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A true coat of arms is like an individual finger print. It was designed to make individuals on the battlefield identifiable. There were strict rules governing subsequent passing on of colours and ensigns to sons and daughters, involving bars/circles/stars and dividing the shield into halves and quarters. Each result was as unique to the individual as the original was to the parent, and if you were clued up, you'd know which order the children had been born in.
As far as I'm aware, all new coats and crests were registered with an official body (I cant remember whether it was the Crown or some other heraldic body).
So, anybody claiming to have a "family coat of arms" and displaying a shield, is essentially talking heraldic nonsense. But then, in an era of ignorance, it's big business and there are numerous firms happy to take your money for a copy of your "family crest" - like the dud one on the left that I'm using for "Bolton"

Hi

What an interesting man Thomas Clark appears to be: rather unable to successfully keep a wife alive for very long 

I'm none the wiser as to Sarah Bolton, but I'll keep looking.

Quite a number of the BMD's are available on Freereg.org.uk

Here's what I found today:

1. Mary Unknown
   Marriage - not known
   * son Thomas Clark, born 1811, died 1813 - baptised Startforth 1811
   Mary's death/burial not known
 {EDIT: Subsequently found the Hutchinson info and agree this was Mary Hutchinson. Also found the two other bapts for Barnard Castle for Hutchinson Clark 1806 and Jane Clark 1808}
2. Sarah Bolton
   Marriage 25 Oct 1813 at Rokeby Chapel, Yorkshire
   * daughter Hannah born 1815
   * daughter Sarah born 1816 [buried 1816 Startforth aged 4 months]
   Hannah's death not known

3. Elizabeth Coates (Coates being married name - widow at marriage to Thomas Clark)
   Marriage 15 June 1825 at Holy Trinity, Startforth, Yorkshire
   Elizabeth died 1827 Bridge End, Startfort
   Buried 17 JUL 1827 Holy Trinity, Startforth

4. Mary Hall
   Marriage 29 Sept 1829 at Holy Trinity, Startforth, Yorkshire
   * daughter Mary Ann, born around 1832, Startforth
      Mary Ann married ? Henry Shaw
   Mary died 1832, Bridge End, Startfort
   Buried 05 FEB 1832 Holy Trinity, Startforth

5. Jane Stephenson
   Marriage 4th Quarter 1838 in Teesdale Registration District
   Appears as Jane Clark on 1841 and 1851 Startforth census
   Jane died 1859, Bridge End, Startforth
   Buried 06 MAY 1859 Holy Trinity, Startforth

Thomas Clark
   Possibly born at Cleatham nr Darlington c1784
   Thomas died 1862 Bridge End, Startforth
   Buried 02 JAN 1862 Holy Trinity, Startforth

Regards
Rob Bolton

In 1841, Edward Bolton is at Middleton Hall in Ilderton, Northumberland with his uncle George.
Martha doesn't appear on the 1841 census as Martha Bolton, that I've ever found. There are quite a lot of illegible records for 1841 and also some with just initials.

I've been through just about every single birth register I can find in archives and online and so far, I can't find a baptism for Martha or a family connection, other than George & Edward.
I suspect she was illegitimate, as was her son Edward.
George Bolton (1808-1883) appears to be Martha's sister.
His own marriage to Barbara Moore is missing from the currently available data.
Either he didnt marry her or the records are lost.
Same for Edward & Margaret Henderson.

There are considerable gaps in the records available for North Northumberland, particularly as so many non-conformist churches were rapidly opening and closing. I'm missing a couple of baptisms and marriages for my own Boltons, particularly from the Wooler and Belford parishes.

We can but live in hope

Rob Bolton

Sadly the Geocities websites were discontinued by Yahoo, so my website is no longer there.
I have however got lots on various northerly Bolton families on Ancestry.com
The tree is called "Various Bolton Families from the Census" and covers primarily Northumberland, Durham, Cumberland and increasingly, Yorkshire.

After many years and many different registers and archives, I've still never managed to find a parish record for the marriage of James GILROY (b1804) to Mary Ann BOLTON (B1800).

He was from Belford, she was from North Shields.

Their first child, Mary Bolton Gilroy, was born in 1824 and her baptism record shows they were living at Waren Mill, near Belford.
Their second child, John Margetts Bolton, was born in 1827 in Ebchester, Co.Durham, where they had extended family.

I was wondering if anybody had any records from marriage chapels that perhaps don't appear on the main indexes for the Belford/Branton/Bamburgh regions, or Shields of NBL?

All help gratefully received.
Rob