Person:Robert Moss (14)

The Mosse family had been in Framlingham at least 40 years before the birth of Robert Moss. A will was recorded in 1626 of Joel Mosse, of Framlingham, who left a total of £20 (~£2,000 in 2005 money)[1] split between his brother Gilbert Mosse, younger brother Robert Mosse, sisters Margaret Curtys and Elizabeth Hills and uncle Thomas Mosse. [2]

The neighbouring parish of Parham recorded two marriages in the same period - a Thomas Mosse marrying Elisabeth Buckle in 1624 [3] and a Mathee Mosse marrying a Robert Shemyng in 1620. [4]. The nearby parish of Hacheston recorded a marriage in 1550 between Elezabeth Mosse and Wyllm Flete and in 1595 between Robert Mosse and Martha Carde. [5][6]

The younger brother mentioned above may have been the same Robert Mosse of Framlingham who was recorded in 1628 marrying Elizabeth Newman of Leiston, widow, in Leiston (12 miles east of Framlingham). [7]. A John Mosse of Aldringham (the neighbouring parish, 1m south) was recorded in 1679 as a house-carpenter, taking on an apprentice.[8]

A John Mosse of Kelsale (8m east), married Mary Markin of Framlingham at Hacheston (4m south) in 1674. [9]

There were no Mosse families recorded in Framlingham that had to pay the 1674 Hearth Tax. [10] This could be because, like a significant proportion of poorer householders, they were exempt from paying the tax, possibly as their assets were less than £10 or the annual rent less than £1. [11]

The nearest recorded Mosse family in the 17th century was Robert Mosse of Monewden (5 miles SW of Framlingham), who married Finet Jugle in Denham in 1616. [12] Robert Mosse of Monewden was recorded taking on an apprentice in 1635. [13]

The next nearest recorded Mosse family in the 17th century was in the village of Mendlesham, some 15 miles west of Framlingham, where a Johannis [John] Mosse was appointed schoolmaster in 1596 and recorded as still there in 1636. [14][15]. An alternative source states that Mr Mosse was the first schoolmaster of the parish and served from 1618-1649. [16]

A Simon Mosse from Bramford, Suffolk, was mentioned in a court case in 1600. [17]

Moyse of Debenham

A number of people surnamed 'Moyse' were recorded between 1400 and 1700 in the parishes of Debenham, Winston, Stonham Aspal and Mickfield. It is possible that the Mosse family in Framlingham came from a variation on Moyse. FreeREG record a total of 73 entries for these four parishes before 1800, of whom 57 were "Moyse", 11 were "Moss" and 5 were "Mosse". Another 10 entries are in the registers for nearby Monks Soham, of which 8 are "Moyse" and 2 "Moss". [18]

A lease recorded in 1712 mentioned "Thomas Moyse of Mickfield, gent." and his two sons "William Moyse of Stonham Aspall, gent., his son and heir" and "Thomas Moyse of Lavenham, gent.". [19]. A Richard Moyse was listed as a trustee of the poor in Debenham in 1653[20]. The previous year he was recorded as "Richard Moyse, of Debenham, gent.", selling his mansion house of Winston Hall and the Manor of Winston-cum-Pulham.[21]. However, the 1674 Hearth Tax recorded a Richard Moyse with 6 hearths in Winston and another Richard Moyse with 3 hearths in the same parish. No one of that surname was recorded in Debenham.[22]. A predecessor, Barneby Moyse of Winston, willed his property to, among others, his brother. John, nephew Wythepool and great-nephew Barnaby Moyse in 1627. [23]. A Richard son of William Moyse married in Debenham in 1560, as did another in 1601 and another in 1632. [24]

The Debenham Moyse family may have descended from Richard Moyse of Winston, listed as acquiring land in Debenham in 1413.[25]. Robert Moyse was listed as the Bailiff of Claydon Manor, 10m south of Debenham, in 1399.[26]. This Richard Moyse may have been the villein who died ca. 1425 whose "best beast" was a horse worth 25s but his executors refused to pay this to the lord of the manor as the "heriot" tax that was usually imposed on serfs. [27]

The Suffolk Eyre Roll of 1240 records a "Hastings Moyse" of Chelmondiston, just southeast of Ipswich.[28]

Moss of Postwick Hall

The Moss family of Framlingham may be linked to the Mosse family of Postwick Hall, who date back to 1639 and were established some 40 miles north of Framlingham on the outskirts of Norwich. The pedigree of the Postwick Hall family is given in the following sources:

1. Mosse Family Notes - see page 32
2. The Pedigree Register

The former source surmises that Robert Mosse of Postwick Hall was born in Pinchbeck, Lincolnshire and descended from John Mosse, cited in 1359 as Lord of the manors of Freiston and Edlyngton near Boston in Lincolnshire.

Mosse of Bury St Edmunds

There was also a Mosse family in Bury St Edmunds, 30 miles west of Framlingham. Members of this family included:

• Johannis Mosse, skinner, will 14 Nov 1435 [29]
• Alicia, relict of Johannis Moss, will 23 Feb 1436 [30]
• Johannis Mosse de Todynham, will 14 May 1480/10 June 1489 [31]
• John Mosse, priest, whose grave was mentioned in a will dated 1502 [32]
• Richard Mosse of Fornham St Genevieve granted title in 1504 to land in Flempton with his sons John & Edmund. [33]
• Presumably same Richard Mosse, miller, granted a lease in Fornham St Genevieve in 1519 [34]
• Edmund Mosse (presumably the son above) witnessed a grant in neighbouring Fornham St Martin in 1548 [35]
• Thomas Mosse granted a lease of the manor of Le Sexteyn in Westley in 1510 [36]
• John Mosse of Bury, will 22 May 1520 [37]
• John Mosse, shoemaker & yeoman, recorded in 1525 [38]
• Thomas Mosse, will 1540 [39]
• Thomas Mosse, of Whepstead, will 1576 [40]
• Miles Mosse, yeoman, will 1600 [41]; married Susan Page 1567 [42]
• Dr Miles Mosse, son of the above yeoman, 1585-1615, vicar of St James, Bury St Edmunds [43][44]

See also Chevington Baptisms