Stephen James RICHARDSON moved from his home village of Shillington, Beds to Richmond, Surrey. In 1876 he married Clara WHALEY in nearby Barnes. Shortly after the birth of their eldest son, Charles Button Whaley Richardson, the couple moved to Newmarket (Newmarket straddles both Cambs and Suffolk) where Stephen was employed as a Draper's Assistant. Stephen and Clara had 10 children and eventually bought their own shop in the HIgh St at Rutland Hill. Four of the children did not survive into adulthood. The youngest son (Hugh) Daniel ran the shop until ithe 1960's. Charles, the eldest became a grocer's manager in various parts of the country before settling in Wellingborough, Northants. Stephen Arthur and Rupert became ironmongers. Dorothy married William MOON who kept a cycle shop and later a garage. Reginald also became a grocer but little is known about his family.

Charles Button Whaley Richardson married Blanche GROOM in Wisbech in 1900. Blanche was a daughter of Jonathan and Elizabeth Groom, a builder living at Victoria Rd, Wisbech. Jonathan Groom's family was originally from neighbouring WALSOKEN, a village technically in NORFOLK, although very close to Wisbech. Elizabeth Groom's maiden name was GIBSON. Her marriage certificate names her father as Henry Gibson, butcher, although this was not so - her exact relationship to the Gibson family remains to be determined. Apart from my own branch descended from Blanche Groom, I have only scant detail of any other Groom descendants in the 20th century.

The WHALEY family came originally from the small villages to the south of BUNGAY in the north of Suffolk. They tended to be coachmen and migrated to LONDON in the early 1840's - initially to CAMBERWELL and then to RICHMOND. Early Whaleys also linked to the PARSLEY and to one of the numerous CATCHPOLE families through Susanna Catchpole b. 1741 in Metfield.