Thomas HACKET(T) of Orgreave married Margaret BANKS of Croxall in 1751. The family continued to live in Orgreave, although most of their eight children were baptized in Alrewas which lies between Orgreave and Croxall.
Thomas died aged 75 in March 1794 and was buried at Alrewas. This suggests a birth year of 1719, and implies he was 32 when he married and was 51 when his last child was born.
There are several possible baptisms including:
- Thomas 25 Nov 1721 - Thomas & Anne Hacket - Abbots Bromley (7 miles) - 5th of 7 children
- Thomas filius Thomae Hacket baptizatus fuit trigesimo Janu - Hartshorne, Derbyshire (10 miles to Alrewas)
- Thomas 22 Jul 1727 - Roberti Hacket - St Modwen, Burton-on-Trent (7.5 miles) (at least one grandchild named Robert)
- Thomas 10 Oct 1723 - John & Mary - Shenton, Leicestershire (16 miles)
While the last of these is the most distant, a move from Leicester to Staffordshire in the early is 18th century is not without precedent; the MILES family also moved from Shenton, Leics to Clifton Campville, Staffs at that time. The exact reason is not known but population statistics for the later 18th century show the population of Staffordshire rapidly growing with Leicestershire growing at a much slower rate. Potentially the growth of the potteries sucked in workers from the surrounding area which in turn drew in agricultural labourers from surrounding areas to replace the agricultural workforce lost to the potteries.