This is a most interesting family. The archive record of this family was prepared as if Mr. Bligh and Ann Bligh were a married couple. This is very misleading, as Ann Bligh never married. The archive record [LDS] shows 5 children born at Shelfanger to Mr. Bligh and Mrs. Ann Bligh. There were in fact 7 children born to Ann Bligh, a single woman, at Tibenham, not Shelfanger. The 2 children not shown on the archive record are Mary, christened 15 October 1769 and the second John born 13 January 1789. Once the parentage of Ann Bligh is determined, her father's name can be corrected in your records.

Ann Bligh was buried 1 March 1826 at Tibenham, aged 81 years. Therefore, she was born about 1745. I did not find her christening record at Tibenham. The Parish Christ. records of Tibenham have been microfilmed, so I made searches to see if I could find a settlement certificate for Ann Bligh. The search was negative. Since Ann Bligh's children were all born illegitimately, I had hoped to find a Bastardy Bond or Examination Certificate that would reveal the name of the father(s) of the children. This search was also negative. However, in the Churchwarden's accounts of disbursements to the poor, Ann Bligh's name occurs many times as receiving aid from the poor relief funds for herself and children.

Searches in the records of surrounding parishes should be made to see if the parentage of Ann Bligh can be determined.