BottomThe Plummers
Amos Plummer was christened in the parish church of Thorndon, Suffolk, on the 6th March 1796, the son of Sarah Plomer, according to the parish register. He next appears in the registers of Haughley, a village some 8 miles from Thorndon, named as the father of a large brood of children - Emma Iris (b.1818), Amos (b.1821), Robert (b.1822), James (b.1823), John Kent (b.1826), Alfred (b.1827), Mary Ann (b.1829), Arthur (b.1833), Elizabeth (b.1834) and Walter (b.1838).
The 1851 census shows Amos living at Haughley Green.
Name Relation to Head of Household Age Occupation Place of Birth Blind, Deaf Lunatic Amos Plummer Head 55 Tailor and farmer of 10 acres Thorndon, Suffolk Iris Plummer Wife 53 Ubbeston, Suffolk Robert Plummer Son 30 Tailor Haughley, Suffolk deaf and dumb Alfred Plummer Son 23 Wheelwright Haughley, Suffolk Maryanne Plummer Daughter 20 Needlewoman Haughley, Suffolk Elizabeth Plummer Daughter 16 Needlewoman Haughley, Suffolk Walter Plummer Son 13 Day scholar Haughley, Suffolk
Amos's family did well. The eldest boy, also Amos, was apprenticed to a blacksmith in Haughley at the time of the 1841 census, but by 1851 had moved to Hemingstone to work for another blacksmith, James Fulcher. Of the other boys, we know Robert, though deaf and dumb, was a tailor, Alfred a wheelwright, Arthur a saddler, and Walter who eventually took on the farm, is listed in 1861 as a maltster.
In about 1855 Amos, the blacksmith, with his wife, Harriet, and four young children, moved to Henley (Suffolk), where he set up in business on his own.
The blacksmith's cottage was close to St. Peter's Church at Henley, and in the picture on the right can be seen through the trees to the left of the church.
In 1871 the family were living "Near the Church"
Name Relation to Head of Household Age Occupation Where Born Amos Plummer Head 49 Blacksmith Haughley, Suffolk Harriet Plummer Wife 49 Needham Market Amos Plummer Son 19 Blacksmith Hemingstone, Suffolk Charles Plummer Son 17 Blacksmith Hemingstone, Suffolk Angelina Plummer Daughter 14 Scholar Henley, Suffolk Annie Plummer Daughter 12 Scholar Henley, Suffolk Frederick Plummer Son 9 Scholar Henley, Suffolk Adelaide Plummer Daughter 7 Scholar Henley, Suffolk Henry Plummer Son 2 Henley, Suffolk
Of Amos and Harriet's 10 children, 7 are known to have survived into adulthood. The four boys, Amos, Charles, Frederick and Arthur, were all blacksmiths, though by the time of the 1891 census Amos had married and become an innkeeper at Swilland.
Charles continued to work as blacksmith at Henley where he died in 1935 at the age of 81. He is buried in the churchyard at St Peter's. Behind his gravestone (pictured left) can be seen the cottage where he lived with his sister Caroline, who in 1881 was postmistress.
The third boy, Frederick Samuel Plummer, used to ride into Needham Market on horseback and there he met Pollie Bowell. In 1887 they were married and went to live at Stowmarket where he set up his own blacksmith's business.
Frederick Nelson Plummer was born on 24th March 1889. The family are recorded on the 1891 census living at Lime Tree Place, Stowmarket.
Name Relation to Head of Household Age Occupation Where Born Frederick Plummer Head 29 Blacksmith Henley, Suffolk Pollie Plummer Wife 29 Needham Market Nelson F. Plummer Son 2 Stowmarket, Suffolk Rose Murton Servant 12 Servant Haughley, Suffolk
