Soulsby marriage in Sunderland

[Swampduck]

Hi everyone,

I wonder if any of you brilliant folk can help.  I have been trying for a long time to get the marriage certificate for my g.grandad's brother, William Soulsby.  I've searched Findmypast, Free BMD, Ancestry, LDS, Durham Records Online, made enquiries at the Records Office in Durham, Teeside, and a couple of others.  I've been given phone numbers for different diocese to find the Bishop's transcripts but still not had any luck - don't know where to turn next.

According to my "cousin's" family bible, William Soulsby (her g.grandad) married Mary Jane Charlton on 19th October 1853 in Sunderland.  I have found a William Sowlsby in Sunderland Oct/Dec qtr 1853 ref: 10a 435 - but cannot find Mary Jane with the same reference.   Mary Jane's mother was from Ireland and Mary was a Catholic.

My g.grandad Robert Soulsby (either spelling is ok), William's brother, also married a Catholic girl, Catherine Duke.  They were married at the Catholic Chapel, Bridge Street, Bishopwearmouth, Sunderland in 1851.  It's quite possible that William and Mary Jane were also married in this chapel, but I haven't a clue where to go from here.

Please, please can anyone help me to find this marriage certificate.

Swampduck

[Colin Cruddace]

Hi Swampduck,

I think there is an error in the GRO Index for Mary Jane.

William appears on page 435 of volume 10a for Sunderland, and on that page there should be 2 male and 2 female names but it shows 3 male and 1 female. Too early for those types of marriage 

With a bit of dabbling, I found Jane Charlton on page 433 and on that page there were 2 males and 3 females.

Checking the images of the index shows they were transcribed correctly but it looks like Jane Charlton is the one you want.

Regards,
Colin

[stanmapstone]

If you go to http://www.sunderland.gov.uk/pages/registrars/ you will see the marriage listed for William Soulsby and Jane Charlton if 1853. You can order the certificate from the Sunderland Registrars and they usually supply a photocopy of the original register with the original handwriting.
Stan

[Swampduck]

Hi Colin

I saw the Jane Charlton 10a 433 and did wonder if this could be her - thought maybe I had misread the figures so I re-checked the images but they were quite readable.  Anyway, seeing as we both arrive same conclusion, I'm going to order a certificate (fingers crossed) but would I need to quote both the volume references, 10a 433 and 10a 435?

This family is causing so many problems - I'm hoping the marriage certificate will give help to sort some of these out.

Many thanks for your help.

Jean


 

[Swampduck]

Stan

What a great site - wish I'd known about this before.  Most of my father's, half of my mother's and all of my mother-in-laws family are from Durham.  I didn't realise this until I started searching our family tree.

What I don't understand is if William and Mary Jane are listed under different volume numbers, 10a 435 and 10a 433 - how do they tie up?  Where can I see the transcript of their actual marriage (sorry if I appear a bit thick). I've only found them individually on Findmypast.

Many thanks
Jean

[stanmapstone]

The entries on the Sunderland list are from the actual registers held by the Registrar, the GRO index reference means nothing to them. You can't see the actual marriage entry, the public are not allowed to see the actual registers.
There is obviously an error in the indexing of the marriage in the GRO.

When the quarterly returns were sent to the GRO in London they went through a number of steps, the last one being the writing of the sorted entries down in the index registers. At this stage in the operation the district names, volume numbers and page references were particularly error-prone.
Michael Foster in his two volume  "The Marriage Records of England & Wales, A Comedy of Errors" study reveals the infinite variety of ways in which the records have suffered from errors and omissions.
http://homepages.paradise.net.nz/mikefost/

Stan

[stanmapstone]

As well as the Sunderland site, there are also these Registrar's sites which cover the historic County Durham
County Durham http://nd.durham.gov.uk/gro/newgro.nsf/search?open&C0103715020402042009$

Gateshead http://online.gateshead.gov.uk/bmd/

South Tyneside http://www.southtyneside.info/communitysupport/register/search/default.aspx

Tees Valley http://www.teesvalley-indexes.co.uk

Stan

[lewis1c]

Swampduck,

I've come across numerous instances where the two people who were  married are listed on different pages in the marriage resister - sometimes as many a three pages apart. It's always worth a check on the few pages either side of where you think it may be, to look for the spouse.

[lewis1c]

I have also found the following website useful. It gives Sunderland and Monkwearmouth marriages before 1837, and a whole load of other info as well

http://genuki.cs.ncl.ac.uk/Transcriptions/DUR/