St. Kenelms, Romsley

[Benody1921]

I'd love some input on my 2nd great-grandparents marriage.

GGreat-grandad was from Quarry Bank, Staffordshire. GGreat-grandma was from Lye, Worcestershire. In 1872 they married at St. Kenelms in Romsley and gave their residence as Romsley.

Why would they marry there and likely lie about their residence when they could have married in one of their own parishes?

[emeltom]

They may have been living and working there at the time of the marriage. Another alternative is that she might have been pregnant and it was to hide that fact from the neighbours. If you think hard enough you can come up with all sorts of plausible reasons.

 I have Cheshire ancestors who married in Manchester Cathedral because that was the Mother Church for their parish and if they married in the parish they had to pay the parish and the Mother Church, so it was cheaper.

Emeltom

[Benody1921]

Thanks for your reply.

It's possible he was working there. Their marriage certificate doesn't give an occupation for her. I know in the 1881 and 1891 censuses she's her mother's caretaker.

It's possible she was pregnant and the baby didn't make it. They didn't have any children until 11 years after they married and I'm pretty sure they adopted him.

One thought is that her mother may not have approved of the marriage. Her Will states that her daughter gets all of her money and that money is free from her present husband and any future husbands.

[Yegvard]

Hi,

Three things:

Parents or other elderly relatives may have lived in Romsley and they were returning 'home'.

Women often did have a job, but it wasn't recorded on the basis that it wasn't 'proper' for the man to be seen as unable to support her.

You say she didn't have any children for 11 years.  I presume you have checked the birth indexes.  Use the GRO index as this usually includes the mother's maiden name!  And, if you order a .pdf copy of the birth certificate it will only cost £7.00.

Cheers

Mike

[Benody1921]

Hi Mike,

Thanks for your reply.

I'm not sure of any relatives living in that area. Edwin's parents and grandparents had already died and his aunts and uncles mostly stayed in the Quarry Bank area. Betsy's mother was in Lye with the rest of the Brooks and Pardoe families. They didn't seem to stray too far.

I think it's possible she had a job but her mother was wealthy from owning a pub left to her by her late husband so I think if she did have a job it would have been helping her mother.

Definitely no children. I've been through the GRO Index so many times. It's one of my favourite websites to use. My great-grandad was likely adopted by Edwin and Betsy so I don't think they were able to have children.

My best guess is that Betsy's mother didn't approve of the union. Her Will gives all of her money to Betsy, free from her current husband and any future husbands. I'm almost certain that Betsy and Edwin separated later on. The 1911 census shows Betsy married for 20 years. She and Edwin married in 1872. He can't be found in the 1891, 1901, or 1911 censuses. There isn't a death record for him either. I do have a death record for an Edwin Dunn in 1921 but I'm starting to think it was another Edwin.

The witnesses (Edward and Anne Stevens) are interesting too. I would have thought the witnesses would have been a family member or two. So far I haven't been able to find a connection between them. It's most likely that Edward Stevens and Edwin Dunn worked together but I haven't been able to find Edward Stevens in the censuses.

This line is my biggest brick wall. So frustrating and I have to take frequent breaks from them but then I always come back to them.

[M.Ann]

Hi Benody, yes we all have brick walls and strange mysteries and yes... People told untruths then as they do now but nearly 150 years ago they had a better chance of getting away with covering up the truth. Were your couple who married out of Parish of full age? Some vicars were economical with their enquiries and married people who were underage and without parental permission, some didnt call banns or insist on residence requirements. The witnesses could have been anybody passing by!
One of your couple may have been working in the area at the time. Working people could and did move around, they followed the work.
Missing for three censuses. The couple may have separated, divorce was very uncommon in the Victorian era. The husband may have been in the military, he may have emigrated intending to send on for his family. He may have been detained. You might have to dig much deeper than the resources that we heavily rely on like the census. Try also looking at other member trees in sites like Ancestry.co.uk you often find distant relatives exploring your wider family, sometimes  they know something you dont! However eventually we all get stuck and stay stuck. My husbands Great Grandfather was illegitimate and we carry his Great Great Grandmothers maternal name, she herself was illegitimate and born in Tetbury Workhouse. My husband was so pleased, not, to have this news!
Things are never straightforward.Good luck!

[avm228]

I suggest the 1921 death in West Bromwich may have been that of the “other” Edwin Dunn born around the same time in the same area (both Stourbridge RD, one in 1850 and the other in 1851) - who married Rosa Attwood in 1875 and was in the Oldbury area (West Bromwich district) in 1911.