Suffolk Record Office - Lowestoft

[Ruth1]

Would someone visiting the Lowestoft branch of the Suffolk Record Office be kind enough to check a parish register entry for me please?

I have come across conflicting information regarding a marriage at St Mary, Halesworth. I do know that the Lowestoft branch has the correct fiche there as I used it in the summer of 2006 but cannot see me being able to get there again.

The marriage took place on 9th Nov 1815 between Rachel BUTCHER and William COOPER. On the disc I have from the Suffolk FHS for Halesworth St Mary, Rachel is shown in the transcription as a single woman but on the FFHS on-line site she comes up as W. Having looked at the abbreviations used in the Suffolk marriage index, she should either be sw (as she is on the Halesworth disc) or wd for widow.

I would really appreciate it if someone can spare the time to have a look for me and clear up the confusion.

[suffolk sue]

The Suffolk Marriage Index cd 1813 - 1837 indicates that Rachel was a widow. I found the following marriage on Boyds index, which may be her first marriage.


1798 / BUTCHER SAM / WATSON RACHEL/ HOLTON / SUFFOLK



Possible burial


Samuel
BUTCHER
Date of burial: 23 May 1808
Age at death: 41
Place of burial: Halesworth
Dedication: St Mary

[Ruth1]

Thanks for looking it up on the cd, Sue. My problem is that the SFHS Halesworth cd says single woman. Which one is correct, I wonder.

You were spot on with the marriage of Samuel Butcher and Rachel Watson. I managed to check this for myself at the RO when I was in Suffolk.

I was trying to work out whether the 1808 burial could have been 'my' Samuel Butcher as also on the Halesworth cd, a couple of months after his burial, there was a burial recorded for Mary Butcher, infant daughter of widow Butcher. I wish it had given her name rather than just referring to her as 'widow Butcher' so that I could be sure. Samuel and Rachel Butcher are my 4x great grandparents. It would be nice to finish off Samuel (so to speak) with some certainty.

[suffolk sue]

As far as I know the transcriptions on the cd are accurate.

[suffolk sue]

Would this be Rachels burial


Rachel
COOPER
Date of burial: 5 Feb 1857
Age at death: 84
Place of burial: Holton St Peter
Dedication: St Peter

[Ruth1]

I would hope that the transcription on the SFHS Halesworth cd is also accurate but they can't both be. I might try emailing the SFHS and ask them if someone could check it out at the RO. I am assuming that the SFHS also produced the marriage index but am I wrong on that?

I had found a possible death for Rachel Cooper on the GRO index 1849 but actually the one you found is probably much more likely as a son from the marriage of Samuel Butcher and Rachel Watson shows up on all the census returns as living in Holton St Peter, if of course my Rachel Butcher did remarry and become Cooper. Having said that, there are 2 children on the Halesworth cd born in 1818 and 1820 to Rachel and William Cooper. I wonder if the 1857 death at age 84 would have made her a bit old for childbirth in 1820. Need to return to the census perhaps and see what I can dig up.

Oh, I wish I didn't live so far away and could nip into Lowestoft.

[suffolk sue]

Heres the one in 1849


Rachel
COOPER

Date of burial: 7 May 1849
Age at death: Infant
Place of burial: Halesworth
Dedication: St Mary


The Suffolk Family History Society produced the marriage index cd.

If you get in touch with Suffolk Record Office in Bury St. Edmunds, they will probably look at the record for you. They are a lovely bunch there.

[Jan1954]

Oh, I wish I didn't live so far away and could nip into Lowestoft.

Ruth,

If you're travelling all the way up from Sussex, then the RO at Ipswich is closer for you - not much, but enough to count!

Jan

[Ruth1]

Thanks, Sue. Can discount that one then! The one you found is looking more and more likely. I found the 1857 death one (what an awful way of referencing someone) on the 1851 census in the household of a Daniel Butcher. The only difficulty with that is that I haven't found a Daniel as offspring of Samuel and Rachel Butcher.

Jan - at one point, my husband did want us to travel all the way to Ipswich for him to see some computer contact. Wonder if I could sow the seeds of that again!

[Ruth1]

Sue - you are a star! Have just found a Daniel Butcher baptised 1798 St Peter, Holton s/o Saml Butcher and Rachel. It's IGI and I do like to check these things myself but it gets me on the right track. Samuel Butcher & Rachel Watson married 02 Feb 1798 in the same place - checked by me in Lowestoft. So, logically Daniel's mother moves in with him in her dotage.

If you hadn't responded with the deaths etc that you did, I wouldn't have looked at all this again at this moment. My cousin (who is enjoying an extended Christmas on an idyllic little island) is going to be thrilled to come back to all these possibilities. Thank you again, for taking the time to respond.