WORTLEY
I was intrigued by the confused mixture of WORTLEY and AMIS names in the Trunch records - some even saying AMIS alias WORTLEY.
I think the answer to this confusion has been discovered by Julie Collins from New Zealand who is researching the AMIES family. It seems that Samuel Wortley and Deborah Amis were uncle and niece. Samuel's sister Frances was Deborah's mother. Samuel was 23 years older than Deborah and marriage between an uncle and niece was, and still is, illegal. This explains why they did not marry at first and why their later marriage, 7 years before Samuel died, was in a village well away from where they were known. Presumably they did not disclose their relationship to the rector who married them.
Deborah AMIS was born in 1775 in Skeyton. In 1796 she had an illegitimate son who was baptised in Sidestrand and then 5 more illegitimate children were baptised in Trunch. On March 11th. 1811 she married Samuel WORTLEY in Wicklewood. They were both single and as they were married by banns, they were obviously both living in the parish. Wicklewood however is 11 miles west of Norwich and quite a way from Trunch. However two more children were born after the marriage and were baptised in Trunch, where the records state that Samuel was a farmer.
It was the illegitimate children who used both Amis and Wortley as their surnames. Samuel died in 1818 and is buried in Skeyton but his will is fascinating, as the illegitimate children are referred to as "natural sons of my wife", but then in a codicil he says that they are his natural sons, and refers to children "legitimate or illegitimate" so it seems that he was the father all along. He was obviously wealthy, having land in Trunch, Knapton and Swafield and leaving cottages and quite large sums of money in his will.
One of the illegitimate sons - Robert married Ann and had at least 9 children. He was a prosperous farmer in Trunch having 112 acres and a house in Chapel Road and employing several labourers and house servants. He was on the register of electors from 1832 -1854 and a guardian of the Workhouse from 1836-54. He and his family do not appear in the 1861 census in Trunch and the workhouse record says that he had moved to Bradeston. His brother Samuel also used the Amis and Wortley name, married a Sophia Smith and farmed in Skeyton, where the children were baptised with a mix of surnames.
Deborah meanwhile lived on in the Limes, Chapel Road with her unmarried son John Amis Wortley, until she died in 1866, with her age given as 91.
Some of the next generation of Wortleys moved away from Trunch. Robert, born in 1831, was farming in Newbold, Derbyshire in 1861, while Robert, born 1850, was a butler in Wakefield in 1871 and Horace, Stamp and Walter all went to London. Stamp Chapman WORTLEY (1836-1921) is interesting as he was the illegitimate child of Alice Wortley (one of Samuel and Deborah's daughters) His name suggests that his father was one of the Stamp Chapmans either Thomas or William. Alice later married William Gibbons and Stamp was brought up by his grandmother. In London Stamp worked as a footman, butler then lodging house keeper in Brighton. He married twice and one son became a solicitor and another a chartered civil engineer. More details can be seen here.
Contact me if you would like more information or if you have anything to add or correct.