Rix - Family History & Genealogy Message Board

Re: Thomas Rix Brancaster, England 1622

Searchgeni — 2009-11-10 02:39:43Z

I would like to see your information on Thomas Rix. I am assuming that you found no castle in Brancaster(?)
I have Rix, Kimball, Robinson & Tracy info.

lmlynch44@comcast.net

Re: Susan Mary Rix

noratylor — 2009-11-06 04:28:01Z

From prior research of rix - and I have some more but I thought I would post this.

SUSAN MARY4 RIX

SUSAN MARY4 RIX (JOHN HENRY3, SAMUEL BIRCH2, BENJAMIN1) was born 04 Oct 1849 in Bedeque, Lot 26, Prince Co., PEI, Canada, and died 12 Nov 1936 in Canada. She married DAVID M'LEAN 09 Apr 1874 in Mr. Auburn, MA, USA. He was born 18 Apr 1834 in NS, Canada, and died 27 Dec 1907 in Vancouver, Burrand Co., BC, Canada.

FLORA HATTIE MAY M'LEAN, b. 06 May 1877.
39. FLORA HATTIE MAY5 M'LEAN (SUSAN MARY4 RIX, JOHN HENRY3, SAMUEL BIRCH2, BENJAMIN1) was born 06 May 1878. She married HORACE WILLIAMSON.
Child of FLORA M'LEAN and HORACE WILLIAMSON is:
1Irene Williamson
2Mel Williamson
3Rita Williamson
4Charles Williamson
5Verna Williamson
6Kenneth Williamson
. KENNETH6 WILLIAMSON.
Kenneth David Williamson b Jan 25, 1920, d July 9, 1990
Married Shirley Elizabeth Elkins b 1924

Children of Kenneth David Williamson are
1 David Williamson b 1946
2 Colin Williamson b 1948
3 Norah Williamson b 1950
4 Ian Williamson b 1952
5 Gina Williamson b 1957
6 Robert Williamson b 1960 – d 2007

3. Norah Rosalie Williamson b 1950 Married to Kybor Tylor 2005

Re: Thomas Rix Brancaster, England 1622

Evangeline98 — 2009-10-03 18:17:19Z

Hi I am a dendent of Thomas Rix he is my 8-ggrandfather, my e-mail is ecbgab@yahoo.com. Thank you Evangeline

Re: George W RIX > Stanstead, Quebec > MA, USA (1864-1928)

Evangeline98 — 2009-09-20 06:32:50Z

go to google and type in (genealogy of the Rix family)e-mail ecbgab@yahoo.com .

Re: George W RIX > Stanstead, Quebec > MA, USA (1864-1928)

Evangeline98 — 2009-09-20 06:32:33Z

go to google and type in (genealogy of the Rix family)e-mail ecbgab@yahoo.com .

Re: RIXes of England

Evangeline98 — 2009-09-20 05:37:57Z

go to google and type in (genealogy of the Rix family) my e-mail is ecbgab@yahoo.com and let me know? Evangeline

John "Max" Rix

jerryRiessen45 — 2009-08-31 15:13:59Z

Can you tell me more about Henry Rix?

Trying to find out more of John "Max" Rix. Born in Germany about 1815. Died in Crawford or Ida County, Iowa, March 16, 1909.

Had at least three children by his first marriage; Elsabe, Dora and John.

Elsabe born 7-20-1856 near Kiel, Germany, married George Riessen in Denison, Iowa Sept. 30, 1875. Elsabe died in Schleswig, Iowa October 29, 1939.

Dora born in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany June 24, 1862 married John Suckstorf February 27, 1883, in Denison, Iowa. Dora died in Bloomfield, Nebraska, May 6, 1940.

John was living in Nebraska in 1939.

Capt. David O. Rix, GAR

gwpage — 2009-08-14 13:34:21Z

I am looking for relatives of the subject Union officer learned from a photo album that I have from Bates Co., MO, that has the following inscription:

"Presented to Mrs, Margaret Bryner by the friends of the late Captain David O, Rix as a token of their regards for her kindness to then during their recent affliction. Sandusky, Ohio
Oct. 1864"

George W. Page

Re: RIXes of England

GarySawers88 — 2009-07-19 11:11:50Z

Hey thankyou for the update on Joshua and Martha's wherabouts in England. I am decended from Martha Rix, one of their daughters.

You may want to check this link about George Rix donation of a clarinet to parish of Ugley in 1815
http://seax.essexcc.gov.uk/result_details.asp?DocID=26602

Maywood Rix of Big Spring, TX 1929

drbrownlee — 2009-07-15 05:21:52Z

Maywood is pictured in the 1929 El Rodeo, yearbook of Big Spring High School. She is a senior. I'm not kin but thought this might help others locate family.

Lucy Rix of Huntsville, TX 1918

drbrownlee — 2009-07-08 05:49:28Z

Lucy is pictured in the 1918 Alcalde, yearbook of Sam Houston Normal Institute of Huntsville. She is a senior. I'm not kin but thought this might help researchers locate family.

Re: Charles Henry RIX

derekrix — 2009-07-03 22:11:41Z

Charles Henry Rix was my great great uncle. I have further informaion and a photograph of a Rix Family Reunion taken in 1947 in Warsaw, NY.

My email adress is derek.rix@ntlworld.com

George W RIX > Stanstead, Quebec > MA, USA (1864-1928)

ej2468 — 2009-06-14 01:57:43Z

I am looking for information about George W. Rix birth and family.

William Pitt RIX m. Victoria SURRELL (2nd wife)
1. William Pitt RIX b. 1856 d. 1862
2. Jessie RIX b. abt 1862
3. **George W. RIX b. abt 1864 d. 1928
4. Almeda P. RIXa b. 1866
5. Sidney R. RIX b. 1871 d. 1909
6. Florence E. RIX b. 1873
7. Ellen N. RIX b. 1875

Rix DNA special pricing

trevorrix — 2009-06-09 16:42:11Z

The largest family history DNA testing company in the world has today announced a 50% off special the details of which may be found at the Rix DNA project website at

http://www.familytreedna.com/public/rix

This discounted test is available to any male Rix or Ricks or a variant of those names. Females are encouraged to sponsor a close male relative to take the test on their behalf.

Trevor Rix
Rix DNA project/group administrator at Family Tree DNA and Ancestry DNA

Re: Lawrence Henry RIX

tracyrix1967 — 2009-05-16 01:36:33Z

i am related to harry/henry rix my e mail is ivygotit2@yahoo.com please please contact me

Re: The RIX Family

monica_rix — 2009-04-26 20:45:44Z

Hi my husband and I are trying to find his family. He is a Rix and they are from Michigan. All we have is this, Robert Rix married Francis Carolyn Podjin Rix ( grandparents), Frank Rix married Jennie ( great g.parents), and Rix married a Bloss (great great g.parents). His grandma said she was told his great great grandfather was left behind with the Rix Family on a farm. She said his biological parents worked for the Rix's and had a child, left him and ran away together. We are not sure about the story but we would like to find any info on his grandparents.

Re: RIXes of England

mariaford92 — 2009-04-13 16:53:56Z

Do you know if your any relation to Ernest Rix(Father),Florence Wilcox(Mother),Ernest,Lester,Lawrence(sons)and Helen,Lillian(Daughters). They lived in Warsaw N.Y. I'm not sure but I think Ernest's fathers name was Charles Henry Rix

RIX William A and Myrtle May

t42Smithfield — 2009-04-05 12:24:20Z

RIX William A and Myrtle May

NormanGuiling photographed this gravestone in the Smithfield Cemetery, Tarrant Co., Texas. Feel free to use this picture for your personal records. This is one of the 202,518 cemetery photos free at http://teafor2.com .

If you know more about this person please reply here,instead of contacting me because this is most likely not my family.

Rix and allied families - New York 1800s.

SBarnettG — 2009-02-12 01:06:22Z

I am hoping that someone on this board may be able to help me with my research. My grandmother was Mertie Gleason. Her mother was Lovina Sweet. I have been told by family that Lovina's mother was named Cordelia Vandervort (b. 1824 NY) and I know her father was Joseph Sweet. Family also says that Cordelia's mother was named Electa Ann Rix. She would most likely have been born in NY abt. 1800.
Through census records I have gleaned that the Gleason, Sweet, Vandervort and Rix families lived in close proximity in NY and finally in Monroe County, WI.
(some members of these families settled in other states)
I have been unable to find records of Electa's Rix's family. If any of this rings a bell, please contact me.

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Sue Barnett Gaumer
sgaumer@wildblue.net

Re:RIX SILVER SPOONS

Bxisaac — 2009-01-06 00:10:48Z

Nice find, Ellen. I'm just tickled to see the photo...
thanks again
bx

Re: Thomas Rix Brancaster, England 1622

Bxisaac — 2009-01-05 22:35:10Z

Susan...
Many thanks for your reply. Any information that you could share with me would be much appreciated.
You can forward it to
onegdrsn@aol.com

How are you connected with the Rix clan? Sarah Jennette Rix is my paternal g-g-great-grandmother.
Much appreciated.
Beatrix

Re: Thomas Rix Brancaster, England 1622

Bxisaac — 2009-01-05 22:12:44Z

Ellen...
Many heartfelt thanks!
Beatrix

Re: Thomas Rix Brancaster, England 1622

Bxisaac — 2009-01-05 20:05:20Z

Hi Ellen
I too am a descendant of Thomas Rix. Would you be able to send photos of yours spoons? I imagine that they are quite interesting.
Many Thanks
Bx Isaac
onegdrsn@aol.com

Re: Thomas Rix Brancaster, England 1622

Bxisaac — 2008-12-07 16:18:42Z

Would be interested in any info regarding, Thomas Rix and family. I am a 12-14 generation descendant.

rix in australia

apalmowski — 2008-09-08 11:43:54Z

During the 1820's a RIX who was a Convict was part of a surveying party in Singleton NSW. He was employed by Henry Dangar and Rix's Creek was apparently named after him.

Re: Thomas Rix Brancaster, England 1622

Ellen_Veden — 2008-07-05 15:52:41Z

Just got on to the site, and believe the line is:

Thomas (1693/4-1771) + Jerusha Tracy
son Daniel 1738-1823 - my line)
Thomas (1725-1809) + Eunice Kimball
dau Eunice (1765-1834) + Edward Robinson
Know a bit about Rix Robinson having spent many summers near Ada Michigan.
Ellen
ellen.veden@comcast.net

Re: Thomas Rix Brancaster, England 1622

Ellen_Veden — 2008-07-05 14:31:43Z

Susan,
This was a very interesting account and thanks for sharing it. I really enjoyed reading the history.
Ellen

Re: Thomas Rix Brancaster, England 1622

Ellen_Veden — 2008-07-05 14:30:13Z

Susan,
This was an good read on Thomas Rix 1622 and you have done excellent research to put some of the myths to bed. If we go back to John, I am a 11th generation from John. (me>Violet Sue Collisson > Charles Fison Collisson> Susan Flynn Rix> George Rix> Elisha Lee Rix> Daniel Rix> ThomasRix> James Rix> Thomas Rix> Robert Rix> John Rix). I have in my possession, some Rix silver engraved spoons, possibly from Elisha Rix to document this summer.
Ellen Veden

Re: Thomas Rix Brancaster, England 1622

Ellen_Veden — 2009-01-05 19:08:02Z

Hi Susan,
Thanks for your generosity in sharing RIX family history. I would love to receive your information and learn more about this (my) family.
Ellen
ellen.veden@comcast.net

Re: Thomas Rix Brancaster, England 1622

Ellen_Veden — 2009-01-05 20:19:48Z

Hi Isaac,
Attached are photos of the spoons. Given the date of the silversmith and location, I suspect they were the silver serving spoons of George Rix, son of Elisha Rix, Royalton VT.
Ellen
George was my gr-gr grandfather.

Re:RIX SILVER SPOONS

Ellen_Veden — 2009-01-06 00:02:44Z

Hi Beatrix,

Coin silver serving spoons
Marked: Knapp-Leslie

c.1850 Mobile, Alabama
Ellen

HI...

trixie1989 — 2008-10-15 18:23:36Z

Im interested in searchin my family tree... all i know about my grandparents is thts they lived in norfolk for a few number of years... had two adopted children.. melanie and james (who is my dad) and im interessted in who else my ancestors are!!!! they were called Edward and heather Rix!

Rix family history DNA tests

trevorrix — 2008-08-18 15:30:21Z

Family history DNA tests can be very useful if you are inquisitive about your Rix ancestry or wish to establish if you are related to other Rix lines or not. I am Trevor William Rix living in the county of Suffolk, England, United Kingdom. Suffolk is the county to the south of Norfolk so I am not far away from the places where the majority of Rix ancestors trace back to and lived. My Rix line traces back to the Letton/Cranworth/Shipdham area of Norfolk. For my line the most common forename was Timothy and the most common occupation was bricklayer. I started my family history research as a teenager over 40 years.

I am the volunteer group administrator for the Rix (and variants such as Ricks) DNA Projects that are hosted by two of the major family history DNA companies in the world; Family Tree DNA and Ancestry DNA. The third company that I recommend to consider for a DNA test is the Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation.

The most useful DNA test for determining the ancestry of surnames is the Y-DNA test for males. Y-DNA is passed almost unchanged all the way down the male line from fathers to sons. For example, in comparing the Y-DNA results for Rix line A with those for Rix line B it is possible to determine if those two lines had a common male ancestor or not. Used in conjuction with conventional paper genealogical research DNA can help solve family mysteries, break down brickwalls, and join families together, or conversely prove that two Rix lines are not related. As females do not have any Y-DNA they are encouraged to sponsor a close male relative such as father, brother, uncle or cousin to take the Y-DNA test on their behalf. This will establish the Y-DNA for their particular line of Rix. Y-DNA tests are only useful for family history and have nothing to do with medical or forensic tests.

If you are interested in representing your line of Rix I can help you choose a test, explain the jargon, and interpret the results. There are several choices of Y-DNA test available from the companies mentioned above. I would recommend that you consider the following tests in this order.

(1) Family Tree DNA
The largest family history DNA testing company in the world with over 90% of the commercial market. The largest database of Y-DNA results in the world with strong support for over 4925 Surname Projects such as the one that I administer for Rix. The best combination of value for money and useful results is the 37 marker test.

(2) Ancestry DNA
Ancestry have recently purchased Relative Genetics which was one on the major testing companies in the world. Ancestry have a large userbase and are well placed to provide a good service.

(3) Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation
SMGF is a worldwide research project that has the aim of determining the ancestry of mankind. This is a well established and funded organisation with an excellent reputation. SMGF provide free DNA tests for anyone that requests a free kit. The only cost is your postage in returning the kit back to their laboratory in the USA. The disadvantages are that SMGF do not direct inform you of your results, and it normally takes one to two years for the results to appear on their websites. So, if your budget is limited and you do not mind waiting SMGF is an excellent alternative to the commercial tests. ftDNA and Ancestry directly inform their customers of their results in two to three months.

To summarise, I would like to see at least one male from each Rix line in the world take a Y-DNA test so that we can work out where and how the Rix surname originated and evolved. Did Rix have one origin or multiple origins? The four tests completed so far indicate multiple origins.

Please ask your questions on this message board or e-mail me at trevor@trevorrix.co.uk and I will be pleased to assist, explain, recommend and help interpret results. This is purely a hobby for me and I have no commercial interest in any of the tests mentioned above. The two commercial companies are offering major price reductions at the moment.

Trevor Rix
(member 16 of the Rix Family Alliance)

Re: RIXes of England

mikkime — 2008-11-26 01:16:40Z

HI, I also have a Rix in my family tree. Sarah Elizabeth, she married William Sillifent Annings, they came to Tasmania Australia in 1843.I am having trouble finding the Rix family, maybe you could help.. Phyllis

Re: Thomas Rix Brancaster, England 1622

wdwoodburn — 2009-01-05 20:04:31Z

Hi, my email address is mjkotyluk@shaw.ca
Thanks greatly, Jane

RIX Wesley William 1910-1998

t42Smithfield — 2009-04-04 12:09:36Z

RIX Wesley William 1910-1998

NormanGuiling photographed this gravestone in the Smithfield Cemetery, Tarrant Co., Texas. Feel free to use this picture for your personal records. This is one of the 202,518 cemetery photos free at http://teafor2.com .

If you know more about this person please reply here,instead of contacting me because this is most likely not my family.

Re: Thomas Rix Brancaster, England 1622

thaddeusedward — 2008-11-28 22:47:15Z

any assistance in locating a male descendent of Thomas Rix, (arrived Salem MA c.1640,) appreciated

My Y-DNA haplotype is Ib2*. I have found my closest matches to two surname lines:
1. a "Walker" line originating in Worksop, Nottinghamshire, and
2. a "Diss" line, (the town of Diss being 7 miles from Brancaster).

thank you

sincerely

thaddeuse@comcast.net

Re: Rix family history DNA tests

thaddeusedward — 2008-11-28 22:34:46Z

My Y-DNA haplotype is Ib2*. I have found my closest matches to two surname lines:
1. a "Walker" line originating in Worksop, Nottinghamshire, and
2. a "Diss" line, (the town of Diss being 7 miles from Brancaster).
Accordingly any assistance in locating a male descendent of Thomas Rix, (arrived Salem MA c.1640,) appreciated

thaddeuse@comcast.net

Re: Thomas Rix Brancaster, England 1622

ElorisR — 2008-10-01 19:51:29Z

Hello Susan,
Thank you for you work on the Rix family from England.
I am trying to trace the Margaret Uggs of Pokethorpe near Norwich. The geneaology I'm working on shows her as a widow of Miles Ward who dies in 1650 and she then marrying her second husband Thomas Rix in 1651 and when checking out the Rix background find that she shows up but much earlier in the tree with a Henry Ward in the 1500s. I'm stumped with this and can find nothing for the Uggs family. I'm tracing my own matriarchal side and this is corner of painted myself into. Do you have any suggestions or information that may be of assistance to me?
Regards,
Eloris

Re: Thomas Rix Brancaster, England 1622

SusanG1400 — 2008-09-11 15:36:20Z

Dear Mr. Greg Rix:

Here is the information about the family of Thomas Rix of Brancaster, England. I hope it will be of interest to you. If there is anything else you would like to know, please contact me and I will try to answer your questions.

Sincerely,

Susan M. Grady

The Family of Thomas Rix of Brancaster, Norfolk County, England
By Susan M. Rix Sinclair Green Grady
Alexandria, Virginia
May 20, 2001

On September 29, 2000 my husband, Dr. A. Dane Bowen, and I visited the small village of Brancaster, Norfolk County, England where the Rix family originates. Northeast of London, it faces a western arm of the North Sea called "The Wash" or "The German Sea" in memory of the Saxon invasions of England in the 5th Century A.D. Directly across from Brancaster on the western side of "The Wash" is Boston, England. Just southwest of Brancaster is King's Lynn or Lynn, England. On the eastern side of Norfolk County, facing the North Sea, is Great Yarmouth. These place names were brought to Massachusetts. The towns with these names in Massachusetts were settled between 1630 and 1640 during "The Great Migration" by Puritans from Norfolk County and Suffolk County, England. Approximately twenty thousand persons came from England to Massachusetts during "The Great Migration."
Our ancestor, Thomas Rix, a barber surgeon, was born in Brancaster in 1622. He went from Brancaster to London, England and from there he went to Salem Seaport, Massachusetts Bay Colony, in 1649. It is possible that he sailed from Yarmouth, on the eastern side of Norfolk County, facing the North Sea. He was a member of the First Church [Congregational Church] of Salem. According to the town records of Salem, he participated actively in the civic life of Salem, but then something happened to him. He became indebted to the town of Salem (I have been unable to discover how or why this occurred.) and had to sell his house and shop.
Thomas Rix moved with his son James Rix, who was a shipwright, to Preston, Connecticut. Preston is in eastern Connecticut just east of Norwich (Norwich, England is the county seat of Norfolk County, England). Norwich was founded by Sergeant-Major General John Mason of King's Lynn, a town southwest of Brancaster, in 1658. Arriving in Dorchester, Massachusetts (now a part of Boston) in 1632, Sergeant-Major Mason defeated the Pequot Indians at Mystic River, Connecticut in 1637 and was made commander-in-chief of all the Connecticut forces and responsible for training the militia. Simon Huntington and his wife, from Norwich, England, also helped to found Norwich, Connecticut. Samuel Huntington, one of their descendants, signed the Declaration of Independence as a representative from Connecticut. Thomas Rix died October 31, 1718, in Preston. The Rix family is buried in the Rixtown Cemetery in Griswold, which is near Preston. The Rixtown Cemetery is named for James Rix who settled where the cemetery is located in 1703. In September 1998 my parents, husband, and I visited the cemetery. There are three graves together of Thomas, James and James' son, Thomas. The only legible tombstone is that of James' son Thomas, who died in 1771.
Much of the information we have about the Rix family comes from a book History and Genealogy of the Rix Family of America by Guy S. Rix of Concord, New Hampshire. It was published in New York City by the Grafton Press in 1906. This book is available in the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. In 1868 a
Mrs. H.L.M. Fry of Washington, D.C. visited Brancaster. She gave Mr. Rix much false information about the Rix family in Brancaster. As a result of our visit, I have proven the following information she gave to be false:

1) She states that there was a Rix family castle in Brancaster. There never was
one. A Roman fort, Branodunum, was built there around 250 A.D. Its soldiers came from Dalmatia in Yugoslavia. The stones were carried away in the 19th century to build a malthouse in the nearby town of Brancaster-Staithe. This large structure existed from 1797 to 1878. Barley was wetted with water and put on the floor of the malthouse. The water softened the barley which caused it to germinate. This germinated barley was called malt. It was used to brew beer and distill whiskey. The site of the fort is on the eastern edge of Brancaster near the sea on public land. You can walk in to look at the fields where it stood. There is a historical marker telling about the fort.

2) She states that in the Church of St. Mary the Virgin in Brancaster there are
panels, on the walls and on the floor, that show the Rix family name and
coat of arms. There are no such panels in that church. The present church
was built in the 14th century A.D. Its tower was built in the 15th century A.D.

3) The Rix family was supposed to have lived on two estates: Canninghall
(Kenninghall) and Offord (Orford). These two places are not near Brancaster
and have nothing to do with the Rix family. Kenninghall is in the southeastern
part of Norfolk County between Bury St. Edmunds and Norwich. Orford is in
Suffolk County. It faces the North Sea and is just north of Ipswich. There is
no old castle or estate in Kenninghall, but there is a castle in Orford. Today
there is a massive castle keep and three towers that form a polygon of eighteen
sides. The keep was built by King Henry II in 1165 to 1166. He was the
father of King Richard I (Richard Lionheart) and King John.

4) There was an Earl of Orford who lived at Houghton Hall northwest of
Fakenham, which is just southwest of Brancaster. The Earldom of Orford was
not created until the 17th century (the 1600's A.D.) according to officials at
Westminster Abbey in London, England. The first Earl of Orford was
Sir Robert Walpole, a famous British politician who was born in 1676 and died
in 1745. He was Prime Minister of England from 1721 to 1742. His son,
Horace Walpole, was the fourth Earl of Orford. A writer, he invented the
Gothic novel. He was born in 1717 and died in 1797. He never married.

Mrs. Fry also states that our ancestor, Sir John Rix, Earl of Offord, was beheaded on the orders of King Henry VIII in 1536 because he was a friend of the parents of Anne Boleyn, King Henry's second wife. King Henry had Anne executed because she did not give him a son who lived. Her son died shortly after being born. Her daughter, Elizabeth, became Queen Elizabeth I of England. In those days there was the law of primogeniture saying that the eldest son inherited everything from his parents. It was felt that only the son of a king could succeed him on the throne so a king had to have a male heir to succeed him so there would be no civil unrest in the country.
I wrote to Westminster Abbey in London, England concerning the Rix family and King Henry VIII. They consulted books about King Henry VIII and there was no mention in them about the Rix family. I looked in the book Anne Boleyn by Eric W. Ives published in 1986 by Basil Blackwell, N.Y., N.Y. It is a biography. On a genealogy chart in the front of the book it is shown that the father of Anne Boleyn, Thomas Boleyn, Earl of Ormonde and Wiltshire, died a natural death in 1539. Therefore, he was not executed. A member of the Rix family wrote to the College of Arms in London, England. They keep track of and issue coats of arms for noble families. Their representative said that the Rix family was never a member of the English nobility. Another member of the Rix family telephoned the Tower of London in London and asked if a person named Rix had been executed there. He was told that no one named Rix was executed there. I believe that the story stating that our ancestor, Sir John Rix, and Thomas Boleyn were executed is false.
The persons who work at Westminster Abbey also informed me that they consulted the standard register of the Knights of England and there is no Sir John Rix listed. I consulted the book Armorial Families by Charles Fox-Davies, Vol. 2 published in 1970 by Charles E. Tuttle Company, Rutland, Vermont. It states that there was a Henry William Rix of The Grove, Thorpe Hamlet, Norwich, England. Norwich is the county seat of Norfolk County. Brancaster is located in Norfolk County, England. He had a son, Reginald George Bertram Rix, Gentleman, born 1883 who lived at Pembroke Crescent, Hove, Sussex County, England. The rank of gentleman was one rank below the rank of nobility in the English class system. This Rix family is extinct. I believe that John Rix could be the great-great grandfather of Thomas Rix as it is shown in Mr. Guy S. Rix's book, even though John Rix was not a member of the nobility.
Brancaster is a very small, picturesque village of old stone houses. A Romano-British Cemetery in the area has graves of Christians from the 4th to 5th centuries A.D. It is near the Church of St. Mary the Virgin. Its population in 1999 was 935. There is an inn, a small grocery store and a post office, but no public library. During the time of King Henry VIII (King of England 1509-1547) Frenchmen and Scotsmen came in boats and raided Brancaster. In the 17th century Spanish marauders came by sea from the Netherlands (It was then part of Spain.) and raided Brancaster.
In order to avoid paying the English government taxes (customs duties) on imported items, people smuggled these items (brought them in by sea illegally). This smuggling continued in the Brancaster area up until the 1860s. Brancaster is mostly a farming community. Wheat, barley, oats, and root crops like potatoes and turnips are grown. Some fishing is done. Large boats used to go in the summer and fish off the coast of Iceland. The village of Brancaster exported wheat, barley, malt, wool from sheep and salted fish. The village imported fir, pine and oak planks, iron, pottery, wine, figs, raisins, spices, olive oil, soap, leather, and furs.

Re: Thomas Rix Brancaster, England 1622

SusanG1400 — 2008-09-11 15:33:28Z

Dear Joel Rix,

Here is the information about the family of Thomas Rix of Brancaster, England. I hope it will be of interest to you. If there is anything else you would like to know, please contact me and I will be glad to try to supply it.

Sincerely,

Susan M. Grady
Alexandria, Virginia U.S.A.

The Family of Thomas Rix of Brancaster, Norfolk County, England
By Susan M. Rix Sinclair Green Grady
Alexandria, Virginia
May 20, 2001

On September 29, 2000 my husband, Dr. A. Dane Bowen, and I visited the small village of Brancaster, Norfolk County, England where the Rix family originates. Northeast of London, it faces a western arm of the North Sea called "The Wash" or "The German Sea" in memory of the Saxon invasions of England in the 5th Century A.D. Directly across from Brancaster on the western side of "The Wash" is Boston, England. Just southwest of Brancaster is King's Lynn or Lynn, England. On the eastern side of Norfolk County, facing the North Sea, is Great Yarmouth. These place names were brought to Massachusetts. The towns with these names in Massachusetts were settled between 1630 and 1640 during "The Great Migration" by Puritans from Norfolk County and Suffolk County, England. Approximately twenty thousand persons came from England to Massachusetts during "The Great Migration."
Our ancestor, Thomas Rix, a barber surgeon, was born in Brancaster in 1622. He went from Brancaster to London, England and from there he went to Salem Seaport, Massachusetts Bay Colony, in 1649. It is possible that he sailed from Yarmouth, on the eastern side of Norfolk County, facing the North Sea. He was a member of the First Church [Congregational Church] of Salem. According to the town records of Salem, he participated actively in the civic life of Salem, but then something happened to him. He became indebted to the town of Salem (I have been unable to discover how or why this occurred.) and had to sell his house and shop.
Thomas Rix moved with his son James Rix, who was a shipwright, to Preston, Connecticut. Preston is in eastern Connecticut just east of Norwich (Norwich, England is the county seat of Norfolk County, England). Norwich was founded by Sergeant-Major General John Mason of King's Lynn, a town southwest of Brancaster, in 1658. Arriving in Dorchester, Massachusetts (now a part of Boston) in 1632, Sergeant-Major Mason defeated the Pequot Indians at Mystic River, Connecticut in 1637 and was made commander-in-chief of all the Connecticut forces and responsible for training the militia. Simon Huntington and his wife, from Norwich, England, also helped to found Norwich, Connecticut. Samuel Huntington, one of their descendants, signed the Declaration of Independence as a representative from Connecticut. Thomas Rix died October 31, 1718, in Preston. The Rix family is buried in the Rixtown Cemetery in Griswold, which is near Preston. The Rixtown Cemetery is named for James Rix who settled where the cemetery is located in 1703. In September 1998 my parents, husband, and I visited the cemetery. There are three graves together of Thomas, James and James' son, Thomas. The only legible tombstone is that of James' son Thomas, who died in 1771.
Much of the information we have about the Rix family comes from a book History and Genealogy of the Rix Family of America by Guy S. Rix of Concord, New Hampshire. It was published in New York City by the Grafton Press in 1906. This book is available in the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. In 1868 a
Mrs. H.L.M. Fry of Washington, D.C. visited Brancaster. She gave Mr. Rix much false information about the Rix family in Brancaster. As a result of our visit, I have proven the following information she gave to be false:

1) She states that there was a Rix family castle in Brancaster. There never was
one. A Roman fort, Branodunum, was built there around 250 A.D. Its soldiers came from Dalmatia in Yugoslavia. The stones were carried away in the 19th century to build a malthouse in the nearby town of Brancaster-Staithe. This large structure existed from 1797 to 1878. Barley was wetted with water and put on the floor of the malthouse. The water softened the barley which caused it to germinate. This germinated barley was called malt. It was used to brew beer and distill whiskey. The site of the fort is on the eastern edge of Brancaster near the sea on public land. You can walk in to look at the fields where it stood. There is a historical marker telling about the fort.

2) She states that in the Church of St. Mary the Virgin in Brancaster there are
panels, on the walls and on the floor, that show the Rix family name and
coat of arms. There are no such panels in that church. The present church
was built in the 14th century A.D. Its tower was built in the 15th century A.D.

3) The Rix family was supposed to have lived on two estates: Canninghall
(Kenninghall) and Offord (Orford). These two places are not near Brancaster
and have nothing to do with the Rix family. Kenninghall is in the southeastern
part of Norfolk County between Bury St. Edmunds and Norwich. Orford is in
Suffolk County. It faces the North Sea and is just north of Ipswich. There is
no old castle or estate in Kenninghall, but there is a castle in Orford. Today
there is a massive castle keep and three towers that form a polygon of eighteen
sides. The keep was built by King Henry II in 1165 to 1166. He was the
father of King Richard I (Richard Lionheart) and King John.

4) There was an Earl of Orford who lived at Houghton Hall northwest of
Fakenham, which is just southwest of Brancaster. The Earldom of Orford was
not created until the 17th century (the 1600's A.D.) according to officials at
Westminster Abbey in London, England. The first Earl of Orford was
Sir Robert Walpole, a famous British politician who was born in 1676 and died
in 1745. He was Prime Minister of England from 1721 to 1742. His son,
Horace Walpole, was the fourth Earl of Orford. A writer, he invented the
Gothic novel. He was born in 1717 and died in 1797. He never married.

Mrs. Fry also states that our ancestor, Sir John Rix, Earl of Offord, was beheaded on the orders of King Henry VIII in 1536 because he was a friend of the parents of Anne Boleyn, King Henry's second wife. King Henry had Anne executed because she did not give him a son who lived. Her son died shortly after being born. Her daughter, Elizabeth, became Queen Elizabeth I of England. In those days there was the law of primogeniture saying that the eldest son inherited everything from his parents. It was felt that only the son of a king could succeed him on the throne so a king had to have a male heir to succeed him so there would be no civil unrest in the country.
I wrote to Westminster Abbey in London, England concerning the Rix family and King Henry VIII. They consulted books about King Henry VIII and there was no mention in them about the Rix family. I looked in the book Anne Boleyn by Eric W. Ives published in 1986 by Basil Blackwell, N.Y., N.Y. It is a biography. On a genealogy chart in the front of the book it is shown that the father of Anne Boleyn, Thomas Boleyn, Earl of Ormonde and Wiltshire, died a natural death in 1539. Therefore, he was not executed. A member of the Rix family wrote to the College of Arms in London, England. They keep track of and issue coats of arms for noble families. Their representative said that the Rix family was never a member of the English nobility. Another member of the Rix family telephoned the Tower of London in London and asked if a person named Rix had been executed there. He was told that no one named Rix was executed there. I believe that the story stating that our ancestor, Sir John Rix, and Thomas Boleyn were executed is false.
The persons who work at Westminster Abbey also informed me that they consulted the standard register of the Knights of England and there is no Sir John Rix listed. I consulted the book Armorial Families by Charles Fox-Davies, Vol. 2 published in 1970 by Charles E. Tuttle Company, Rutland, Vermont. It states that there was a Henry William Rix of The Grove, Thorpe Hamlet, Norwich, England. Norwich is the county seat of Norfolk County. Brancaster is located in Norfolk County, England. He had a son, Reginald George Bertram Rix, Gentleman, born 1883 who lived at Pembroke Crescent, Hove, Sussex County, England. The rank of gentleman was one rank below the rank of nobility in the English class system. This Rix family is extinct. I believe that John Rix could be the great-great grandfather of Thomas Rix as it is shown in Mr. Guy S. Rix's book, even though John Rix was not a member of the nobility.
Brancaster is a very small, picturesque village of old stone houses. A Romano-British Cemetery in the area has graves of Christians from the 4th to 5th centuries A.D. It is near the Church of St. Mary the Virgin. Its population in 1999 was 935. There is an inn, a small grocery store and a post office, but no public library. During the time of King Henry VIII (King of England 1509-1547) Frenchmen and Scotsmen came in boats and raided Brancaster. In the 17th century Spanish marauders came by sea from the Netherlands (It was then part of Spain.) and raided Brancaster.
In order to avoid paying the English government taxes (customs duties) on imported items, people smuggled these items (brought them in by sea illegally). This smuggling continued in the Brancaster area up until the 1860s. Brancaster is mostly a farming community. Wheat, barley, oats, and root crops like potatoes and turnips are grown. Some fishing is done. Large boats used to go in the summer and fish off the coast of Iceland. The village of Brancaster exported wheat, barley, malt, wool from sheep and salted fish. The village imported fir, pine and oak planks, iron, pottery, wine, figs, raisins, spices, olive oil, soap, leather, and furs.

Re: Thomas Rix Brancaster, England 1622

SusanG1400 — 2008-12-08 17:48:19Z

Dear Thaddeus:

Thank you for your message. I have one male Rix cousin who lives in Massachusetts. If you would like his name, address and telephone number, please let me know and I will be glad to send it to you.

Sincerely,

Susan M. Grady
Alexandria, Virginia

Re: Thomas Rix Brancaster, England 1622

SusanG1400 — 2008-10-10 16:45:12Z

Dear Eloris Chisholm:

Thank you very much for your message of October 1, 2008. There is a museum which is also a historical society that I wrote to in Salem, Massachusetts that provided me with information on Thomas Rix of Brancaster, England. Maybe they can help you find out more about Margaret Uggs Ward Rix. This musuem/historical society is:

Peabody Essex Museum
161 Essex Street
Salem, Massachusetts 01970

Tel.: (978) 745-9500

Internet Website: www.pem.org

Also, I have posted queries on Rootsweb under "Surnames" of my family and peoople have answered me.

I hope this information will be helpful to you. I would be glad to learn anything you find out about Margaret Uggs Ward Rix.

Sincerely,

Susan M. Rix Sinclair Green Grady
Alexandria, Virginia

Re: Thomas Rix Brancaster, England 1622

SusanG1400 — 2009-01-05 18:47:54Z

Hello!

I am very sorry that I did not answer your message of
December 7, 2008. I was very busy at work and with my family.
If you would please send me your E-mail address, I would be very glad to send to you via E-mail the information about Thomas Rix of Brancaster, England. If you would want me to mail it to you, I can do that also if you would please send me your mailing address.
Thank you.

Sincerely,

Susan M. Rix Sinclair Green Grady
Alexandria, Virginia

Re: Thomas Rix Brancaster, England 1622

mandyrix18 — 2008-09-10 01:01:51Z

My name is Greg Rix. I live in cartersville Georgia. I am interested in learning about the Rix family. Please send me any information you have.

Re: Jurgen RIX

JKeymling — 2008-08-26 14:29:58Z

Hello,
my great-grandmother was Anna Rix, born 25. June 1838 at Scheppern, Dithmarschen, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, daughter of Hans Rix (no further dates) who was married to Antje Sierk, born 30. March 1811 at Erfde. These villages are not very far from Jevenstedt. Maybe we could find a connection.
Yours,
Katja Bruhn-Keymling

Re: HI...

ej2468 — 2008-10-16 02:39:54Z

There is a book called "History and Genealogy of the Rix family of America" by Guy Scoby Rix. It does a really good job of documenting the Rix families... although don't believe any of the talk about a castle. That has been firmly proved to be part of someone's imagination.

My g-grandparents, George W & Anna F Rix lived in the Norfolk area from 1885 through sometime in the 1940s. There were some Rix aunts & uncles in the area also. I do you have any birthdates, marriage dates or death dates?

Maybe we're cousins!
-- Evelyn

Bertha Rix

cmtlaw55 — 2008-10-24 16:35:58Z

Does anyone have any information about Bertha Rix married to Vincent Tesar- Manhattan, NY 1920? Believe that Bertha had siblings: Oscar, Henrich, Louise and Ralph. Came to NY in 1906 via Altona, Germany. Mother of Bertha was Henrietta Heine 1874

Re: Thomas Rix Brancaster, England 1622

joelrix — 2008-09-08 06:48:05Z

Susan,
I live in Australia and have been led to believe that our family came to Australia as convicts on the 3rd fleet from England. I was also told that the name 'Rix' may have come from Dutch decent. I would love to know more about Thomas Rix from Brancaster

Re: Thomas Rix Brancaster, England 1622

thaddeus185 — 2008-12-09 04:51:13Z

Thank you Susan,

Your introduction could prove to be helpful, please contact me offline and I will forward the complete story

best regards

thaddeuse@comcast.net

btw I also reside in MA