The Rayner family of Cambridgeshire

In comparison to many of my surnames, my Rayner family research contains only a few relatives. The earliest of these are my 7x Great Grandparents Flower Rayner and his second wife Susannah West first appear in records together in July 1750 at Ely, Cambridgeshire, England.

Flower's first marriage to Mary Nethercoat had lasted 10 years until her death in 1748, seeing them become parents in the village of Coveney, Cambridgeshire, about three times.

Flowers remarried to Susannah and the couple became parents four times, with my 6x Great Grandmother being their only daughter.

The legacy of Flowers Rayner

This unusual first-name choice of Flower (or Flowers) may first appear in 1737, and it was given to Flowers and Mary's son Flowers Rayner in 1746, and to his son in 1768, but its usage also finds its way through the Rayner family via my 6x Great Grandmother Mary Rayner and into her children's names within the Yarrow family. The first occurrence being Flowers Yarrow and the most recent found (so far) being her great grandson Flowers Yarrow born in Stretham, Cambridgeshire in about 1851.

Whilst the origin of the first-name continues to remain a mystery, it wouldn't be surprising if it was actually the maiden name of a female ancestor, and in doing so, probably connect up with my Flower family tree.

Rayner family connections

The Rayner family is still quite small in my research, and they are linked to just two other known ancestral families so far: