How accurate is Pallot ?

[tfossey]

I have identified a marriage record in Pallot's index for some ancestors, but the details are very sparse and odd. The image of the slip states:

----------------------
Mary Fossey s
Thos Fossey b

St. Botolph Bishopsgate 1822
-----------------------

I know that Mary and Thomas Fossey were married in 1822 and had several children. I have never been able to find Mary's maiden name.

I would guess that the small s and b stand for spinster and bachelor.

I have checked several other slips from St Botolph and these show the wife's maiden name. What are the chances that Mary and Thomas had the same surname at the time of the marriage? Fossey is a fairly uncommon name, so could they have been distant cousins or something?

Terry

[Guy Etchells]

It is very likely that the surnames were the same, however as with all indexes and transcripts it is best to check the original text.
The parish registers for St Botolph, Billingsgate have been deposited at the Guildhall Library, Aldermanbury, EC2P 2EJ. with copies at the Society of Genealogists.
Phillimores Atlas & Index of Parish Registers shows that St. Botolph registers are on the IGI, though how complete I don't know.
Cheers
Guy

[tfossey]

Thanks Guy,

I'll try searching for Mary Fossey pre-1822 and see if I can tracker her down.

By the way, the church is St. Botolph Bishopsgate rather than St Botolph Billingsgate, easy to confuse these, but the registers are still at the Guildhall Library so I will try to arrange a visit to check these.

I'm not used to researching original registers but it looks to me like the GL only hold transcripts, the items they seem to have are:

-------------------------------
Church of England, Parish of St. Botolph Bishopsgate. - The registers of St.
Botolph, Bishopsgate, London / Transcribed by A. W. Cor. - (Edinburgh :
Printed by T. and A. Constable), 1889. - (H.. - 26017199
Barcodes: 85299596, 8529960X, 85299618 Shelfmark: L 92:S 135

Hallen, A. W. Cornelius. - An account of the old registers of St. Botolph
Bishopsgate. - (London) : Reprinted from the City Press, 1886. - t332701x
Barcode: 85694452 Shelfmark: Closed Access Pam 5513

Church of England, Diocese of London. - Parish register transcripts of the
general registers of St Botolph Bishopsgate, 1800. - k2225996
Barcode: none Shelfmark: Closed Access Ms 11336
-----------------------------
The last item is held in about 10 seperate boxes and covers the period from 1800 onwards (despite being dated 1800) - so perhaps these are the nearest thing to the original registers?

[tfossey]

Thanks for the info Mythology.

I will do a bit more digging before I plan a visit to the GL.

I had seen the IGI record for the marriage of Thomas and Mary but thought that it was probably a mistake that Mary was shown with the surname Fossey, but to find the same details in Pallot - maybe it is correct.