Gotts
There were several members of the GOTTS family living in Trunch in the early 20th. Century but their association with Trunch had begun at least 100 years earlier. Samuel from Thorpe Market but born in Erpingham (1794-1879) married Elizabeth Colman in Trunch in November 1814 and their daughter Mary was born here in December 1814. Unfortunately Mary died as an infant but another daughter, Martha, was born in Trunch in 1815. However by the time their son, Matthew (1816- 1890) was born they were living back in Thorpe Market. It is Matthew's descendents who ended up living in Trunch.
Matthew had 3 brothers; one was Samuel (1822-?) who may have been transported to Tasmania for 10 years in 1843 for housebreaking and felony. He doesn't appear in later census returns and I haven't found a death notice. Another, Philip (1822-1899) married Sarah Pye and lived most of his life in Southrepps working on the land. The third was John (1821-1857) who married Ann Pestle in 1846 in Worstead and had at least 4 children before he died in 1857. The 1861 census has Ann as a widow living in Southrepps with the 4 children and another aged only 1 - Matthew Gotts. The clue lies in the lodger - Matthew Gotts unmarried, aged 43 who was John's brother and sure enough Ann and Matthew married in 1865.
Matthew (1860-1947) was, as far as I can tell, the only child of Matthew and Ann. There is a mystery here. The 1881 census has him in Southrepps with his "wife" Mary Ann and son Herbert aged 2, but I can find no record of their marriage. Is it possible that this Mary Ann was a relation? Possibly the daughter of John and Ann - his half sister. Herbert their son seems to have died aged 5. Matthew married Mary Elizabeth Brooks in 1885 but I have yet to see the certificate to see if he described himself as bachelor or widower. Similarly Mary Ann may have married in 1883 but I have yet to see the details.
Matthew worked as a coal porter in Southrepps and he and Mary Elizabeth had 12 children, and one still-born. He died aged 87 in Antingham. Two of his sons lived in Trunch. Matthew (1886- 1955 ) worked as a gardener, married Elizabeth Myhill from Paston and had at least 6 children all born in Trunch. In 1939 he was a widower living in Trunch with his youngest son Geoffrey. His 2 other sons, a gardener and a carpenter were living in Mundesley.
Samuel Herbert (1889 - 1955?) seems to have been the only one of his siblings who was born in Suffield rather than Southrepps. He joined the army and was in barracks in Aldershot in 1911. However by 1921 he was married with 3 children, living on the Hill in Trunch and working as a market gardener and by 1939 he was a grocer at the Cliftonville Stores in Mundesley. Samuel served in World War One along with his brothers Archie, Cyril and Bertie and luckily they all survived.
In 1911 there was another family of Gotts living in Trunch who don't seem to have any connection with the family above. Edwin Marshall Gotts (1878-1945) was descended from a line of bricklayers who originally came from Bacton before his grandfather moved to Mundesley. His movement to Trunch came after his marriage to a Trunch girl - Ella FULLER, who had been working as a servant in Mundesley. Edwin was an agricultural labourer and obviously moved about for work as 3 of their children were each born in a different village. Sadly their twins, Sidney and Lucy both died in the early days of their lives in 1912.