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Thomas Masters was christened on 30 December 1734 in Staverton, Northamptonshire. His parents were Thomas and Ann Masters. He was raised with three other siblings; William (b.1723), Catherine (b.1726) and Sarah (b.1729). In 1741, when Thomas was seven years old, his mother (Ann) died. It is then assumed that he was raised by his father with the help of his sixteen-year-old sister Catherine. On 31 October 1755 Thomas marries Elizabeth Wafforn and the marriage is witnessed by Thomas Heywood and Jn Wafforn. They go on to have at least seven children; Elizabeth (b.1757), Thomas (b.1760), John (b.1762), Ann (b.1765), Mary (b.1769), Joseph (b.1772) and William (b.1775). Thomas's wife, Elizabeth, dies in 1782 but it appears that he re-marries in 1783 as on the 28 November 1783 Thomas Masters, a widower from Staverton marries Catherine Lee, a widower from Daventry. There are no known records of the witnesses of the marriage.
Thomas himself died on 26 February 1806 in Staverton at the age of seventy one. His burial is recorded on the same page of the Staverton Parish Records as his grandson, also called Thomas, who was nine when he died. |
 Thomas's baptism in the Staverton Parish Records |
 Thomas's marriage in the Staverton Parish Records |
 Thomas's burial in the Staverton Parish Records |
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1739 – BRITAIN GOES TO WAR AGAINST SPAIN AND FRANCE which will last, after a brief respite in between, until 1763. 1742 – SPENCER COMPTON, EARL OF WILMINGTON (Whig) becomes Prime Minister. 1743 – HENRY PELHAM (Whig) becomes Prime Minister. 1754 – THOMAS PELHAM-HOLLES, DUKE OF NEWCASTLE (Whig) becomes Prime Minister. 1756 – WILLIAM CAVENDISH, DUKE OF DEVONSHIRE (Whig) becomes Prime Minister. 1757 - THOMAS PELHAM-HOLLES, DUKE OF NEWCASTLE (Whig) becomes Prime Minister for the second time. 1760 – GEORGE III ASCENDS THE THRONE, following the death of George II. George is the grandson of George II but was proclaimed insane from 1810 when the Prince of Wales (later George IV) acted as regent. 1762 – JOHN STUART, EARL OF BUTE (Tory) becomes Prime Minister. 1763 – GEORGE GRENVILLE (Whig) becomes Prime Minister. 1763 – A PREACE TREATY IS SIGNED IN PARIS BRINGING AN END TO THE WAR WITH SPAIN AND FRANCE. The Treaty gives Britain all French holdings in North America east of the Mississippi. French power was also reduced in India, West Africa and the West Indies. The French overseas empire had practically disappeared and Britain became the legatee. 1765 – CHARLES WATSON-WENTWORTH, MARQUIS OF ROCKINGHAM (Whig) becomes Prime Minister. 1766 – WILLIAM PITT, EARL OF CHATHAM (Whig) becomes Prime Minister. Also known as “Pitt the Elder”. 1768 – AUGUSTUS HENRY FITZROY, DUKE OF GRAFTON (Tory) becomes Prime Minister in a coalition cabinet. 1770 – LORD FREDERICK NORTH, later the second Earl of Guildford (Tory), becomes Prime Minister. 1776 – ADAM SMITH PUBLISHED “THE WEALTH OF NATIONS”, condemning the existing system of imperial trade restrictions. 1780 – ROBERT RAIKES FOUNDS THE FIRST SUNDAY SCHOOL for the teaching of the three R’s to poor children. 1782 - CHARLES WATSON-WENTWORTH, MARQUIS OF ROCKINGHAM (Whig) becomes Prime Minister for the second time. 1782 – WILLIAM PETTY, EARL OF SHELBOURNE, later the Marquis of Lansdowne (Whig), becomes Prime Minister. 1783 – THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION RESULTS IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA BEING RECOGNIZED AS AN INDEPENDENT NATION, shattering Britain’s empire. 1783 – WILLIAM HENRY CAVENDISH-BENTINCK, DUKE OF PORTLAND (Tory), becomes Prime Minister in a coalition cabinet. 1783 – WILLIAM PITT, EARL OF CHATHAM (Tory), becomes Prime Minister. Also known as “Pitt the Younger”. 1793 – BRITAIN IS AT WAR WITH A “REVOLUTIONARY FRANCE”. They remain at war, apart from a brief respite, until 1815. 1801 – IRELAND UNITES WITH GREAT BRITAIN TO FORM THE UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND. 1801 – HENRY ADDINGTON, later Viscount Sidmouth (Tory), becomes Prime Minister. 1804 - WILLIAM PITT, EARL OF CHATHAM (Tory), becomes Prime Minister for the second time. Also known as “Pitt the Younger”. 1806 – WILLIAM WYNDHAM GRENVILLE, BARON GRENVILLE (Whig) becomes Prime Minister in a coalition cabinet. |