Genealogy Chat

Hi all, Its been a while since I was on here and now im back to the 1700's and stuck im hoping that my old and new friends at Genes might ahve some insights for me! Basically John Thresher appears in the records of the village of Shenley, Herts, as marrying Ann Scot in 1782 they are both shown as widowers. Now how on earth can I find out where he came from? Im at the end of my tether.....................xxxxx

Hi Donna Have you seen a copy of the original? Very often if they are from outside of the area it will be added. In the past if Im stuck then I contact the relevant records office and ask for a copy so long as they are not the London one then they usually don't charge a fortune. Sheila

The BVRI discs has the following marriage which is no help at all! John Thrusher married Ann Scot, 19 Nov.1782, Shenley, Hertfordshire. (The spelling errors are not mine!) Margaret

I have a copy of the original record and all it says it what is listed below? How can I find where he came from? xx

Hi Donna Does it not say on the certificate that they are 'of this parish'? Records form that time usually do. If they were living in that parish at the time of their marriage it is highly likely, though not definite, that they were born there, or at least one of them was. Even if the record doesn't refer to where they lived at the time of marriage, I'd still initially assume they were born there as people didn't move around that much in the 1780s. That could be your starting point. At that time, many smaller churches were not licensed to perform marriages and there were far fewer churches anyway. Parishes were much larger than now and people travelled, sometimes several miles, to marry at the parish church. Your next step could be to find out which villages belonged to or were 'of that parish' back in the 1780s. Then, trace backwards, from....say about the 1860s (my gggrandmother was a widow at age 20) until you find their baptisms. You might have to check several local village churches that belonged to that larger parish. It can be time consuming, but it can be done. I know as I've had to do the same thing. There was no restriction on baptisms taking place at smaller churches; the rule related only to weddings. One positive is that the further back you go, the fewer churches there were, so even though records are generally in poorer condition, you have to look at fewer churches to find them. Best of luck! It'll be so rewarding when you find them! Amanda

If there is nothing added by their names then the likelyhood is that they were from the area. If they are from outside the area it usually states ' of Tiverton' (or wherever) or by lic. Sheila

Great tips thank you, ill have to get myself back up to the records office and see what else I can find, im sure the license says of this parish, so hopefully they are there somewhere. many thanx for your advice xx