Need help with a long standing Brickwall - Marshall

+4 votes
305 views

I need some help, or at least a few fresh set of eyes and opinions, on a brickwall in my family tree that has defied all of my attempts to remove it for about the last 18 years.

Anthony Marshall 

When a cousin made a trip to England a number of years ago she spent a significant amount of time transcribing various records while she was there for our ancestors. The records she transcribed led to some great breakthroughs but seemed to only add more questions about who and where our Anthony Marshall came from.  The one thing she didn't have time to do was visit the graveyard at Skeffling where the bulk of our oldest known ancestors appear to be buried, an onsite viewing of the headstones would have been an immense help.  I requested photos at Find a Grave quite some time ago but no one has ever fulfilled the request. 

I have quite a few research notes, that include various speculations about who Anthony's parents may or may not have been on his profile.  

Find a Grave speculates as follows: 

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/130446673/anthony-marshall

The Find a Grave memorial has changed several times over the years when it comes to who Anthony's parent's were, one of the previous speculations at Find a Grave is preserve in my research notes on Anthony's profile.  Francis and Jana Marshall from Danby in Cleveland seem to be the current favorite.   Problem is, there is an Anthony Marshall married in Danby in Cleveland, Yorkshire:

"England Marriages, 1538–1973 ," database, FamilySearch(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N29N-94X : 10 February 2018), Anthony Marshall and Rebecca Baker, 01 Jul 1746; citing Danby In Cleveland,York,England, reference , index based upon data collected by the Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City; FHL microfilm 432,131, 894,244.

at the same time my Anthony Marshall is married to Ann Matthews and living in the Skeffling area:

"England Marriages, 1538–1973 ," database, FamilySearch(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NL7Y-W5H : 10 February 2018), Anthony Marshal and Ann Matthews, 23 Nov 1736; citing Holmpton,York,England, reference , index based upon data collected by the Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City; FHL microfilm 919,456.

I suspect there are 2 different Anthonys, perhaps even 3 if the above Anthony married to Rebecca Baker isn't in fact  Francis and Jana Marshall's son.  Either way, I have yet to see any clear evidence linking my Anthony Marshall to Danby in Cleveland.  

A genealogy at Family Search gives Anthony's parents as William Marshall and Alice Sowden.  https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/2:2:3L49-3ZW   I have not been able to find records for a marriage, burial or baptisms for a William and Alice (Sowden) Marshall to confirm whether these might actually be Anthony's parents. 

I will be eternally grateful to anyone who can give me a new perspective or direction on this puzzle. 

WikiTree profile: Anthony Marshall
in Genealogy Help by Sondra Marshall G2G6 Mach 3 (39.1k points)
edited by Ellen Smith

4 Answers

+7 votes
 
Best answer
I may have found the baptism record for Anthony, at Skeffling on 17 April 1709. However, I must caution that both the parish register and Bishop's Transcripts I reference below (images on findmypast) are in very poor condition, with significant moisture and vermin damage. There are whole sections of pages missing. One thing I did notice, that may help you with this research, is that the "ll" at the end of "Marshall" in some cases is indistinguishable from an "n" (at least to me). So Anthony's surname at baptism is transcribed as "Marsan" in the findmypast index, but could also be transcribed as "Marsall". As is common for this era, spellings in the registers are not consistent.

First there is the marriage, which you refer to on Anthony's profile, of William Marchall and Alice Riley in the Welwick Parish Register: "William Marchall and Alice Riley marrid Aprill 20 1708".

The equivalent entry in the Bishop's Transcript is (note the difference in Alice's surname): "Wm. Marchell & Alice Christy April [day illegible] [1708]".

Then the baptisms of three children in the Skeffling Parish Register:

"Anthony ye son Will: Marsan [possibly Marsall] baptized Aprill ye 17th [1709]"

"William ye son of Will: Marsan [possibly Marsall] baptized December [illegible] [1711]"

"[First part of name illegible]nces ye son of William Marsan [possibly Marsall] bap: June ye 13th [1714]"

And the same records in the Bishop's Transcripts:

"Anthony son of William Marsan [possibly Marsall] baptized Aprill [day illegible] [1709]"

"[First name on missing part of page] son of William Marsel baptized December 9th [1711]"

"Francis son of William Marsel yeoman baptized June 13th [1714]"

Edit: Fix typo
by Nic Donnelly G2G6 Mach 8 (80.2k points)
selected by Sondra Marshall

surprise THANK YOU, NIC!!! heart  It never occurred to me to look for "Marsan" as a transcription variant, although it makes perfect sense to me now that I see it. I think there is an excellent chance that these are the records I've been missing.   

Okay, off to pursue this!  I'm pretty sure I won't be getting much sleep tonight! Glad its a 3 day weekend! 

You're welcome, have fun!
You can forget "Alice Riley" as she doesn't exist. Alice C(h)risty is correct. Her name was written poorly as something like "alic.c risty" where the long -s- looks more like a loopy l and the t was very small making her surname look like Riley as the initial c looked as if it was the e of Alice.
Thank you, Matthew, that was my impression when I looked at it too.  When I created the profile I used Christy as her last name at birth.  I'll get Riley removed as an alias.
Thanks Matthew, taking another look, I agree. Multiple perspectives really helps with this register!
+4 votes
Hi there,

I'm a bit foggy from lack of sleep, but is it possible he married both women as one of them died? You may have already thought of this...

Liz
by Liz Shaw G2G Crew (320 points)
Thanks, Liz.  Yes, my Anthony Marshall was actually married twice. First to Ann Matthews who he married in 1736 in Holmpton, who was the mother of all of Anthony's known children. Ann died in 1763. Anthony then married an Elizabeth Allen in Owthorne in 1764.  So Ann was still alive and married to my Anthony and residing in Skeffling at the time the Anthony Marshall in Danby in Cleveland married Rebecca Baker in 1746.
Weirdly, findmypast has two mentions of Anthony's second marriage. The banns from Skeffling where the transcriber has the year 1754 instead of 1764 and the actual marriage (via Bishop's Transcript) from Owthorne where the transcriber has the year 1763 instead of 1764.

There are no excuses due to dating conventions. The previous banns record quite clearly has 1764 and the page heading for Owthorne reads "A copy of Owthorne's Register from Lady Day 1764 to Lady Day 1765".

I also noticed that one of those, I belive it was the Banns record, didn't appear to be complete, the signatures were missing. 

My cousin brought back this transcription from her trip to Beverley: 

    • PE41/5 - "Skeffling Parish Register", Marriages 1754-1812 (microfische), "Banns of marriage between Anthony Marshal widower of this Parish and Elizabeth Allen of Owthorne Parish spinster were published in this church of three several Lords Days ???? 17?? [date unreadable but has to be between 1765 and 1767 - date of records before and after this record] the last publication was on the 3rd of December.", Document located at: East Riding Archives of the Yorkshire Council, Beverly, East Riding, Yorkshire, England.

    Any clue why there might be 3 different entries?  My cousin noted that the record she transcribed had to bear a date between 1764 and 1767?  She could have misread the dates, she said some of the records were really difficult to read. 

    (corrected typo)

    That's just normal practice. The banns have to be published (put on the parish church noticeboard, perhaps read out as well) three times before the marriage. Sometimes the banns get mixed up with the marriage record itself so you see 'multiple marriages' a week or two apart.
    +4 votes
    Nic's advice is excellent.  The only thing I would add from a local's viewpoint is that Yorkshire is much the biggest county in England, about the same area and population as Scotland. That is still small by US standards but in the 18th century Cleveland at one end of the Yorkshire coast was a long way from Skeffling at the other: so discount Cleveland unless there is really strong evidence.  All the other places you mention, Holmpton, Owthorne, Skeffling and Welwick are close together near the coast of Holderness, then a marshy plain.
    by David Horsley G2G6 Mach 1 (10.3k points)
    Thanks, David.  You confirm what I have always thought. It never made any real sense to me that Anthony would be from the North Riding.
    +1 vote
    Nice to see the connection of the Marshalls to the Bakers. For me that is a FIRST.

    My cousin is called Anthony  born in 1944 to Ernest Albert Groves Baker 1903 -1968 and Phyllis Wall 1903 -2005.

    Their children were Colin Ernest Arthur Baker 31st Aug 1929- 26th Aug 2009 at Sangers Drive Horley Surrey, England

    and Anthony P Baker 1944 - date as far as I know. I've never met him but .........LOL

     We share the Same grandmother Elizabeth Harriet Marshall b 1875 -1958
    by Don Baker G2G Crew (840 points)

    Related questions

    +2 votes
    2 answers
    0 votes
    0 answers
    62 views asked Aug 21, 2023 in Genealogy Help by Audrey Lee Crockett G2G1 (1.4k points)
    +1 vote
    1 answer
    260 views asked Jun 22, 2023 in Genealogy Help by Hart Wallace G2G6 Mach 3 (31.0k points)
    +2 votes
    1 answer
    107 views asked May 31, 2023 in Genealogy Help by Hart Wallace G2G6 Mach 3 (31.0k points)
    +3 votes
    2 answers
    +7 votes
    0 answers
    +5 votes
    1 answer

    WikiTree  ~  About  ~  Help Help  ~  Search Person Search  ~  Surname:

    disclaimer - terms - copyright

    ...