I thought I'd catch up on researching on my own family rather than the local history of where I live in Kent. The banns of marriage were read in the parish of St Peters Church, Wolverhampton on the Sundays of 18 Sep, 25 Sep and 2 Oct in 1757. It was between "Thomas Griffiths of this parish bachelor and Elizabeth Aston of the same spinster". The marriage was recorded as taking place at St Peters on 24 Oct 1757, she a spinster and he a bachelor. Witnesses, William Steventon and John Cartee. I note that the five entries on the banns page all say "of this parish" for both the male and female. And in the parish records for the marriage, a few entries say "both of this parish" or give the parish of where they are from. For Thomas and Elizabeth nothing is written. I don't have substantive evidence of their ages only that as a bachelor and spinster possibly that they were born in 1757 less the average age of marriage. My questions are:: What does "of this parish" mean? What are the chances of Thomas Griffiths actually being born in St Peters parish? I suspect the answer to the last question is how long is a piece of string but any advice would be appreciated. ~~ Keith Elmsted

> And in the parish records for the marriage, a few entries say "both of > this parish" Meaning they are currently residing in the parish - a few clergymen would actually check if they had been working there for a full year and so established a settlement right, and, if their residence was less, say 'sojourner' - but most wouldn't bother. r give the parish of where they are from. For Thomas and > Elizabeth nothing is written. Only if he was then asked to account for himself and give evidence of settlement would there be any further information (In Overseers' records of the parish, at local archives)> > I don't have substantive evidence of their ages only that as a > bachelor and spinster possibly that they were born in 1757 less the > average age of marriage. On the whole, the average age then was in the mid twenties - though his status and employment could make a difference. If he is in a craft trade, he would have been apprenticed and marriage under 21 was not normally allowed. Otherrwise, his financial status counts. If he was something like a nailer, he could have been making enough to marry earlier than if he was an ag lab, for example. > What are the chances of Thomas Griffiths actually being born in St > Peters parish? 50-50 -lot of people coming in (?from Wales) to join the boom in metal working in the Midlands. >

Interestingly enough, St. Peters, Wolverhampton was a very popular church for the marriages of Bromsgrove nailers and iron workers from Tipton. I don't know the reason for this but some of my ancestors married there. It was suggested to me that the vicar charged special rates for them, but I have no proof of this. Nuala ----- Original Message ----- From: "Keith Griffiths" <griffiths370@btinternet.com> To: "Old English mailing list" <OLD-ENGLISH@rootsweb.com> Sent: Monday, July 13, 2009 7:26 AM Subject: [OEL] Banns >I thought I'd catch up on researching on my own family rather than the >local > history of where I live in Kent. > > The banns of marriage were read in the parish of St Peters Church, > Wolverhampton on the Sundays of 18 Sep, 25 Sep and 2 Oct in 1757. > > It was between "Thomas Griffiths of this parish bachelor and Elizabeth > Aston > of the same spinster". > > The marriage was recorded as taking place at St Peters on 24 Oct 1757, she > a > spinster and he a bachelor. Witnesses, William Steventon and John Cartee. > > I note that the five entries on the banns page all say "of this parish" > for > both the male and female. > > And in the parish records for the marriage, a few entries say "both of > this > parish" or give the parish of where they are from. For Thomas and > Elizabeth > nothing is written. > > I don't have substantive evidence of their ages only that as a bachelor > and > spinster possibly that they were born in 1757 less the average age of > marriage. > > My questions are:: > > What does "of this parish" mean? > > What are the chances of Thomas Griffiths actually being born in St Peters > parish? > > I suspect the answer to the last question is how long is a piece of string > but any advice would be appreciated. > ~~ > Keith > Elmsted > > > > ==================================== > WEB PAGE: http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~oel/ > ARCHIVES: http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/index?list=OLD-ENGLISH > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > OLD-ENGLISH-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message >