I've only just noticed this discussion, and followed it with interest. My Biggin ancestors came from Norton, and I'd assumed all the local Biggins were related. My ancestor George Curr and his brother John also came to Sheffield in the 1770s, and they were probably born in Stella, also a township of Ryton, and many of my wife's family came from the same area. It's surprising how many people made such long journeys, for what they hoped would be a better future, and Durham to Sheffield is nothing compared with the Atlantic crossing.

I have now traced a lot of my Biggins ancestors back to Winlaton and Gateshead. However the Norton Biggin families are on the whole a different bunch but their paths do cross mainly due to birth and marriage registrations where quite often the s was added and sometimes missed off. A lot of the Norton Biggin were scythe makers, the Sheffield Biggins started off as nailors but ended up in the cutlery trade