Where did Mary Storrow come from?

[Bunbury125]

Hello,
I am currently researching my ancestor Mary Storrow who married William Peet in Kendal in 1826.
There are no clues(via the witnesses) in the marriage entry about her family and I cannot find her birth.
There are Storrow births in Cumberland near Carlisle and in Appleby and there are a smattering of Storrows in nearer to Kendal in Shap and Crosthwaite but not enough entries to follow a link.
By far the biggest set of entries are death entries in Kendal in the 1820's and 30's there are a rash of Storrow deaths all in their 20's but no likely births.
William Peet was from Caldbeck in Cumberland and moved to Kendal. I must assume that the Storrows did something similar but where did they come from?
Unfortunately I cannot look at any censuses as Mary died sometime after giving birth to a son Joseph in 1827 and prior to William's second marriage in 1831.
I have not found a record of her death or burial. Interestingly a Mary Storrow died in Kendal in 1828 aged 25years but this cannot be her as she was married to William by then.
Has anyone any thoughts/ theories on this mystery?

Regards

B

[Megan Roberts]

Whilst the old form marriage records don't give any family connection clues, as often the witnesses were the church wardens rather than relatives or friends, they do tell which parish(es) the couple were living in.

They also tell you whether or not they had been previously married, and potentially can give you a feel for their age, because the certificate can refer to them being married with the consent of parents meaning that at least one was a minor.

[warncoort]

Seems to be a lot of Kendal batches not released.
https://www.archersoftware.co.uk/igi/

[Pam Downes]

As always, the main question is - which records have you searched? Have you used only online ones, or visited the Westmorland record office/Archives and searched through individual parish registers? The only online ones which come immediately to mind are FreeREG and FamilySearch.

Based on William's age of 48 in 1851, and the marriage year of 1826, I would be looking for a Mary born about 1800 - 1808, possibly as late as 1810.

FamilySearch has a Mary Storrow baptised in Irthington (near Carlisle, Cumberland) in 1803. It might be worth checking for other Storrow births with parents John and Ann, and tracing them to see if they ended up anywhere near Kendal.

There are no clues(via the witnesses) in the marriage entry

Are you basing this on the surnames of the witnesses, or the fact that the two witnesses are often witnesses at many other marriages?
If the first answer, then if they are female witnesses remember they could be married sisters of Mary.

I would also seriously consider the Mary Storrow burial in Kendal in 1828 as being yours. The only person likely to have seen the parish register at the time is the vicar, or someone like the parish clerk. Perhaps for some reason her parents arranged the funeral and when asked for their name said 'Storrow', and asked for the name of the deceased said 'Mary' - but failed to say that her married name was Peet.
Are there any other Storrow baptisms, marriages, or burials in Kendal?

Pam

[Bunbury125]

Whilst the old form marriage records don't give any family connection clues, as often the witnesses were the church wardens rather than relatives or friends, they do tell which parish(es) the couple were living in.

They also tell you whether or not they had been previously married, and potentially can give you a feel for their age, because the certificate can refer to them being married with the consent of parents meaning that at least one was a minor.

Hi Megan,
Thanks for your reply to my query.
Sorry I should perhaps have been more specific. What I mean by no clues is that I have looked at the register and they were of age and otp no fathers given (not unusual pre civil registration know) and crucially the witnesses give no clue to Mary. One was Nancy Peet and the other Agnes Airey a spinster and friend who married William 3 years after Mary died.

Regards
B

[Bunbury125]

As always, the main question is - which records have you searched? Have you used only online ones, or visited the Westmorland record office/Archives and searched through individual parish registers? The only online ones which come immediately to mind are FreeREG and FamilySearch.

Based on William's age of 48 in 1851, and the marriage year of 1826, I would be looking for a Mary born about 1800 - 1808, possibly as late as 1810.

FamilySearch has a Mary Storrow baptised in Irthington (near Carlisle, Cumberland) in 1803. It might be worth checking for other Storrow births with parents John and Ann, and tracing them to see if they ended up anywhere near Kendal.


Are you basing this on the surnames of the witnesses, or the fact that the two witnesses are often witnesses at many other marriages?
If the first answer, then if they are female witnesses remember they could be married sisters of Mary.

I would also seriously consider the Mary Storrow burial in Kendal in 1828 as being yours. The only person likely to have seen the parish register at the time is the vicar, or someone like the parish clerk. Perhaps for some reason her parents arranged the funeral and when asked for their name said 'Storrow', and asked for the name of the deceased said 'Mary' - but failed to say that her married name was Peet.
Are there any other Storrow baptisms, marriages, or burials in Kendal?

Pam

Hi Pam,
Thank You for replying to my query.
The answer is all of them I have trawled through the registers and resources at Kendal and checked the online sources.
The Irthington family are a possibility but another tree posted on FS has that Mary as living into the 1850's. I will follow the siblings and see if they did end up in Kendal though.
Regarding the witnesses to the marriage. One was William's mother or other relative Nancy Peet and the other was local lady and spinster Agnes Airey who later married William in 1831. Neither had any link with Mary that I can find beyond possible friendship.
Thinking about the death registration as all the other information fits I think you are right. It is likely that that is Mary and it was mistranscribed most probably in exactly the way you suggest. More likely perhaps given that several other Storrows died at roughly the same time.
Thank You for your help. I will keep bashing away at it.

Regards

B

[Pam Downes]

Hi Pam,
Thank You for replying to my query.
The answer is all of them I have trawled through the registers and resources at Kendal and checked the online sources.
The Irthington family are a possibility but another tree posted on FS has that Mary as living into the 1850's. I will follow the siblings and see if they did end up in Kendal though.

Regards

B

One of the major rules of family history is never believe other people's trees.

Years ago when I began searching, the old FamilySearch site (can't remember how it was officially styled back then) was notorious for entries that were often based purely on guesswork. Mainly because in those days there weren't the online records available that we have now. I don't know how many of those entries still lurk around the internet.

Have you traced that Mary, yourself, and come to the same conclusion?

Pam

[Lesley Robertson]

Even if the deceased did not have a memorial stone that has survived to the present day (she might not have had one at all or she might have had a wooden grave marker). Even if she had no marker at all, whoever controlled the burial ground must have kept records of who was where so that they knew what land was occupied already.
In Scotland, we call these things Lair Books and they were separate from the Parish Registers. Those that have survived tend to be in the hands of whoever currently cares for the area (e.g. the Parks and Gardens Dept of the local Council). They were not always informative, but it might be worth asking whatever FHS covers your area if they know anything about them (or if they can suggest any other local source).

BTW did young Joseph survive to grow up? The death rate of women in child-bed back then was high, and they were sometimes followed by their baby... OTOH, men left with young children tended to remarry within a year, often to a spinster relative who would be pragmatic enough to take on a young family. GENUKI.org.uk usually lists contact info for FHSs.

[Bunbury125]

Even if the deceased did not have a memorial stone that has survived to the present day (she might not have had one at all or she might have had a wooden grave marker). Even if she had no marker at all, whoever controlled the burial ground must have kept records of who was where so that they knew what land was occupied already.
In Scotland, we call these things Lair Books and they were separate from the Parish Registers. Those that have survived tend to be in the hands of whoever currently cares for the area (e.g. the Parks and Gardens Dept of the local Council). They were not always informative, but it might be worth asking whatever FHS covers your area if they know anything about them (or if they can suggest any other local source).

BTW did young Joseph survive to grow up? The death rate of women in child-bed back then was high, and they were sometimes followed by their baby... OTOH, men left with young children tended to remarry within a year, often to a spinster relative who would be pragmatic enough to take on a young family. GENUKI.org.uk usually lists contact info for FHSs.

BTW did young Joseph survive to grow up?
Hi Pam,
Happily he did grow up and lived into old age. I will do my own digging into the Irthington tree and see if I make the same links.

Thank You for your time and your help
Regards
B