Generation 1: Richard Toft, 1805-1871

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Joseph Toft > Richard Toft (1805-1871) > Richard Smith Toft (1838-1908) > Thomas Longland Toft (1884 - 1967) > Norman Peter Toft (b. 1920) > Richard Toft (b. 1949) > Zoë Toft (b. 1973) > Mathilde Jansen-Toft (b. 2004)

The earliest record we have for the Toft branch of our family is for Joseph Toft, a clerk who lived in London in the early 1800s. We know nothing more about him, and our story really begins with Richard Toft, Joseph's son, born about 1805 in the parish of St Anne's, Middlesex. We know little about the first half of his life, but in the 1841 census he is listed as being the farmer at Shooters Green Farm just outside the village of Abbots Ripton in Huntingdonshire (now Cambridgeshire), about 6 km north of the town of Huntingdon.

Location of Huntingdonshire

Modern OS Map showing location of Shooters Green Farm

To see Shooters Green Farm on an 1890 map of the area, go to www.old-maps.co.uk, click on the "maps" tab (between "home" and "help" and type in the location coordinates 520900 279100

Abbots Ripton, which had a population of about 350 in 1841 (as compared to 253 in 1991), has quite a number of 17th century timber-framed buildings, including Shooters Green Farm which is located near the former railway station¹. Although a small village, it has come to national prominence on at least 3 occasions. In 1876 there was a major railway disaster just outside Abbots Ripton and as a consequence there were significant developments in railway signalling². The next headline hitting event occurred in 1944 – the plane which picked up band leader Glenn Miller, and then disappeared before reaching its destination, left from US Air Station 547 at Abbots Ripton. In 1998 land just outside Abbots Ripton was used to trial genetically modified sugar beet. Whilst there was much public debate about GM crops in general at the time, the case of Abbots Ripton was particularly interesting – the land leased for the growing of the GM crops belonged to John Fellowes, ie Lord de Ramsey, Lord of the Manor of Abbots Ripton, who was, at that time, chairman of the Environment Agency, the government quango, which was set up to “make a better environment for present and future generations”³!

The 1841 census shows Richard living with his wife, Elizabeth, and three children, Mary (b. about 1833), Richard (b. about 1837), and an 8 day old, unnamed baby. Richard married Elizabeth, nee Shelton in 1840. Given the date of the marriage, the age of the eldest child, Mary, and the age difference between Richard and Elizabeth it is not surprising to note that Richard was married previously. We have no record of this earlier marriage, other than Richard being listed as a widow on his marriage certificate to Elizabeth, but it may have taken place in London, given that Richard's eldest child, Mary Ann, was born in London⁴⁵. Richard's first son, also Richard, was born in Abbots Ripton and from his baptismal record we know his mother's name was Mary. Richard was given the middle name Smith, so his Mother's maiden name may have been Smith, but we cannot be sure of this. It seems likely that Richard (the elder) and his first wife moved to Abbots Ripton sometime after 1833, ie after Mary was born, but before 1837 when Richard was born. Why they moved is not clear. It seems that Richard did not have any family links with the area (there appear to be no records of any Tofts in this part of Huntingdonshire before Richard and his family arrived).

Richard was a farmer and worked the land at Shooters Green Farm, just north-west of the main settlement of Abbots Ripton. He appears to have done quite well for himself, farming the same land for over 30 years, gradually increasing the number of men he was able to employ: In 1851 he employed two men, 1861 3 men and 1 boy, and in 1871 5 men and two boys. We cannot be sure what type of farming took place on Shooters Green farm, but the principal crops grown nowadays in the area are wheat, barley and beans⁶.

It's interesting to note that Richard's second wife, Elizabeth nee Shelton, grew up on the farm just to the south of Shooters Green Farm, ie Park Farm (on the OS map above, Park Farm is clearly visibly directly south of the building identified as Shooters Green Farm).

Further records of Richard Toft farming in Abbots Ripton can be found in various trade directories. The History, Gazetteer & Directory of Huntingdonshire, 1854⁷ lists Richard as one of the 15 farmers in Abbots Ripton at the time and this is further corroborated by an entry in the 1854 Post Office Directory of Berks, Northants and Oxon⁸.

1854 Post Office Directory of Berks, Northants and Oxon, entry for Abbots Ripton and Wennington, showing Richard Toft

Directory of Bedfordshire & Huntingdonshire, 1862, entry for Wood Walton, showing Richard Toft farming Shooters Green¹¹

Richard died in the first quarter of 1871 at the age of about 66. He would never have known his Grandson, Thomas Longland Toft, who was born only in 1884. When Richard died Elizabeth and three of her children (Jane, Frederick and Henry) were still living in Abbots Ripton but within 5 years Elizabeth had also died and it would appear that all her children then moved away from the area and Shooters Green Farm was taken over by another family⁹.

Extract of 1841 England Census for Richard Toft (1805)

Transcription of extract of 1841 England Census for Richard Toft (1805)

Place	Houses		NAMES of each Person who abode therein the preceding Night	AGE and SEX		PROFESSION, TRADE, EMPLOYMENT, or of INDEPENDENT MEANS	Where Born
							Whether Born in same County	Whether Born in Scotland, Ireland or Foreign Parts
	Uninhabited or Building	Inhabited
				Males	Females
Shooters Green		1	Richard Toft	35		Farmer	n
			Elizabeth do10		20		y
			Mary do		8		n
			Richard do	4			y
			NK	8 days			y

Extract of 1851 England Census for Richard Toft (1805)

Transcription of extract of 1851 England Census for Richard Toft (1805)

Parish or Township of Abbots Ripton with the Hamblet of Wennington			Ecclesiastical District of		City or Borough of						Town of	Village of Abbots RIpton
No. of Householders Schedule	Name of Street, Place or Road, and Name or No. of House	Name and Surname of each Person who abode in the house on the Night of the 30th March 1851		Relation to Head of Family		Condition	Age of			Rank, Profession, or Occupation		Where born	Whether Blind, or Deaf-and Dumb
							Male		Female
24	Shooters Green Farm	Richard Toft		Head		Married	46			Farmer 186 acres employing 2 labourers		Middlesex St Annes
		Elizabeth Toft		Wife		Do		30		Farmer's Wife		Abbots Ripton Hunts
		Mary Ann Toft		Dau'r		Unmarried		18		Farmer's Dau'r		Islington
		Richard Toft		Son			13			Do Son		Abbots Ripton Hunts
		James Toft		Son			9			Scholar at Home		Abbots Ripton Hunts
		George Toft		Son			8			do		Abbots Ripton Hunts
		Arthur Toft		Son			4			do		Abbots Ripton Hunts
		Jane Toft		Dau'r				6		Dau'r do		Abbots Ripton Hunts
		Frederic Toft		Son			2					Abbots Ripton Hunts

Extract of 1861 England Census for Richard Toft (1805)

Transcription of extract of 1861 England Census for Richard Toft (1805)

The undermentioned Houses are situate within the Boundaries of the
Parish [or Township] of		City or Municipal Borough of				Municipal Ward of		Parlimentary Borough of				Town of	Hamlet or Tything &c., of		Ecclesiastical District of
No. of Schedule	Road, Street, &c., and No. or Name of House		Houses		Name and Surname of each Person		Relation to Head of Family		Condition	Age of		Rank, Profession, or Occupation		Where Born		Whether Blind, or Deaf-and-Dumb
			Inhabited	Uninhabited (U) or Building (B)						Males	Females
7	Do [ie Shooters Green]		1		Richard Toft		Head		Mar	56		Farmer of 186 ac 3 Men 1 Boy		Midx. St Anne's London
					Elizth. do.		Wife		Mar		41			Hunts Abbots RIpton
					Mary Ann do.		Daur		Un		26			Midx Islington
					Jane		do.		Un		16			Hunts Abbots RIpton
					George		Son		Un	18		Carter		do. do.
					Arthur		do.		Un	14		Scholar		do. do.
					Frederick		do.		Un	11		do.		do. do.
					Henry		do.		Un	8		do.		do. do.
					George Fordham		Serv		Un	16		Ag. Lab.		do. Little Stukeley

Extract of 1871 England Census for Richard Toft (1805)

Transcription of extract of 1871 England Census for Richard Toft (1805)

The undermentioned Houses are situate within the Boundaries of the
Civil Parish [or Township] of Par of Ab Rip		City or Municipal Borough of				Municipal Ward of		Parlimentary Borough of				Town of	Village or Hamlet &c., of Abbots Ripton		Local Board, or [Improvement Commisioners District] of	Ecclesiastical District of
No. of Schedule	Road, Street, &c., and No. or Name of House		Houses		Name and Surname of each Person		Relation to Head of Family		Condition	Age of		Rank, Profession, or Occupation		Where Born			Whether (1) Deaf-and-Dumb (2) Blind (3) Imbecile or Idiot (4) Lunatic
			Inhabited	Uninhabited (U) or Building (B)						Males	Females
18	Shooters Green		1		Richard Toft		Head		Married	66		Farmer of 186 acres employing 5 men and 2 boys		London
					Elizabeth do		Wife		do		52			Hunts Abbots Ripton
					Jane Toft		Daur		Unmarried		26	Farmer's Daughter		Do do
					Frederick do		Son		do	24		Do Son		Do do
					Henry do		do		do	18		Carpenter		Do do

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