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Hi I am a Byford from the Rayleigh area of south east Essex and there many of us around here all trying to find out if we have more relatives tucked away in the wood shed. I have been told that in 1621 the family moved from Great Bursted in south Essex to Great Wakering on the marshes at the mouth of the Thames but their name then was Bayfort which changed when they got to Wakering to BAREFOOT! We know that in 1813 they moved to Rayleigh in Essex and then proceeded to outnumber the indigenous population by a factor of five! Now we are spread around this part of the world and number many hundreds. We organised a reunion three years ago for my paternal grandparents off spring and 148 turned up, but there are many more who could have come but decided against it. Are you related to a Rayleigh Byford? I know that my grand father John Thomas Byford, yes I know but someone has to have those names and he did have 9 children, had relatives in Bury Saint Edmunds who had relatives in Clare and Kings Lynn, are you reading this? If you want to persue this further contact me at mouseyhaggis @aol.com.