1851 BRITISH CENSUS

Old Lincolnshire Census Records showed that on the 1^st April 1851
James NEAL. age 37. occ: Ag Lab, and Diana nee THORNDIKE. age 39.
were living in Thursby with their family.
Teresa. age 17.
Moses. age 13.
Mark. age 9.
Charles. age 7.
Iley. age 6.
Amos. age 3.

George HEWSON. occ: blacksmith, and Maria Mary nee KEAL.
were living in West St Alford with their children.
Sarah Ann. age 9, the future wife of Moses NEAL
William. age 7,
Isabez. age 3,
Ann Elizabeth. age 1.

Next door in West St lived George’s father and mother
Thomas HEWSON. age 62, occ: blacksmith, and Mahala nee NORTH. age 63.
Their family at this date was
Martha. age 22
Emma. age 4 a grandaughter.

1881 BRITISH CENSUS

The next record is in the 1881 Census as follows: Dwelling: 114 Macaulay St
Census Place: Great Grimsby, Lincoln, England
1 Nov 1860 Moses and Sarah Ann married at the Parish Church Alford.

Moses NEAL. 41. M. born Bilsby, Lincoln, England
Sarah A. NEAL.38. M. born Alford, Lincoln, England
Moses NEAL. 18. M. born Alford, Lincoln, England
Tom NEAL. 15. M. born Alford, Lincoln, England
Willie NEAL. 12. M. born Alford, Lincoln, England Rd:
Annie NEAL. 8. F. born Alford, Lincoln, England
Rose NEAL. 7. F. born Alford, Lincoln, England
Eliza NEAL. 5. F. born Alford, Lincoln, England
John NEAL. 3. M. born Alford, Lincoln, England
Ada NEAL. 1. F. born Alford, Lincoln, England

ALFORD TODAY.

ALFORD is still a thriving area to this day.
Population 2,500. The historic town is situated in the East Linsey District of Lincolnshire, close to the east coast resorts of Mablethorpe 7 Miles away and Skegness is 15 Miles. It was a very historical town dating back to about 500 A.D. and first of all settled by the Angles and Saxons. Later Danish settlers established hamlets side by side and these communities and local place names nearly all ended in 'By' and 'Thorpe'. At the time of the Doomsday book the village was inhabited by around 50 people.
In 1283 William de Welle obtained a charter to hold a market in the town on a Tuesday. Apart from a few the time of the Plague, there has been a market held in Alford every Tuesday since then. By 1327 the population of Alford had risen to 780. In 1349 the town was struck by the Black Death and by the time it receded the population was slashed to 140.
In 1576 Queen Elizabeth I signed a charter recognising the local Grammer School. The Grammer School in the town is now called the Queen Elizabeth Grammer School.

In the 1600's Alford was a centre of Puritanism and many Alfordians would travel to Boston to hear John Cotton preach.
In nearby Bilsby, John Wheelwright developed non-conformist doctrines and following the persecution of Puritans by the established church, he and a disillusioned band of Alfordians set sail aboard the Griffin for Boston Massachusetts in 1634. Who knows how many Americans could trace their ancestry back to these Alford Puritans.

The persecution of the Puritans led to a number of Alfordians leaving for America. This is not the only link that Alford has with America. John Smith, of Pocahontas fame, was born in nearby Willoughby in 1580 and was educated for a while in Alford before transferring to a school in Louth.

Anne Hutchinson, America's first woman preacher, was born in Alford in 1591. Her farther, the Reverend Francis Marbury, was the headmaster of the towns first Grammer School for six years. Anne was dismayed when John Cotton fled to New England and decided to follow him to America. Anne and her husband John, sailed for the New World aboard the Griffin from London in 1634. In 1638 Serious disagreements with established Puritans forced Anne and her family to leave Boston Massachusetts for New Hampshire where they founded the town of Portsmouth.

Another link to between Alford and America is Thomas Paine. In 1764, Paine worked in Alford for a short period as an Exciseman. Alford was in those days, a centre for smuggling and it was his job to curb these activities. He sought to discourage smuggling, rather than to punish it. This made him a target for a jealous colleague, and he was dismissed for a misdemeanor within a year of taking up the position. Ten years later, Paine left England for America where he became an influential writer and editor. He was an a good friend of both Benjamin Franklin and George Washington and is credited with the conception of the name 'United States of America'.

Alford lies between the Lincolnshire Wolds and the coast and is mainly used for cropping. Fields are of sugar beet, cabbages, cauliflower, broad beans, peas, potatoes, barley and wheat. The land is very flat with many drains and canals with high floodbanks along their sides. John Wesley preached some of his first sermons in Alford. The little chapel is still there - used as a garage.

MARKET DAY.

A recent visitor to Alford arrived there on Market day, something that has taken place for centuries. Tuesday is the market day and the Market Place is crowded with stalls and shoppers, clothing, sweets, fruit, vegetables and cheeses are mostly sold now. The Corn Exchange is still there where the takings of the market are filed. Alford possibly got its name from Alderberry trees that grew in the wet marshy ground and a stream running through it that was crossed by a ford. The beautiful trees planted in the town, that line all the roads and stand in old gardens, are namely Alderberry, Chestnut Elms, Laurel Oaks, Copper Beech, Poplar, Willows and Rowanberry.

THE PLAGUE IN ALFORD.

In the year 1630 Alford was plague stricken, almost a quarter of a century earlier than the great plague of London in 1665. The town was probably saved from extinction by the generosity of the people of the surrounding districts when a cross was placed on the top of a hill (Mikes Cross Hill). In a receptacle that contained vinegar [the only known disinfectant at that time] the Alford people placed their money, the other people would bring food stuffs, poultry, eggs etc., and place it out at fixed prices and retire. The Alford people then climbed the hill removed the food they wanted and leave money in its place. This way they never came into contact but were able to know the situation and in doing so surely saved Alford and many of its families from disaster.
At the top of Miles Cross Hill the food was left by a large stone. At some point this PLAGUE STONE as it is locally known was removed and placed in the garden of Tothby Manor where it still lies today.