Problem 1: There is this marriage: Extract from the Sussex Marriage Index: Place: Ashington, West Sussex, Date: 5 Nov 1777: Subject: John MERRITT Spouse: Imlen GREENFIELD However, Imlen seems a very unlikely Christian name and there is also data missing from the Index. A marriage at this date should give marital status and residence of both parties and the names of two witnesses. So, there is obviously more data to come from this entry and the Marriage Register will need to be checked. Problem 2 Extract from the Sussex Marriage Index: Place: Wiston, West Sussex, Date: 1 Dec 1772: Subject: William MERRIT Spouse: Mary PERCIVAL, botp (B) This has the benefit of being in the same parish as the baptisms that you have already identified. However, once again there is data missing from the Index, so the Wiston Marriage Register needs to be examined. Problem 3 The marriage to Martha BUNN was by Licence: Extract from the Sussex Marriage Index: Place: Archdeaconry of Chichester Marriage Licence, Date: 17 Oct 1726: Subject: John MERRIT, Houghton Spouse: Martha BUN, otsp An examination of this Licence may reveal how long John MERRIT had been living in Houghton, or his occupation. Once again, data is missing as there should be at least two sureties to the Bond, one of which may be the Groom. Also: Extract from the Sussex Marriage Index: Place: Wiggonholt cum Greatham, West Sussex, Date: 17 Oct 1726: Subject: John MERRET, Taughton (sic)(Houghton) Spouse: Martha BUNN, Houghton (lic) I wonder why they went all the way down the valley to marry at Wiggonholt, when it would have been more convenient to marry in Houghton Parish Church? Did they have family there? Looking for Wills is always a good idea. Do bear in mind that, for the Archdeaconry of Chichester there are two pre-1858 Will sequences - the period to1800 which has been indexed and published by the British Record Society (vol 49); and the period 1800 to 1858 for which there is an unpublished Index at WSRO. PCC Wills are also worth checking and you can do that online at http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documentsonline . Its very easy to forget Administrations. They are sometimes only a few lines long, but an Administrators name will be included (often a family member), where the person lived and you will either have a date of death or the Administration date from which you can search for the burial. Chichester Administrations to 1800 have been indexed and published by the British Record Society (vol 64); those for 1800 to 1858 have an unpublished Index at WSRO. I believe that the Will and Administrations indexes, both published & unpublished, have been filmed by the LDS, so you may be able to order the films via your local Family History Centre. Finally, if you are doing a lot of Sussex research, it would be a good idea to purchase a copy of the Sussex Marriage Index as it can save you a lot of wasted time. Its especially useful if you are researching either in East Sussex or in the mid-Sussex area where coverage on the IGI is very sparse. You will find the details at http://www.sfhg.org.uk/smi/smiinfo.html . Best wishes Marion Woolgar Bognor Regis, West Sussex

Hello Marion and Yvonne Years ago I was looking at the film of the Wiggonholt registers at WSRO. Near the beginning of the tape is a note that says that Wiggonholt was probably one of the parishes that was popular for clandestine marriages. Quite a few of the couples marrying there pre-1754 were both from other parishes, presumably they weren't asked too many questions. One of the couples in those days was in my tree, they were both under 21 and from Pulborough but the register doesn't say they were minors. They went on to raise a family at Parham rather than returning to Pulborough and the man was disinherited by his father despite being the first-born. Julie ----- Original Message ----- From: "Marion Woolgar" <listmail2008@btinternet.com> To: "yvonne cutts" <bazahome-cutts@powerup.com.au>; "Sussex-Plus Post Messages" <SUSSEX-PLUS@rootsweb.com> Sent: Sunday, February 24, 2008 9:17 AM Subject: Re: [SXP] Merritt family West Sussex > Problem 1: > There is this marriage: > Extract from the Sussex Marriage Index: > Place: Ashington, West Sussex, Date: 5 Nov 1777: > Subject: John MERRITT > Spouse: Imlen GREENFIELD > > However, Imlen seems a very unlikely Christian name and there is also data > missing from the Index. A marriage at this date should give marital > status > and residence of both parties and the names of two witnesses. So, there > is > obviously more data to come from this entry and the Marriage Register will > need to be checked. > > Problem 2 > Extract from the Sussex Marriage Index: > Place: Wiston, West Sussex, Date: 1 Dec 1772: > Subject: William MERRIT > Spouse: Mary PERCIVAL, botp (B) > > This has the benefit of being in the same parish as the baptisms that you > have already identified. However, once again there is data missing from > the > Index, so the Wiston Marriage Register needs to be examined. > > Problem 3 > The marriage to Martha BUNN was by Licence: > Extract from the Sussex Marriage Index: > Place: Archdeaconry of Chichester Marriage Licence, Date: 17 Oct 1726: > Subject: John MERRIT, Houghton > Spouse: Martha BUN, otsp > > An examination of this Licence may reveal how long John MERRIT had been > living in Houghton, or his occupation. Once again, data is missing as > there > should be at least two sureties to the Bond, one of which may be the > Groom. > Also: > > Extract from the Sussex Marriage Index: > Place: Wiggonholt cum Greatham, West Sussex, Date: 17 Oct 1726: > Subject: John MERRET, Taughton (sic)(Houghton) > Spouse: Martha BUNN, Houghton (lic) > > I wonder why they went all the way down the valley to marry at Wiggonholt, > when it would have been more convenient to marry in Houghton Parish > Church? > Did they have family there? > > Looking for Wills is always a good idea. Do bear in mind that, for the > Archdeaconry of Chichester there are two pre-1858 Will sequences - the > period to1800 which has been indexed and published by the British Record > Society (vol 49); and the period 1800 to 1858 for which there is an > unpublished Index at WSRO. PCC Wills are also worth checking and you can > do > that online at http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documentsonline . > > Its very easy to forget Administrations. They are sometimes only a few > lines long, but an Administrators name will be included (often a family > member), where the person lived and you will either have a date of death > or > the Administration date from which you can search for the burial. > Chichester Administrations to 1800 have been indexed and published by the > British Record Society (vol 64); those for 1800 to 1858 have an > unpublished > Index at WSRO. > > I believe that the Will and Administrations indexes, both published & > unpublished, have been filmed by the LDS, so you may be able to order the > films via your local Family History Centre. > > Finally, if you are doing a lot of Sussex research, it would be a good > idea > to purchase a copy of the Sussex Marriage Index as it can save you a lot > of > wasted time. Its especially useful if you are researching either in East > Sussex or in the mid-Sussex area where coverage on the IGI is very sparse. > You will find the details at http://www.sfhg.org.uk/smi/smiinfo.html . > > Best wishes > > Marion Woolgar > Bognor Regis, West Sussex > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > SUSSEX-PLUS-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message >

Hello Julie, Many thanks for that explanation, its always useful to know that sort of information about a parish. Best wishes Marion Woolgar Bognor Regis, West Sussex