketch Mary's of Yarmouth was observed to be in some trouble off Kessingland and a yawl was sent to her aid and succeeded in putting men aboard her to man the pumps and to help to make her sea-worthy. After a couple of hours, the men on board the ketch were seen signalling for the yawl to take food out to them. As the sea by that time was too rough for the yawl to attempt the crossing, permission was obtained to use the lifeboat. The Bolton was duly hauled from her boat house and across the beach to the water's edge. When endeavours were begun to get the boat into the sea, one of the shore helpers got his leg caught up in the coil of the lifeboat's fore-spring, one of the ropes being used during the launch and he was dragged into the sea. The launch was abandoned whilst the man was freed, leaving the lifeboat at the mercy of the pounding breakers. Just as the man was cut free, a violent sea hit the boat, causing it to cast broadside to the sea. Before this could be corrected, the boat was capsized by a following sea. 13 of the crew were thrown out, the remaining 2 being trapped beneath the overturned boat, in the surf. In the confusion that followed, it was probably not realised immediately that 2 of the crew were missing, as many of the other men were badly injured. Eventually attempts were made to find the missing men, an axe was obtained and a hole smashed in the lifeboat's planking. By this method, one of the men was found and freed, but by the time that the second man, Thomas Tripp, was located, he was alas dead".

 

 

  Bartholomew Tripp was born to William Tripp and Elizabeth Whincop in Kessingland, on November 14, 1837.  Like most of the other boys in the family, Bartholomew was a fisherman by trade but found himself working as a general labourer when he wasn’t out fishing.

   On January 5, 1864, Bartholomew married Susannah Moore (More).  Bartholomew was 27 and Susannah was 28 years old. Susannah already had a 5-year old son from a previous relationship outside of marriage.  The boy’s name was James Thomas Rogers Moore.  Together, Bartholomew and Susannah had two children, Bartholomew Thomas Tripp, born in 1875 and George William Tripp born in 1877.

   James Thomas Rogers Moore, the base-born son of Susannah Moore, grew up and he married Bartholomew’s niece Ellen Catchpole Tripp (daughter of Ritson Trip who drowned while trying to save his brother Robert).  She died in 1881 after one year of marriage to James.  In 1883, James married Elizabeth Sarah Jullings. They had 5 children among whom was Elizabeth Sarah Moore and she married Sydney James Tripp who was the son of William Thomas Tripp (brother of Ellen Catchpole Tripp)

As Bartholomew grew older, he was no longer fishing and became known as somewhat eccentric.  He was given the nickname “Dolly” among his friends.  His life took a turn for the worst in January 1894 when Bartholomew was found dead, face down in a well.

 

 

GENEALOLGY:  William Tripp (1809-1862) is related to the family tree through his marriage to Elizabeth Whincop (1808-1893) whose mother was Elizabeth Baldry (1781-1858) whose father was Philip Baldry (1748-    ) and his father was Farrer Baldry (1709-1774) and his father was Henry (Boldero) Baldry (1670-1743).  Henry (Boldero) Baldry had a son John Baldry (1705-1774) and his son was John Baldry (1755-1833) and his daughter was Susanna Baldry (1774-1858) and her daughter was Phoebe Mayes (1804-1873) and her son was Thomas Forster (1837-1888) and his daughter was Caroline Forster (1864-1906).  Caroline Forster was the wife of George William Welsh-Adams.

 ___________________________________________________________________________

Footnote:  The Tripp ancestors from Lowestoft were very religious and in the memorials at St Margaret's church in Lowestoft, within the chancel there is a memorial for the Reverend Bartholomew Ritson. On the south wall, above the external door, is the Ritson Memorial. Carved in white marble. The Reverend Ritson is also remembered by a cup, known as the Ritson Cup. The Reverend married Ann Ramsay and Thomas Tripp married Ann’s sister, Elizabeth Ramsay.


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