If anyone is in Birmingham Library please would they be kind enough to check the following for me: Saint Martins Marriages 1785 to 1802: I have two marriages; 1) 24 April 1795, Malcolm MIDDLETON Bachelor, m Ann RUTTER, witnesses Charla Shuttleworth & Sarah Braughton 2) 27 September 1801, Malcolm Middleton, Widower, m Mary Rutter, witnesses, Sarah Broughton & John Brooke Please check; Was Sarah Braughton (Broughton) a "professional" witness? Also, What is the handwriting like? is she clearly Mary RUTTER or may she have been Mary BUTLER Thanking you in advance, Chris

I have received much help from this group so I am hoping someone knows the answer to my current quandary. Between 1770's to 1790's 1. If a person holds a Marriage Certificate from St. Martin's Church which states they are "of this Parish" can this be used to prove evidence of settlement? 2. If a person lives in Birmingham but has settlement entitlement elsewhere when they marry at St. Martin's would the marriage certificate show them as "being of this Parish" or would it show their parish of settlement? 3. If a person is from a family of dissenters who do not use the parish church would they be able to claim settlement and parish relief through residency? Thanking everyone in anticipation. Chris

Chris: The replies you've already had give the legal position. The problem is that many people didn't obey the law. In my experience, if someone was recorded in the registers of Birmingham St Martin as being "of this parish" you can read very little into it other than that they wanted to get married at Birmingham St Martin. I've had an example where the couple lived in rural Worcestershire and another with the couple from rural Staffordshire. The problem was that in large urban parishes, where there were dozens of marriages every Sunday and substantial movements of population every week, it was simply impossible for the parish officers to know if someone really did live where they claimed, let alone that they had done so for a specific period of time. All that was necessary was for the prospective bride and groom to quote an appropriate address, and that was that. Of course the reverse isn't true. Someone claiming to be from a parish other than Birmingham St Martin almost certainly did really come from that place. Best wishes Paul Prescott ----- Original Message ----- From: "Graham Cole" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Tuesday, June 03, 2008 10:56 AM Subject: [B'ham] Of this Parish? > > I have received much help from this group so I am hoping someone knows the > answer to my current quandary. > > Between 1770's to 1790's > > 1. If a person holds a Marriage Certificate from St. Martin's Church > which > states they are "of this Parish" can this be used to prove evidence of > settlement? > > 2. If a person lives in Birmingham but has settlement entitlement > elsewhere > when they marry at St. Martin's would the marriage certificate show them > as > "being of this Parish" or would it show their parish of settlement? > > 3. If a person is from a family of dissenters who do not use the parish > church would they be able to claim settlement and parish relief through > residency? > > Thanking everyone in anticipation. > > Chris > > > _____________________________________________ > _____________________________________________ > > Have you considered adding "postems" to "your" events on > www.freebmd.org.uk , giving your contact details? Other researchers will > then be able to make contact. Click on the info button to add your postem. > > Any problems, please contact the List Admin: > [email protected] > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' > without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message >