Mussetts in West Mersea

The first Mussetts recorded in West Mersea is Susan Mussett, when she married Samuel Simons there on 10 Oct 1769. This is followed by the marriage of Jane Mussett to William Simons on 17 Oct 1771. We might assume these are sisters marrying brothers.

A year later, John Mussett married Elizabeth Rayner in West Mersea on 23 Oct 1772. They had several children:

• John: born 12 Mar 1773, baptised 11 June 1775
• William: born 11 Feb 1775, baptised 11 June 1775
• Elizabeth: born 21 Sep 1776, baptised 24 Nov 1776
• Susanna: 10 Oct 1779, baptised 7 Nov 1779
• Hannah: 18 Apr 1782, baptised 9 Jun 1782
• John: born 17 Dec 1784, baptised 26 Dec 1784
• Thomas: born 8 Aug 1787, baptised 2 Dec 1787
• Mary: born 19 Mar 1790, baptised 15 Jun 1790
• Sarah: 25 Sep 1792, baptised 18 Nov 1792
• James: 23 Sep 1800, baptised 19 Oct 1800

Everyone descended from West Mersea Mussetts is descended from this couple.

However, John wasn’t born in West Mersea. Bearing in mind that Susan and Jane, the first Mussetts to appear in West Mersea, just before John married, weren’t baptised there either, we can assume that they were related – cousins or siblings, perhaps. We know John was about 72 when he died in 1815, which gives him a year of birth of about 1741. Although there’s a few John Mussetts born around that time, the one who jumped out was the one baptised in West Bergholt on 5 April 1741, son of John and Susannah Mussett. There are four baptisms for children of John and Susannah Mussett – Susannah baptised in Great Horkesley in 1738, John in West Bergholt in 1741, Jane in Fordham in 1743, and Rose in 1748. It seems very likely that John, Jane, and Susannah Mussett moved to West Mersea in the late 1760s and settled there.

So let’s now look at John Mussett and Susannah Tracy, their parents.

Created: 15 Nov 2023