Last time I mentioned that I had found the index record that matched for George Freestone and Eliza Barnes marriage. I went ahead and ordered the certified copy of the original record.
Suffolk, marriage certificate (long form), George Freestone and Eliza Barnes, June 20, 1847; Suffolk County; General Register Office, London, England, UK. Wangford, vol. 13, page 769, entry 25.
Abstract:
George Freestone and Eliza Barnes were married in the Parish Church in the Parish of Bungay Trinity in the County of Suffolk on 20 June 1847. He is the 22 year old son of Isaac Freestone, and she is the 20 year old daughter of Joseph Barnes, both labourers. At the time of the marriage the bride and groom were both living in the Parish of Bungay Trinity, he working as a labourer and she as a servant.
This copy of the original marriage record gave me more information than I already had – that was the point of ordering it, right?!
I now have the specific marriage date – 20 June 1847.
I also have their ages at marriage which helps corroborate their birth dates. George’s age matches the birth date I already have for him of 6 Mar 1825. But, Eliza’s birth date of 18 Jul 1829 doesn’t match with her given age of 20. Those dates were inherited in the database and had no sources linked to them, so I will have to do more research to find the actual birth dates. This marriage certificate at least points me in the right direction.
The bride and groom as well as their witnesses were illiterate since they all used “x” and their mark.
It appears that Eliza’s relatives served as the witnesses. Perhaps the Joseph Barnes is her father (or maybe brother). I’m not sure about the Eleanor. Although, again from the inherited database, Eliza had a brother and sister by those names.
What now?
I need to investigate these families more fully. But, before I work backwards in time I need to be sure I find all the children of George and Eliza and also find their death records.
Trying to work my way back in England has been a bit tougher than I thought.
Yesterday I discussed how I found Edward Freestone’s (b. 1825) birth registration. The next logical step seemed to be to find his parents’ marriage record.
What I already knew
All that I had from the database I inherited from Troy’s Aunt was:
George Freestone, b. 6 Mar 1825 in Flexton, Suffolk, England was married about 1864 in England to Elizabeth Barnes, b. 18 Jul 1829 in St. Lawrence, Ilketshall, Suffolk, England.
The only evidence for this information was that “England” was correct for their birth places based on their son Edward’s US census records.
There are some issues with this marriage date. First, its not very specific in regards to both date and place. Second, according to this same inherited database George and Elizabeth’s first child (Alfred) was born in 1848 (16 years prior to the alleged marriage date). Of course, that may well be the case but it does raise some concern and leads me to question the accuracy of that information (either the marriage date or Alfred’s birth date).
So now to find the Marriage Record
I went to freeBMD.org.uk once again but now had to be a bit more strategic. I did a search for “George Freestone” who would have married at any time between 1840 and 1870. Since I had to specify a county, I chose Suffolk, since that is where both George and Eliza were born (according to this inherited database – hey, you have to start somewhere) and where I found Edward (their son’s) birth record.
I saved this search as a PDF. That way I could compare it to my search for Elizabeth. Since all that freeBMD gives is the one person’s name and their record number I had to find a matching Elizabeth with the same marriage record in order for there to be a George Freestone marrying and Elizabeth Barnes.
Here’s a screenshot of what that looks like:
Note that under Marriages in June Quarter of 1847 (April-June) there is an Eliza Barnes with the same record Volume and page number. This was the only match of a George Freestone marrying and Eliza Barnes.
This must be my couple!
So, now I know which record I need to order. I can now request the certified copy of the filmed original from the UK General Register Office and wait a few weeks for it to arrive.
For now, as I wait, I can at least change the marriage date in my database to a more specific: April-June 1847 in Wangford, Suffolk, England, United Kingdom.
Oh, the joys of FamilySearch.org … I’m still amazed that I can look at local parish records from around the world! In this case I was looking through the digitized (albeit not indexed) images of Catholic parish records from João Pessoa, Brazil. This one happens to be for my maternal grandparents – João and Lindalva.
Source: Family Search, “Brazil, Catholic Church Records,” digital image, Family Search (familysearch.org : downloaded 14 March 2012), Joao de Sousa Lima and Lindalva Ferreira da Silva Marriage Record, 30 Sep 1950; Nossa Senhora do Rosario parish, page 35, entry 131.
Transcription:
131 – João de Sousa Lima e Lindalva Ferreira da Silva
Aos trinta dias do mês de Setembro de mil novecentos e cinqüenta, na Matriz do Rosario, perante as testemunhas justo Lacerda Ferreira e João Cabral Batista, o Revmo Frei Inocencio ofm. assistiu ao recebimento matrimonial de João de Sousa Lima e Lindalva Ferreira da Silva, o nubente con 25 anos de idade, filho legitimo de Manuel de Sousa Lima e Hosana Maria da Conceiçao, natural e batizado em Cajazeiras, a nubente con 17 anos de idade, filha legitima de Joaquim Pedro da Silva e Ernestina Ferreira da Silva, natural e batizada em João Pessoa, residentes nesta frequezia. E, para constar, mandei fazer este fermo que assino.
(signed) Frei Jorge [Bolchaus.?] ofm. Vigário
Translation:
On the thirtieth day of the month of September of nineteen hundred and fifty, in the Mother of the Rosary, as witnessed by Lacerda Ferreira and João Cabral Batista, the Reverand Frei Inocencio [ofm.?] performed the marriage rite of João de Sousa Lima and Lindalva Ferreira da Silva, the groom with 25 years of age, legitimate son of Manuel de Sousa Lima and Hosana Maria da Conceiçao, born and baptized in Cajazeiras, the bride with 17 years of age, legitimate daughter of Joaquim Pedro da Silva e Ernestina Ferreira da Silva, born and baptized in João Pessoa, residents in this parish. And, for the record, I had this record made, and I sign.
(signed) Frei Jorge [Bolchaus.?] ofm. Vigário
Interesting: This record gives the same marriage date I have, 30 Sept 1950. However, there is a discrepancy in Lindalva’s age. Based on the birth date I have of 7 Oct 1934, she would be 15 years old (about a week shy of her 16th birthday) on the date of her wedding. The marriage record states she was 17 years old, and when I asked my mother about it, she said that Lindalva was 16 years old when she got married. So, now I’m thinking I’ll need to find her christening record and see if she was born in 1932 or 1933 or 1934.
In starting the descendancy research for the Lund family, I’m taking a look at Didrich and Karen’s oldest child, Christine Funk Lund. Below is her marriage record.
Source: Danish State Archives, “Kirkebøger,” digital images, Statens Arkivers Arkivalieronline (www.sa.dk/ao/ : downloaded 22 November 2011), marriage record for Peder Jensen and Christine Funch, 28 Apr 1865; Nylarsker Parish.
Transcription / Translation:
1865 ——
No. 3
Brudgommens Navn, Alder, Haandtering og Opholdssted The Groom’s Name, Age, Occupatioin and Place of Residence Ungkarl Peder Jensen, Tjenestekarl
paa 20de. S[?????]gaard [for] Sog[???]
25 arr gammel, vaccineret d. 14de
Juli 1842 af Zahrtmann
Bachelor Peder Jensen, farm hand
On 20th. S[?????]gaard for Sog[???]
25 years old vaccinated 14th
July 1842 from Zahrtmann
Brudens Navn, Alder, Haandtering og Opholdssted The Bride’s Name, Age, Occupatioin and Place of Residence Pigen Christine Funch 24 Arr
gammel, tjener hos Gaardejer Anders
Rosch paa 1ste S[?????]gaard, vaccineret
d. 14de Juli 1842 af Zahrtmann
Maiden Christine Funch 24 years
Old, serving farm owner Anders
Rosch on 1stS[?????]gaard, vaccinated
d. 14th July 1842 by Zahrtmann
Hvem Forloverne ere Who the best men are Peder M Mortensen,
Gudmand i Arnager
Diderich Jacobsen Funch
Fisher I Arnager Peder M Mortensen,
Small Farmer of Arnager
Diderich Jacobesen Funch
Fisherman of Arnager
Vielsesdagen The Wedding Date d 28d
April 1865 28th
April 1865
Om Vielsen er forrettet i Kirken eller Hjemmet, og i sidste Tilfælde Bevillings Datum If the Wedding has been performed in the church or at home, and in the latter casethe date of authorization. i Kirken in the church
Hvor anført i det almindelige Jevnførelses Register Where posted in the general Index 15/133 7/12
Anmærkninger Remarks Lyst første gang d. 9d April 1865
Banns for the first time
The 9th April 1865
Note: On 9th April the pastor will announce to the congregation that the two people will intend to marry
Interesting:
new.familysearch.org did not have the correct information for her marriage. The dates all said abt 1861. I believe this is because they also have a son, Lewis, listed as born in 1861. If studying the Funk/Lund’s in Denmark have taught me anything it’s that illegitimacy was not uncommon.
I have Christine’s christening record from the Aaker parish. She is married in the Nylarsker parish, her family’s home parish. She and Peder were both vaccinated (for smallpox) by the same physician on the same day. This leads me to believe that they were living in the same parish at the time. I believe that to be the Nylarsker parish. I will need to find a christening record for Peder Jensen (which will hopefully list his vaccination as well).
Along those same lines, I may be able to find a confirmation record for both Peder and Christine in the Nylarsker parish.
My next step will be to find them in the Danish Census and see if I can verify any children for them. Also, since there are children listed in FamilySearch I can start with those birth dates in mind when searching to see if I can verify them.
Why, its the study of the Lund's, of course! I am jumping in to researching our family history and seeing where it takes me. We are the Lund's. We come from Lund's, Ranson's, DeMacedo's, Lima's, Anderson's, Warner's, Ferreira's, Da Silva's and beyond! Since my own side of the family is from Brazil, it is quite difficult to track things down. Troy's side, on the other hand, has proven to be much easier. So, I'll be jumping back and forth and all around to learn about where we come from.
Are you related to us? I'd love to learn more about you and share what I know about our common ancestors!
