Marriage at St. George Mayfair, Westminster

[Pennie]

I've found the following marriage on the IGI:

01 AUG 1748 - Richard BARKER to Mary WASTIE at St. George Mayfair, Westminster, London

I'm trying to trace the origins of the WASTIE surname in London/Middlesex, and this is the earliest record on the IGI.  Would the full PR entry include details  of Mary's parentage, or perhaps names of witnesses which may give a clue?

Any help would be gratefully received.

Many thanks.

Pennie

[ChristineT]

Hi Pennie

Unfortunately, my experience is that the earlier marriage certs give very little info apart from the names of the couple, whether they were of the parish, whether bachelor or spinster and the witness names, and the date of course.

I have a cert dated 1833 and was desperate to find the parents details, but no such luck.


Good luck

Christine

[suffolk*sue]

Boyds marriage index has him down as John Barker.

 

Heres another

1764 / WASTIE  JAS / LUCKHAM  MARY / ALL HALLOWS LOMBARD STREET/  LONDON 

and another

1817 / WASTIE  SARA/  PARKER  RIC / TOTTENHAM / MIDDLESEX 

[ChristineT]

Sorry Pennie, I didn't actually answer your question!

I don't think you will find the PRs have the info you want either.

Sorry!

Christine

[Pennie]

Hi Christine/Sue ...

Many thanks for your replies.

Oops!  I have Mr. Barker as John (not Richard) - sorry for that.

I have both the Boyd's marriages.  To give a quick bit of "background", the WASTIEs seem to originate in Oxfordshire around the mid 1500s, with the name also appearing in London/Middx. in the mid 1700s.  I'm pretty sure that the London branch came from Oxfordshire (have already found a couple of London/Oxfordshire connections but nothing to definitely prove my theory!).

One of the "connections" is the PARKER/WASTIE marriage in 1817 on Boyd's.  I have ascertained that Richard PARKER was born in Eynsham (where all the Oxfordshire WASTIEs lived in the 1700s).  His bride Sarah was born in London in 1787, d. James and Elizabeth.

My theory is that Sarah may have met Richard whilst visiting her WASTIE relatives in Eynsham.  I believe that her father James may have been ex-Oxfordshire (there are several James's born in Oxfordshire who do not marry in the county).

However  ... I cannot prove any of this!

Pennie

[Pennie]

And my other - equally frustrating - "connection" ...

I have the will of a Richard WASTIE who died in London in 1749.  Now he's definitely one of mine (brother of my direct ancestor, born in Oxfordshire, who leaves monies and land to brothers and uncles in Eynsham).  However, he doesn't appear to have a wife or children (none mentioned in the will), so I can't trace him forwards in London!

Isn't family history fun!

Pennie

[gothitjulie]

Hi

transcript of the record from the Harleian Society:

Aug. 1 John Barker & Mary Wastie, of St.Pancras



Julie

[Mean_genie]

The Mayfair Chapel was a popular venue for clandestine or irregular marriages in London before Lord Hardwicke's Marriage Act came into effect in 1754. These were marriages performed without banns or licence, and without parental consent in many cases. They were perfectly legal and valid, even if the Church did not like them. The Mayfair Chapel took a lot of marriage business away from the nearby parish church of St George Hanover Square.

cCandestine marriages are often known collectively as Fleet marriages, after the most popular venue for them, the area around the Fleet Prison, but they were performed in a variety of locations around London. They were particularly popular with runaways and others for whom secrecy was important, but most people just wanted a quick, no-fuss ceremony.   

From your point of view, Pennie, the good news is that of all the clandestine marriage venues, the Mayfair Chapel was much the classiest, favoured by the aristocracy.

Mean_genie

[Pennie]

Many thanks for that additional snippet of information (and apologies for the time taken to respond!).

My Oxfordshire WASTIEs seem to have been yeomen owning property and land - and another branch of the family produced an Oxford MP in the 1700s - so an "upmarket" wedding would not probably be out of place!

Pennie