In the late 18^th century/early 19^th century Matthew (born Stragglethorpe 1771) and Elizabeth Lilley lived in Stragglethorpe,  where they had 3 children:

• William Lilley was born 1793 – see below.
• Mary Lilley was born 1795.  She married Joseph Crosby  (born Beckingham 1802) and they settled in Leadenham. She died in Fulbeck in 1876.  {see Crosby for more details}
• Matthew Lilley was born 1797  See below.

[Next Generation]

Matthew Lilley (b1797) married Harriet (born Bassingham, c1806) and moved to Newark (and/or Balderton).  Their children (all born in Newark) were:

• • Elizabeth B(born 1834, remained in Newark until she died in 1910)
  • George (born c1838, lived in Newark until the 1880s then moved to Tuxford).
  • Mary Jane (born c1841, married Charles Hurst and moved to Salford, then Co.Durham).
  • Harriet (born c1842, married John Whitham, remained in Newark/Balderton).

In 1818 William Lilley (b1793) married Elizabeth Hebb (born Claypole, 1796)  in Wellingore.  They moved to Brandon, where they were farmers.   They were certainly living at Greystones in 1850 and we think the family may have been there from 1818 to the 1880s.  William died in 1865 and was buried at Hough.  In his lifetime they’d farmed 70 acres, mostly in the fields known as Duncrofts and Branthill between Brandon and Protection (‘Matchstick’) Wood.  By 1874, when Elizabeth died, the family had 85 acres.  By 1881 their son William was farming 108 acres.  They had 10 children, all born in Brandon:

• 1819 – Eliza (may have died as a child)
• 1820 – William (died as a child)
• 1823 – Elizabeth
• 1824 – Mary Ann
• 1826 – Phoebe Hutchinson
• 1828 – William
• 1831- Matthew
• 1833 – John
• 1835 – Harriet
• 1837 – Caroline

[Next Generation – children of William Lilley & Elizabeth Hebb]

In 1841, aged 18 Elizabeth Lilley (b1823) was working a servant for Edward Burtt in Welbourn.  Another servant was George Lill (born Heckington c 1813).   Two years later they married and moved to Barnby upon Don, near Doncaster.   Elizabeth had 13 children and died in Yorkshire in 1905 aged 81.

Mary Ann Lilley (b 1824) never married but stayed in Brandon with her parents, then with her younger brother William when he took over the farm.  She died in 1884, having recently moved to Stubton, probably with William’s family.

Phoebe Hutchinson Lilley (b 1826) never married but she had a daughter (Eliza Burroughs Lilley) when she was 23.  Phoebe died 10 years later in 1859.

William Lilley (b 1828) married Anne (born Fenton, 1843).  They and their children lived at Greystones with his parents (William & Elizabeth).  William took over the farm and remained there for several years after his mother’s death.  However, during the 1880s the family moved away from Brandon to Dry Doddington, and by 1901 to Stubton.  Annie died in 1909, followed by William in 1913; they were both buried in Stubton.  Their children were:

• Anne Eliza (abt 1863) born Gelston
• Harriet Fanny (abt 1870)
• John William (abt 1872)
• Joseph Matthew (abt 1873)
• Sarah J (abt 1876)
• Mary (abt 1877)
• George (abt 1882)

In 1851 Matthew Lilley (b 1831) was a house servant with the Robinson family at the Old Hall (20 years later his niece Anne was also a servant there).  He married Mary Holmes (b 1836 in Barkston) and moved to live with her parents in Carlby (between Bourne and Stamford).  He was a railway policeman on the Great Northern Railway.  They later moved to St Neots.

John Lilley (b 1833) worked for his father until he married Sarah Codd in 1861.  She was born in Barkston in 1834 (in 1851 she’d been a house servant for the Preston family at White House, Barkston).  John set up as a farmer in Scredington.  His niece Sarah was living with them.

Harriet Lilley (b 1835) married John Sharp (b Sturton by Stow) and moved to Marton, then to Newark  where John was a master baker. They lived in Kirkgate with their son William (b Marton 1858) and Harriet’s neice Laura Lilley.  By 1871 Harriet had died, John was a Grocer / Baker and Laura was working as his assistant.

Caroline Lilley was living in West Hackney, Middlesex in 1855 where she married a policeman, William Beckwith.   In 1871 Caroline Beckwith was back at Greystones with her 2 children.

[Next Generation – children of William Lilley (1828-1913) and Anne]

Anne Eliza Lilley (b 1863) married George Lawton (b Orston, Notts) in 1884.  They lived in Fenton and had 3 children: Will, Lizzie and John before Anne died in 1892 (age 28).

Harriet Lilley (b1870) was born and bought up in Brandon.  In 1891 (age 21) she was a servant in East Bridgford.  In 1901 (age 30) she was living with her father in Stubton.

John William Lilley (b 1872) married a Jane.  Their children were born in Rearsby, Marston and then Walcott, where John was  farm foreman in1901. 

Joseph Matthew Lilley (b 1873) moved with his parents to Dry Doddington and then Stubton.  In 1908 he married Edith Anne Ross, a 25 year old farmer’s daughter from Stubton.  Joseph died in 1933 (aged 63); Edith died in 1955.  They are buried together at Stubton.

By the age of 15 Sarah J Lilley (b 1876) was working as a servant with the Wells family in North Clifton.  In 1899 she married John Henry Pollard (b Leicester abt 1874).  He’d been a labourer in Kinoulton (Vale of Belvoir) in 1891, but after their marriage they moved to Nottingham where he was a police constable.

Mary Lilley (b 1877) moved with her parents to Doddington, but by 1901 she was working as a telegraph clerk and living with her aunt, Louisa Western (general dealer and sub-postmistress), in High Street, North Collingham. 

George Lilley (b 1882) also moved to Doddington, then Stubton where he was living in 1901.