Hi I missed the first posting about Sarah Brain so am not sure what date range is being considered. There is a Sarah Brain nee Maies in my (distant) family tree from a similar era and who was subject to some unusual circumstances. I doubt that she is the one being looked for but I have included the relevant extract from my notes in case it is of interest:- Charles Maies and Susanna nee Pierce had a daughter, Sarah, who was baptised on 30/12/1771 in St James. Sarah married George Brain on 20/1/1793 in St Philip & Jacob. Sarah appears to have suffered the indignity of George committing bigamy. This information comes from George's will dated 23/8/1831 made shortly after he remarried. George died in 1839 and it has been recorded on the will that although Sarah had been alive when he remarried she had by then died and the legal opinion was that the will should be valid provided that his second wife was known as Brain and received as George's wife. It is known that George and Sarah went to Jamaica where they had children and that George's remarriage was in London. Cheers Howard Mais Message: 5 Date: Mon, 24 Jan 2011 17:38:01 -0000 From: "Josephine Jeremiah" <jojeremiah@dsl.pipex.com> Subject: [B&S] BRAIN Sarah, baptisms, Hanham, GLS, 1785 & 1786 (TOWNSEND Family) To: bristol_and_somerset@rootsweb.com Message-ID: <op.vptpxntp42w82j@glasydorlan> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-15; format=flowed; delsp=yes On Sun, 23 Jan 2011 19:03:26 -0000, Mary Ellen Chambers <maryln61@yahoo.com> wrote: > David TOWNSEND Coach Maker of Bristol St. Paul area. He was born in > Bitton. Parents were Samuel and Sarah nee BRAIN TOWNSEND. Hi Mary Ellen, If the marriage of Samuel TOWNSEND and Sarah BRAIN, which took place, by banns, on 19th. July 1807 at St. Mary Redcliffe Church, Bristol is the correct one, the baptism of a Sarah BRAIN would take you a generation further back. Sarah TOWNSEND, aged 66, of Cock Rd was buried on 13th. October 1850 at Holy Trinity Church, Kingswood so, if her age at death was right, she was born c. 1784. Possible matches could be Sarah BRAIN, aged 1 year, daughter of Samuel and Amy, who was baptized on 16th. January 1785 at Hanham or Sarah BRAIN, daughter of William and Hester, who was baptized on 4th. June 1786 at Hanham. These baptisms are included in the B & A FHS Bristol Diocese Baptismal Registers Vols. 8 to 10 Index & Transcripts 1754-1812. www.bafhs.org.uk However, it's also possible that neither of these baptisms is the right one. Josephine Josephine Jeremiah www.ianandjo.dsl.pipex.com