Minster, Sheppey marriages and burials

[peter nicholl]

I'm trying to find the marriage of James Skey and Mary (possibly Divell) at Minster post January 1786, possibly in 1789. Also, the burial of Mary Skey post 1790. Any help would be very much appreciated.
Peter

[busyglen]

Hello Peter,

Have had a quick look at the Sheppey Minster marriages and burials, and can't find either James or Mary's marriage or Mary's burial at the moment. The only Skey I could find was the marriage of Edward Skey, on 09/08/1817 to Hannah Needham, and an Edward Skey, Wdr. of Queenborough, on 09/02/1819 to Mary Ann Jarvis.

I will have a look further and see if I can turn anything else up. Haven't found Divell either.

Glenys

[busyglen]

Hello Peter,

Found a couple of Skey but they are a different christian name. Edward Skey, Marriage to Hannah Needham, in 1817 and Edward again to Mary Ann Jarvis of Queenborough in 1819. Will keep looking but if you have any further info that might help feel free to pm me.

Glenys

[peter nicholl]

Hello Glenys
In the Will of James Skey proved in January 1793 he says "... the Charges of buying putting and planting a headstone at my grave at Minster aforesaid .." He makes his wife, Mary, his Executrix and goes on to say ".. after the Lord is pleased to call her from this World they (his daughters) first paying her ffuneral expenses in carrying her to Minster and "burying?" her as near to my grave as can be...". Mary was his second wife, his first was Catherine nee Crebor who was buried at Minster 27 January 1785. They had married at Stoke Damerel in 1755.
Thanks
Peter

[busyglen]

Sorry about the duplication Peter, I went to add something and found I'd been `timed out' and when I went back, the post had gone so I did another one, and ended up with two!

Right.....thanks for the additional details. I haven't been able to find the marriage so far, but found the burials of Catherine and Mary, so will give you the info in case it's of some help.

The first number is the register no.
8670 1785 01/27 Catharine SKY, 51

12830 1809 11/24 Mary SKEY, 78

These are taken from a transcription, so there could be mistakes. The Catharine Sky, is the correct date, so believe this to be the one.

There are two more Skey Burials, but appear to have lived in Sheerness and buried at Minster. Thomas and William 1797 and 1777 respectively.

I will carry on looking to see if I can find the marriage, but some of the records are missing due to water damage.

I live on Sheppey, not too far away from Minster and I could look for the grave if it would help. The problem is, many of the headstones were removed and some laid as a pathway, and others stood against the wall which are now covered in ivy. There are however, some graves existing complete with headstones, so it may still be visible. Let me know if you would like me to do this.

Eureka! I went back for another look at the burials, and found James, I think. He is listed as SKEG, obviously another one mis-transcribed!

9441 1792 12/26 James SKEG, Sheerness

Do you think this is he?

There are others in Sheerness so if you want them, please let me know. Will let you know if I can find the marriage.

Glenys.

[peter nicholl]

Glenys
You are a Gem! I had Catherine's burial date, but her age is an extra titbit. James' Will was proved 3rd January 1793, which, together with his wish to be buried in Minster, I'd say that you've found him for me. As for Mary, her burial in 1809 and her age as 78 puts her as a contemporary of Catherine's, so I'll dig a bit deeper for her. A Thomas Skey was one of the Witnesses when James and Catherine's daughter Catherine married Isaac Barrows. I would love it if you really don't mind looking for the headstone, but please in your own time.
Many Thanks again,
Peter

[Jan1954]

Hello Peter,

Bearing in mind that SKEY is not that common a name, I took a quick look at the Mid-Kent marriage index. I know that Sheppey is not and never has been mid-Kent, but I did find this:

26th October 1769, a Mary SKEY married a James COULTON at All Saints Church, Maidstone

Perhaps park this information somewhere in case it comes in handy at some point?

[peter nicholl]

Hi Jan
Thanks for the info.. As you say parking is a good idea and the same can be said for re-visiting old files! I've just gone through and seen that the Edward and Thomas in Glenys' post were probably the sons of James and Catherine, their names certainly crop up.
Thanks again
Peter

[busyglen]

Peter, here are a couple of other entries, where Thomas/Sarah SKEY and Thomas/Ann SKEY were witnesses that might come in handy sometime.

1686 1778 01/02 James CARRINGTON to Elizabeth SKEY
1797 1781 04/19 Andrew MARTIN to Elizabeth SKEY

What I can’t work out is (if it’s the same Elizabeth SKEY) is why she isn’t shown as CARRINGTON when she married Andrew Martin? They were both married by Banns, and neither shows as a Widow.

I think I had better leave it here as I will probably get completely muddled, and cause you more grief in trying to sort things out. Should you come across any others that you would like me to look for, here on Sheppey, please don’t hesitate to ask.

I no longer have a subscription to any of the companies, as having to care for my mother-in-law more or less full time, I wasn’t able to use it fully. However, I do have a few Sheppey items that I can access and keep an eye open for any queries that I might be able to help with.

I will definitely have a look in Minster Abbey grounds when I have a spare half-hour, but it will be a stroke of luck, if I can find it. I did have a bit of luck finding someone a few years back, but the man was well known and had a large memorial, which I didn’t know until I went to the other side of the grounds and spotted it. Fingers crossed anyway.

Glenys

[peter nicholl]

Glenys, you're a Star. That's what I like about The Forum, it's not just the help, but also it fires up the old enthusiasm. So I thought that I'd try the rest of Kent after Jan's helpful comments and found in Wapping a marriage for James Skey. I don't care that the site in particular can't tell on which side of river Wapping lies ( or is it some quirk of Geography?). However, James Skey married Mary Miles at Wapping on 14th March 1785, less than 2 months after Catherine died. Mary Miles is shown as a Widow and whether or not by coincidence, James' grandson James Sky Barrows married Amelia Miles in 1819 in Minster. Anyway in the marriage entries for each of James' marriages the signatures are the same and one of the Witnesses at Wapping was Elizabeth (Thank you Glenys) Carrington and Elizabeth Carrington is also mentioned in James' Will as one of his daughters.
Ladies, Brilliant Work,
Peter