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Beginners => Family History Beginners Board => Topic started by: suecee on Monday 14 January 08 16:38 GMT (UK)
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I have a 1724 marriage on the Surrey Marriage Index which is given as a stray marriage in Itchingfield, Sussex. Both the bride and groom are given as of Charlwood, Surrey.
Were they allowed to go to another parish to marry and why would they have gone some 12 miles away, could it be where they originated? (I cannot find any baptisms in Charlwood)
Anyone got any helpful suggestions before I lay out money on fiches?
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Was she (sorry! :o) pregant?
meles
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Perhaps it was a nice church and they wanted to avoid the local rabble attending the service.
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Reasons for getting mrried in another church included recent death in the family, pregnancy, knowing or being related to clergyman, wanting a quiet wedding, even minister not approving of one of the witnesses.
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Thanks guys ;D
All I know is his name was John and hers was Susan. Whether she was a minor and/or a blooming mother-to-be I don't know.
A John is busy fathering children in Charlwood from 1728. In 1746 John and Sarah are given as parents. So is this a different John? (No burial of a Susan only a Sarah and no John/Sarah marriage)
I guess I'll have to buy those fiches.
Thanks aghadowey - just seen your reply.
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It would be worth looking at the rest of the Finchinfield marriage register around that time, to see if there were many other marriages of 'out-of-parish' couples. Before Hardwicke's Marriage Act of 1753 some clergy were attracting couples from other parishes by charging lower fees. Some of them issued their own licences, which they might or might not have been entitled to do. The Church gradually clamped down on this in the years before Hardwicke, so that irregular or clandestine marriages were gradually confined to a few areas, such as the notorious 'Rules of the Fleet' in London.
The Hardwicke Act didn't completely put an end to free enterprise of this kind - as late as 1938 the vicar of King Charles the Martyr claimed he had the right to marry couples without banns or licence (he didn't), but briefly achieved fame as 'the English Gretna'
Mean_genie
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Oops, I meant to say King Charles the Martyr, Peak Forest!
Mean_genie
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Thanks Mean_genie
I don't have access to the Itchingfield marriage registers so I might see if someone could look that up for me. A Sussex contact also researching Burchall did confirm that there were two other Burchall marriages there in 1715 and 1716 which is why I am hoping there may be a family connection.
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One of my "couples" travelled from Ware in Hertfordshire all the way to Margate in Kent to be married. Neither had any connection with the place. She was London born and bred and he was from Herts.
The only reason I found (or thought of) was that it was his second marriage and maybe the children weren't happy about the idea. Also he was from an Independant Church so chances are that the "local" clergy knew this and weren't thrilled about marrying them - being "Not of The Faith" ::)
Other than those reasons and those given above, chances are that you may just never know the real reason they "ran away" to be married.
I would be looking at the actual Parih Register Film to verify the marriage in Itchingfield and see if there are any other hints. Also check on other possible family BDM's on the film.
Good luck
Di
Di
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Hello Di
How thoughtless of our ancestors to marry so far from home - didn't they realise the hassle they'd cause us. >:(
Pre 1837 its like looking for a needle in a haystack when they marry elsewhere.
As you say there is no substitute for checking the original film
although the marriage entries are not exactly full of detail in the early 1700s.
So many questions, so few answers :-\
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thanks to all for interesting suggestions as to why a marriage becomes a "stray". I came across this phrase with a marriage between two people who lived in next door parishes - seemed a bit excessive but apparently they had their reasons!