The Rabett family of Bramfield Hall, Co. Suffolk

At the request of a relative (by marriage) of the Rabett family, the author (a genealogist of some 40 years’ experience) has researched the history of one of Suffolk’s oldest gentry families, whose ‘seat’ came to be established in the parish of Bramfield, just a few miles inland from their probable origins, in the county at least, at Dunwich. While the family almost certainly goes back beyond their 15th C. appearance at both Dunwich and Bramfield, the current narrative focuses on those generations who lived at Bramfield, or nearby, until Bramfield Hall was sold (1899), and then brings the story up to the present day in the senior branch and one junior branch, in both cases with the cooperation and valuable contributions of current members of the families. Other 19th C. branches, as shown on one of the charts, have not been followed up, some of whom emigrated to the Colonies. From a variety of sources, including Law Court documents, Wills, Parish Registers and other genealogical records, Newspapers, and even a Personal Journal, the author has created a narrative which describes the socio-economic circumstances of this once-prominent Suffolk family, and also reveals something of their personal concerns as well as their domestic life and familial relationships. The text is accompanied by detailed Notes & References, and a ‘Genealogical Databook’ section including transcripts of important TNA documents, Probate documents from the 15th > 19th C., tables listing Rabett individuals found in the various Census Returns (1841 > 1939 Register), a series of Family Trees, and a General Index. As always in genealogy, the story is never-ending and the search never stops; helpfully, a few self-imposed ‘limitations’ in the research are mentioned for future family historians to focus on and, hopefully, add to the story!