Had a look today at the Kentchurch parish registers and Bishop's Transcripts and noted the various offspring of John and Ann Read backwards to the earliest, Ann, born January 2--th and baptised February 20th, 1775 (as best I coould decipher).
The most likely marriage of John Read was to an Ann Warnoll in Weobley, so I checked that event and found the following in the Weobley registers:
"John Read of the parish of Kentchurch, a batchelor, and Ann Warnoll of this parish, spinster, were married in this church by Licence the fifteenth day of January in the year 1775."
John Read and Ann Warnoll both made 'their mark'. Witnesses were a Mary Ba(u)skerville and Jo........ Warnell
I had a little time so looked up the appropriate Marriage Bond dated the 14th day of January 1775:
"On which appeared personally John Read of the parish of Kentchurch, Labourer, ....... made oath that he is of the age of thirty ...... years and upwards, a batchelor, intends to marry Ann Warnoll of the parish of Weobley aged twenty one years and upwards, a spinster ......"
A Samuel Cox of the parish of St. Nicholas Hereford made application with John Read (on his behalf maybe, as presumably John could neither read nor write having made 'his mark') and they were bound in the sum of £100 - a lot of money in those days.
Looking at the dates, if I have read them correctly, this was a 'rush job', with the child Ann born a few days later!
Hope this answers your query.
Chilis
