From: MaggieMole@aol.com > I have an IGI reference to Elijah Taylor, birth 2 Jan 1829, at this > chapel. I assume that it really is a birth record, and not a baptism? > > > It identifies his parents as Johnson Taylor and Hannah Priestley, and > I am having great difficulty locating a marriage record. I think > Elijah was the first-born, so a marriage should not be too long > before his birth. The chapel records on the IGI don't include > marriages, and I can't find it in the IGI at all. I have the Halifax > St John's CDs but it's not included there. I've also looked at the > new non-conformist website, but only 3 entries appear there, all > outside Yorkshire. If the families came from Rastrick or Paddock > (wherever that is), would the marriage even have been in Halifax - or > Bradford? > > Hannah Priestley (I looked for this is the less comon of the two > names) births are numerous on the non-conformist website, 39 are > listed, although I could discount some of them as probably being too > early. I do dislike pay-per-view when you have a common name! comes > from Yorkshire blood, I guess. > > In the census returns for the family, Johnson is called John Taylor, > but this doesn't seem to get me anywhere either. > > So there must be something special about a Baptist marriage: where > would I look for it next, please? Thanks for any help Maggie> Maggie You are NOT going to find a marriage in a Baptist church in 1829 or anywhere around that date because there simply weren't any! Surely you have seen mention on this list and others of Lord Hardwicke's Marriage Act, which was law from 1754 to 1837 and which decreed that ALL marriages must be in the Established Church, i.e. Church of England, except for Jews and Quakers, the only dispensations allowed because they were known to keep excellent records. Catholic marriages weren't legal, either, although some Catholic churches continued to hold marriage ceremonies. However, they were invalid in civil law. And certainly no Baptist Churches or other Nonconformists - apart from the aforementioned Jews and Quakers - were licensed for marriages. Even after 1837 when civil registration came in, most Nonconformist churches did not conduct marriages until late in the 19th century. Elijah Taylor's entry would be a birth, since Baptists didn't baptise children. The IGI says quite clearly it was a birth. You will have to look for the parents' marriage at an Anglican church - possibly Bradford St Peter's. -- Roy Stockdill Professional genealogical researcher, writer & lecturer Newbies' Guide to Genealogy & Family History: www.genuki.org.uk/gs/Newbie.html "There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about." OSCAR WILDE