Query re. information on Marriage Registers

[BarbaraK]

Hi everyone I hope this is the correct thread - I'm a newby
I am trying to confirm the marriage of the brother of my GGGrandfather William Fordham (b.1811 Stepney). His name is John Fordham born 1806, Stepney to John and Susannah Fordham . There are three possible marriages
in 1824 and 25 - Hannah Rogers, 19 June 1825 St. Leonards Foster Lane, Mary Pettyfoot 25th Feb. 1824 Stepney St. Dunstans, Ann Raynor, 18 Oct. 1825, Stepney St. Dunstans but no information on father or father's occupation appears on the registers on the Ancestry site.

I’ve looked at several trees on Ancestry who claim these various marriages but they do not quote evidence of proof of the marriage. I'm drawn to the Hannah Rogers connection as all the children
have the names which appear in our family, especially Josiah, but that's not enough to work on.

Does anyone know where I might look for proof of the name and occupation of the father in such early marriages or must it be forever uncertain?

Many thanks to anyone who might have some suggestions.
Barbara

[Jan1954]

Hello BarbaraK - welcome to Brit-Gen,

In order to find out who John Fordham married, the best option would be to see if they had a child whose birth was registered after 1st July 1837. This would only be about 12 years or so after the possible marriage in 1824 or 1825, so perfectly feasible.

See if you can find them in the censuses first of all, as the first name of the wife should be recorded. However, I would also see if there are children around for whom you could order a birth certificate. At least that way it would confirm the maiden name of the Mum.

[BarbaraK]

Thanks for your reply Henry. I'm sorry, I don't think I made myself very clear. There are three different marriages, each to a John Fordham of about the same age but I can't confirm which is "my" John Fordham without knowing the name and occupation of
the fathers at marriage. I fear that these might not be available as it's too early for that information to be on the Parish Register but wondered whether there might be somewhere else I could look. I'm probably still confusing you....! Sorry the finer points of genealogy are still a bit beyond me but not knowing this line is annoying me as I've pretty well tidied up the rest of the family and the parents.

[Jan1954]

Okay - have a read of this and it will tell you what to expect to find on a Parish Register and you may be lucky with a witness being either a father , brother or sister. Meanwhile, have you had a look at the Banns to see if there are any clues there?

I do not have a subscription to Ancestry, so have not seen the information that you mention and therefore do not know if it is a transcription or copy of the PR or just appearing on trees. However, the safest thing to do would be to look at the PRs for yourself. Have a rummage on the Family Search website to see what you can find.

Erm.... by the way, it's Jan, not Henry.

[Coromandel]

Hello BarbaraK and welcome to the forum

Sometimes tracing people forwards can shed light on their origins. If you try to build up a picture of each of these John Fordhams it may help you decide which (if any) is yours. Look for baptisms of the children of each couple, then see if you can find the families on censuses - if so, this should give you estimated ages and birthplaces, which may rule out some of the Johns as being yours. (That would only work if they live long enough to appear on censuses, of course.) Look for connections between any of them and other Fordhams: by matching signatures, can you show that one of these Johns was a witness at another Fordham wedding, for example?

You may have to look beyond parish registers for clues . . . apprenticeship records, wills, poor law records, and many others may hold vital clues about which John is which.

Also, if you haven't already done so, check burial records in case the 1806 John died in infancy.

And just to throw a bit of the spanner in the works, have you considered this one . . .

On 22 May 1826, a 20 year old John Fordham appeared at the Old Bailey, 'indicted for burglariously breaking and entering the dwelling-house of George Read, about two o'clock in the night of the 14th of May, at St. Dunstan, Stebonheath, alias Stepney, with intent to steal, and stealing 1 coat, value 50s; 1 jacket, value 25s.; 1 pair of trousers, value 24s.; 7 spoons, value 2l., and 33 yards of woollen cloth, value 25l. , his property.' He was initially sentenced to death, but 'recommended to Mercy, on account of his youth' (see Old Bailey Proceedings).

He may, therefore, be the John Fordham who was transported to New South Wales on the 'Albion' later that year.

[BarbaraK]

Sorry Jan - I think I need new glasses!
Many thanks for your suggestions and I will certinly follow them up.

[BarbaraK]

Thanks very much for the suggestions and I will follow them up. Lots of work to be done! I do hope you haven't hit on the
right John Fordham.