The census of 1851 gives us a picture of families in Three Holes; what jobs they had and where they came from. Surprisingly, even so long ago, the majority of heads of households came from far and wide. Mumberries Drove was very busy with 13 families listed.
There were several Dawson families. They included William and Elizabeth and family, Henry and Mariah and family, John and Ellen. Also in Three Holes was William Dawson, aged 36 and Sarah with his grandmother Elizabeth Allen, a pauper aged 70. There were several Dawson sons, Riley, 2 Roberts, John and William.
Abraham and Rebecca Means had a 14-acre farm; their sons were Alfred, Nailor, Fredric and Abraham. Their near neighbours were John and Mary Means, who had 45 acres and employed one man. These were all born in Upwell.
John JEFRY and his daughter Tamar were Hawkers from Wood Draton.
Other agricultural labourers down Mumberries road were the Barnes family from Whittlesea, George and Susannah Thacker, John and Ann Basingham, John and Elizabeth Kemps from West Dereham, and John and Hannah Bell and their son James.
John Seba, age 25, was a carpenter from March. His wife Mary was a local and they had a 4 month old son John W. James Seba, a millwright aged 56 and wife Sarah were up the road in Three Holes, and he also came from March. It is possible that they were John’s parents. They had a servant, Richard Little.
Great Britain: Distribution of the Occupations of the People – Census of 1851. Scanned by The British Library.
William Rogers was a farmer of 73 acres with 2 labourers. He lived with wife Mary A and 4 daughters and a young son Alfred.
Middle Drove, is now known as Mudd’s drove after the family that lived there. Women were just as capable then as now. Susanna Mudd was the head of the household. She was 72 and was a farmer of 45 acres with sons Josiah and John, Emler Mudd, her daughter and 2 labourers. They had 2 girls visiting from Upwell the night of the census, Elizebeth Harris aged 15, and Carriline Wright aged 25. Their servant was John Hills, aged 13.
Matthew Mudd and his wife Margaret (who was born in Galway in Ireland) were also labourers in Three Holes. They had 3 daughters, Letticia, Susan and Margaret and a young son, John, aged 2.
John Bevar from Harpley and Rebecca from Harston in Cambridgeshire were also in Middle Drove with their lodger David Goodman.
William Richards lived in the Mill on Middle Drove. He was a master miller with 2 men from Doddington and he and his wife Sarah lived there with a large family. His servant was Charles Sparkes all the way from Morbeam in Essex.
John Rumble was a Coal Hawker and Grocer from Outwell. He lived there with his wife Mary and sons George John and James.
Next door to him was Robert Todd from Covehith in Suffolk with wife and family, all born in Upwell.
The Backett/Beckett family were listed as agricultural labourers, all born in Upwell. John and May had 6 sons, John, James, George, William, Matthew and Thomas.
The Parishes were also around in 1851. William and his wife Ann came from Coln in Huntingdon. They had a young family, William aged 7, Mary L aged 5 and James aged 3.
Harriet Symons, aged 42 came from Thelnatham in Suffolk and
had a lodger John Sharpon, aged 41 from Shouldham. William and Mary Oaks from Thorp in Norfolk were other agricultural labourers in Three Holes.
John and Elizabeth Osborn were brother and sister. He was a landed proprietor, and she was listed as a grocer and draper, both born in Upwell.
There were a large number of Greens. Henry Green, aged 73, kept the Three Holes beer house. William R. Green aged 34 was a farmer of 102 acres with three labourers from Sutton Cambs. They were Timothy Steward from Watsalborrough in Norfolk, Mary Balls from Dasingham, their dairymaid and Mary Simmons from Upwell, their nursemaid. They were all needed for the 7 children.
Other agricultural labourers were William Kemps from Dereham and his wife and family of 3 daughters, William BARNES from Whittlesea and his wife Susan from Longham, Norfolk and children Elizabeth, Corneliuus and Daniel.
Henry Brooks and his family included a son James.
Rallingham Hall or Rollingham Hall or Rolingham Hall was not listed as such in the census.
