I am looking for more information on this couple who married on 5 Jul 1696 in Coln St Aldwyn. They had 17 children (including one set of twins) between 1697 and 1720, at least 8 of which died in infancy. I am having difficulty in tracing information on either of these people. For Jacob ALLEN I know little more than the marriage. In 1701/1702 he was churchwarden and there is a memorandum in the parish register about a proposal to dedicate one of the pews be for the use of women only with the vicar's wife having the uppermost place in that seat. He was able to read and write, which implies he was more than a labourer, but that is the extent of my knowledge. For Jane RODWAY I have more information, but cannot be sure if I am getting the relationships correct, and I cannot find her baptism date. I believe her parents may be Robert and Elizabeth RODWAY. When she was married to Jacob ALLEN under license, they were both described in the marriage entry as being "of this parish." That is, of course, a very imprecise term, but does imply they have more than a casual relationship with the parish. The parish register of Coln St Aldwyn contains just two christenings for children with the last name RODWAY namely John (1672) and ffrancis (1684). Both entries name the parents as Robert and Elizabeth. Both the parish register and the Bishop's Transcripts for 1696 were signed by Robert RODWAY Junior as churchwarden. He is probably, therefore, the son of Robert RODWAY, although "senior" did not have the precise meaning then as it does today. There is no other mention of RODWAY prior to Robert junior's marriage. It is therefore possible that Robert and Jane were brother and sister, although this cannot be demonstrated conclusively. For example, they could just as easily be cousins. For that matter the two Roberts (senior and junior) could be unrelated but there are so few RODWAY entries in the parish register I do not consider this very likely. Given the 12 year gap between John and ffrancis, Robert junior and Jane would probably have been born between them. Somewhat tantalisingly I have found a christening in Painswick for Robert RODWAY in 1653, father's name Robert. I wonder if this could be the baptism of Robert senior? Robert was not exactly a common name 300 years ago Anyway, any help or suggestions would be warmly welcomed. Tim Green (801) 568-9679 (Home) (801) 661-3990 (Cell)