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Southampton

Two distinct, and seemingly unrelated groups of Staveleys have inhabited Southampton and environs over the past 500 years.  Two very early references to Staveleys in Southampton are:

Then later, in 1501, an Anthony Staveley 'complained' regarding the treatment of young monks by the Prior.

Although their origins are not clear, two Staveley brothers then appear to have held high civic positions in Southampton during the middle to late 16th Century.  It is not known if these men might be descendents of either Geoffrey or Anthony mentioned above.  These two brothers, John and William, were both successful merchant grocers in the City. This was evidenced particularly after John Staveley's death in an extensive probate inventory of John's goods, including pounds spices such as caraway and pepper, treacle, and a variety of books.  John even had an inventoried copy of Erasmus' Paraphrases on the New Testament in his inventory.  It is not known whether this was his own book, or a book he offered sale.  Regardless, it was valued at 8 shillings.

John, and later William, both held the position of sheriff, and eventually succeeded to the position of Mayor of Southampton during this period.  This is not unusual, because in Southampton the Sheriff was elected by either the Burgesses or Councilmen from those amongst them, so the Sheriffs were always members of the town council, usually succeeding to Mayor the following year.  John Staveley was appointed the City Water Bailiff in 1546, and then Sheriff of Southampton in 1552.  In 1554 John became Mayor of Southampton, and by 1558 was a Burgess as a member of Queen Mary's last parliament.

When John died in 1559 he made reference to two brothers, Harry, and William.  As yet, little is known of Harry.  However, John's brother William is known to have been appointed Sheriff in 1558, just six years after his elder brother, and then in both 1561, and again in 1580, William became Mayor of the Southampton.  William is known to have married Averine KNIGHT, the daughter of William Knight of Southampton.  It is not known however if William and Averine had any children. There is no indication in William's will, dated 1581, of any children produced from this union.  There are however, a number of references to the children of his brother John:

William died in 1582, and his wife Averine remarried in 1585 to a William Wallop who had become a Burgess of Southampton in 1584.

Two years prior to William's death, in the Michelmas Term of 1580, William was the plaintiff in a case against Thomas Bowreman (the deforciant) of the Manor of Brook, on the Isle of Wight.  The impetus for this action is not clear, but the final concord of this case dated September 29th, 1580, shows that William Staveley paid Thomas Bowreman £300.

William's nephew, Paul Staveley, referred to in his will, clearly remained in Southampton for some time.  He became Chief Constable in Southampton in 1581. The Southampton Archives contain three of Paul's Petty Custom books included in the records of the Southampton Corporation, dated between 1593-1599.  However, mysteriously, this Staveley family disappears from Southampton by the early 1600's and it is not clear if this family line simply died out, or perhaps relocated elsewhere.

The origin of the following 19th Century Southampton Staveleys also has not yet been determined.

Parish and census records show that a William Staveley and Elizabeth (nee?) had the following children:

Daughter Elizabeth M. Staveley married Samuel MEADEN in 1868.

Anna married William PILDREN in 1862.

Daughter Agnes Mary Ann married James Colton BEVIS at Holy Trinity, Southampton on February 2, 1880.

Helen married a George Thomas BAILEY in 1881 in South Stoneham.

William and Elizabeth had two daughters, Elizabeth and Anna, by the time of the 1841 census.  However, this family has not been located in England or the Channel Islands during that census.  The closest match in 1841 is for a William STAVERY, born in England, who is found as a mariner aboard the vessel Atalanta docked in St. Helier, Jersey in 1841.  William's wife and daughters have not been located during the 1841 census.

1851: 53 Canal Walk, Southampton St Mary, Hampshire, England

Son Henry William Staveley died at the age of 3 years. Daughter Jane died at the age of 17. 

Also in 1851 a James Staveley is a patient in a nearby hospital

1851: South Hampshire Infirmary, Fanshaw Street, Southampton St. Mary Extra, Hampshire, England

Based upon James' age and birthplace, he is presumably a brother to William above.

The following family also appears to be related to William and James:

1851: William Street, Southampton St Mary, Hampshire, England

1861: 3 John Street, Southampton St Mary, Hampshire, England

The connection between Ann WHITE and the family of William and Elizabeth Staveley, and James, the patient in the hosptial, becomes more evident in 1861:

1861: Old Northam,  Southampton St Mary, Hampshire, England

The hospital patient in 1851, James, appears to be Ann WHITE's son.  Presumably, Ann WHITE married an unknown Staveley, and had at least three sons, William (Elizabeth and Anna's father), John (the mariner), and James (the hospital patient).  Sometime after James was born, Ann married an unknown WHITE.  Ann White's son John Staveley, the Mariner, has not been located in the 1861 census, however John died in Southampton in 1871 at the age of 51 years.

Elizabeth is the daughter of William and Elizabeth, who were living in the house on Canal Walk in 1851.  Elizabeth M. Staveley married Samuel MEADEN in 1868, and had a daughter Alice in South Stoneham.  Elizabeth's sister Anna married William PILDREN in 1862, and is living in South Stoneham in 1871.  Children in the household include Emma Louisa STAVELEY (Anna's younger sister), and three PILDREN children, William, Louis, and Helen, by 1871.

1871: Old Northam,  Southampton St Mary, Hampshire, England

Ann's son James Robert Staveley died in 1877 at the age of 54 years, a bachelor.

It is unknown at this time who the James Robert Staveley is listed below (though he's possibly a son of William and Elizabeth above).  This James Robert Staveley married Emily Frances GODDARD in Romsey in 1880:

1881: 3 Castle Street, Southampton St Mary, Hampshire, England

James died in 1923 at the age of 68 years.

William and Elizabeth are missing from the 1861-1881 census records, but in 1891 they reappear living in Millbrook Hampshire, and William is now retired from the HM Customs Office:

1891: 61 Milton Road, Millbrook, Hampshire, England

William's wife Elizabeth died in 1897 at the age of 74 years.

William and Elizabeth's daughter Helen married a George Thomas BAILEY in 1881 in South Stoneham.   In 1901 William is living with Helen and George in Shirley, Hampshire:

1901: Shirley, Hampshire, England

William died toward the end of 1901, at the age of 81 years.

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