Early Life
Sarah Gunton was the daughter of
Thomas Gunton and his wife
Anne Gunton (her parents were cousins)
1. Sarah would have been born after 1633 (she was under age when referred to in her father's will which was written in 1654). Given that Sarah married in 1673, it's most likely she was born c. 1650, but obviously no later than 1654, most probably in
Sudbury, Suffolk.
Family Life
Sarah married
John Parish, a Sudbury clothier in 1673 at
St Mary's in Bury St Edmonds. Why they married here, rather that in Sudbury, I'm not sure.
Death
Sarah died in 1681 and was buried on the 24
th of May that year at
All Saints in Sudbury.
Gunton Surname
It seems highly likely to me that the Gunton family were named after the Manor of Gunton, now a
suburb of Lowestoft in East Suffolk. Here's an
interesting old map.
Gunton Hall was the family home in the 12th century. By the time of "my" Gunton's, the elevated social standing (if indeed they derive from the same tree, and aren't just simply namesakes) had evaporated and they were solid middle-class folk: clothiers, drapers, saymakers and the odd "gentleman" too.
More on the
Manor of Gunton from archive.org.
And
The Gunton Family at marthamnorfolk.co.uk
Footnotes
[1] Working out the Gunton family was complex and required the review of a lot of wills from the family at this time. The fact that Sarah's parents both had the surname Gunton made things all the more confusing. Note that there is an entry for a Thomas Gunton, dated 1687 in the case Gunton vs Parish 1687 (
http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C5432321)
Abt 1650 - 1681 (~ 31 years)
