These research notes are provided as-is and contain supplementary working research.
Finding
Margaret's Rivett kin at Garveston and Gressenhall (two candidate baptisms), two to three miles from East Dereham
Margaret Rybett is identifiable as a Rivet of Garveston — either Margaret Rivet, baptised 21 May 1586, daughter of Francis Rivet, or Margarett Rivet, baptised 1 February 1577/8, daughter of Robert Rivet (working weights ~55/40) — a mid-Norfolk family, not the Suffolk gentry line. Garveston lies two miles from East Dereham and Gressenhall three, and the Rivett presence in both is continuous. This gives the long-standing hypothesis a documentary basis: John, left motherless about 1616–17 when Margaret died and Francis remarried and moved to London, had maternal kin a few miles from his birthplace. Richard Ryvett of Gressenhall, who married Faith in 1602, is a documented source for the name John gave his eldest surviving son — Margaret's first cousin under the 1586 reading, her full brother under the 1577/8 one.
Why this conclusion
- Supports Identity hypothesis Candidate B: the leading named candidate at about 11 percent, on one primary record and a circumstantial webMaternal kin beside East Dereham explain John's upbringing after 1616/17 and the name of his son Richard.
Related context
- Context from Evidence The Rybett/Ryvett family, St Martin at Palace, and the corrected Heydon connectionDistinguishes the Suffolk Ryvett gentry from the mid-Norfolk Rivetts who are Margaret's actual kin.
Sources
- Ancestry / NRO, Norfolk Church of England Baptism, Marriages and Burials, 1535-1812, Garveston register piece 1538–1675, image 4033226_00540, expert read 2026-07-16 (paleography packet 50): 'Margarett Rivet daughter of Robt christened first of ffebruarie' under the Anno Dni 1577 heading (= 1 Feb 1577/8) and 'Richard Rivet ye sonne of Robt christened ye last of November' above the 1576 heading (= 30 Nov 1575)
- FreeREG (parish register transcription project). freereg.org.uk., FreeREG Norfolk searches for Rivett/Rivet/Ryvett near East Dereham: Richard Ryvett of Gressenhall (m. Faith 1602; daughter Alice bapt. 1611) and the Garveston Rivett entries
- England, Births and Christenings, 1538-1975. FamilySearch indexed records., FamilySearch, England Births and Christenings 1538–1975: Margaret Rivet christened 21 May 1586, Garveston, Norfolk, father Francis Rivet
Topic file location: Identity — Candidate B: Norfolk parentage
Technical details
- Research item:
G13-RI-000154 - Graph revision:
381 - Machine-readable JSON:
/assets/g13-graph/findings/G13-RI-000154.json
This is one research item from the John Gurney research graph; the fuller narrative treatment is in the linked topic above and the research library.