Can England Select Marriages be source for father's name, etc. for Anne Unknown-225798, w. of Robert Shelley d. 1638?

Question

I'm profile manager for Anne Unknown-225798, wife of Robert Shelley (1587-1638), early settler of Massachusetts Bay Colony. Robert Charles Anderson, of the Great Migration series, does not give any of the data from England Select Marriages for Anne.

I don't know if that was because he disagreed, was not aware of the data, or ? I've been asked to use the source to add Bartholemei Tassel as her father, 16 Feb 1602 as marriage date, in Exning, Suffolk, England. Also to add 19 Feb 1575 at Balsham, Cambridge, England, as her baptismal date, from England Select Births and Christening 1538 - 1975. Also that her name was Alicia (aka Alice) Tassel.

I don't know anything about these sources. It would be nice to 'fill in the blanks' on the wife of Robert Shelley. But. This would make her about 37 years old when her son was born - not unheard of, but unusual for a first child?

Can anyone help with this?

Answer 1

It's Family Search's name for an older sets of indexed records extracted  from parish registers. These extractions were selective in that many parishes in each  county were omitted. (and they often indexed baptisms and marriages but not burials )

https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/England_Marriages_-_FamilySearch_Historical_Records

Assuming correct transcription these aren't a bad source. An Alice Tassel was definitely baptised in 1575 in Balsham, Cambridgeshire ( but not that unusual a name; another Alice Tassell waa baptised in Wisbech Cambridgeshire in 1571). An Alice Tassell married a Robert Shelley in Evning Suffolk which is about 15 miles from Balsham so could be the one baptised in Balsham.

  "England Marriages, 1538–1973", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V5V2-1Z6 : 13 March 2020), Alice Tassell in entry for Robert Shelly, 1602.

Someone has then come to the conclusion  that this couple were the pair that migrated to America and has linked them to the FS tree

https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/family/LCXX-TZ4

They might be right but it might also just be a couple with similar names. What you need is evidence that this particular couple migrated. 

Comments

Helen, Thank you very much for your help. I will add it in a research note to the profile, and maybe someone will be able to find evidence showing the same couple migrating. Anne is my 9th great-grandmother. It would be wonderful to be able to link this information to her profile.

---

These citations can be improved to make them more specific. The digital folder and film numbers are given, so it is possible to identify where the record comes from. In this case, the FamilySearch data collection for this event refers to two films, but they are indexed, so it is possible to identify the exact film where the information originates. Unfortunately, the film is not digitized so the exact image cannot be viewed online from FamilySearch, but it would be available at the FHL in Salt Lake.

This, of course, does not answer the question if the couple in New England is the same as the could in Old England.

---

Thank you George, for sharing your information about these citations. I helps to understand.