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Mary was born abt 1792
She passed away in 1846.
NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH Mary Walker (Walker-45610) born Wheldrake 3rd July 1797 Parents Sylvester Walker and Ann Married John Fenwick on 14 October 1822. Lived in York.
Sylvester Walker's will written 14 Jan 1829 states that he left an inheritance to his daughter Mary, wife of John Fenwick, boot and shoemaker, York.
Information from Neil Adams, Archives Assistant at Borthwick Institute in York, UK is as follows:
Dear Mrs West,
Thank you for your enquiry concerning Mary Walker's birth and parentage. The Borthwick Institute holds the parish records for Wheldrake, including the registers of baptisms, marriages, and burials. Although the Institute is currently closed to the public, all our parish registers have been digitised and made available to consult through the online genealogy website Findmypast, which also provides access to national record series such as the decennial census. I am currently working offsite so I've not been able to access the original registers at the Institute but I have had a look at the digitised surrogates.
Undertaking family history prior to the introduction of civil registration in 1837 is notoriously difficult due to the lack of corroborating records and the fact that an individual's name and given date of birth may vary between different records. What follows is therefore speculation and you may wish to follow up on these findings, but I suspect that there are two different Mary Walkers in Wheldrake at the turn of the 19th century. I initially examined the parish baptism register for any reference to Walkers being baptised in Wheldrake between 1785 and 1805. This produced the following results:
Sylvester Walker, son of William and Mary, born 14 March 1767, baptised 7 June 1786 Mary Walker, daughter of Silvester and Ann, born 3 July 1797, baptised 3 July 1797 William Walker, son of Sylvester and Ann, born 21 June 1799, baptised 24 June 1799 Jane Walker, daughter of Sylvester and Ann, born 7 November 1801, baptised 23 November 1801 Susannah Walker, daughter of Sylvester and Ann, born 28 July 1804, baptised 19 August 1804 There was also an entry of a baptism for a Thomas Bealby, son of Robert and Esther, born 12 April 1789 and baptised 20 May 1789.
Turning to the Wheldrake marriage register for the period 1800-1830 I identified the following marriages in which a Mary Walker was the bride:
William Smith and Mary Walker, married 17 September 1801 Thomas Bealby and Mary Walker, married 17 December 1810 John Fenwick and Mary Walker, married 14 October 1822
We can discount the first entry on the basis of the date. Turning to the second entry, if this is the Mary Walker born of Sylvester and Ann in 1797 she would only have been 13 when she married, whilst her husband would have been 21. Marriages involving children are incredibly rare. It is certainly the case that many individuals married before they had reached 'full age' but, as this was defined as 21, in most cases they are aged somewhere between 18 and 21. In my personal experience I have never seen anyone younger than 15 being married, and this was at a far earlier date than the 19th century.
If you are wishing to trace the Mary Walker who married in 1810 I think you will likely need to look further afield than Wheldrake. Although the 1810 marriage register entry records that both Thomas Bealby and the bride were of the parish of Wheldrake, the absence of a Mary Walker baptism in Wheldrake apart from the one in 1797 (the next prior one dates from 1701) suggests that she was born and baptised elsewhere and later moved to Wheldrake prior to her marriage. Due to the commonplace nature of her name it may be difficult to track this individual; a search on Findmypast for baptisms of a Mary Walker taking place between 1775 and 1795 within a 10 mile radius of Wheldrake produced 96 results. I had a look at the Census records for Thomas Bealby and his wife Mary to try and narrow down her place of birth. In the 1841 Census this is given as 'Yorkshire' and in the 1851 Census, which gives more precise places of birth, she is absent; Thomas is listed as a widower and there is a Wheldrake burial register entry for a Mary Beilby on 1 May 1846. This burial register entry does not provide a place of birth but it does say she was 53, giving a possible date of birth c 1792/3. This in turn would mean she was 17 or 18 when she married (which is not uncommon). Narrowing the search on Findmypast to baptisms that took place for a Mary Walker between 1790 and 1794 within 10 miles of Wheldrake still produced 24 results. In these situations we usually advise researchers to first examine the registers from neighbouring parishes for likely entries, although there is no guarantee that she was born close to Wheldrake; she may have been born at a considerable distance and moved to the area at a later date. We would also recommend accessing other sources of information such as probate records; if you have access to Thomas Bealby's will it may refer to relatives of Mary's living somewhere else in Yorkshire which may be her birthplace. [*I have searched for a will for Thomas Bielby and not found one. HW].
If however you are trying to trace the Mary Walker who was born in Wheldrake in 1797 I think this might be easier. I believe that this Mary Walker is the same Mary Walker who married John Fenwick in 1822. In this marriage entry she is recorded as being of the parish of Wheldrake whilst her husband is stated as being of the parish of Holy Trinity in the City of York. Turning to the census records I sought an entry for this couple in York. In 1841 there is a John Fenwick and wife Mary living at St Andrew Gate Church Yard, St Andrew, York with 5 children, namely Jane (born 1826), Silvester (born 1828), Ann (born 1830), William (born 1833), and Susannah (born 1836). The 1851 Census entry has John Fenwick and Mary living with their son William at 3 St Andrew Church Yard, St Andrew, York but it provides further details. Mary records her date of birth as 1798 and her place of birth as Wheldrake. This information, plus the fact that one of her children is named Silvester, supports the notion that this is the Mary Walker born in Wheldrake in 1797 to Sylvester and Ann Walker. It seems likely that shortly after her marriage in 1822 she moved with her husband to his home in York. If Sylvester Walker's will names his daughter's husband as John Fenwick, this would be conclusive proof. [*Sylvester Walker's will written 14 Jan 1829 states that he left inheritance to his daughter Mary, wife of John Fenwick, boot and shoemaker, York.]
I'm sorry that we could not provide a more definitive answer, especially in the case of the Mary Walker who married Thomas Bealby in 1810. We are hopeful of re-opening the Institute to the public later in autumn so you would be welcome to book an appointment to consult our parish records onsite. We also provide free access to Findmypast and hold the records of probate proved in Yorkshire prior to January 1858.
I hope this information proves useful and if you have any follow-up questions please do not hesitate to contact us.
Yours sincerely,
Neil Adams
Archives Assistant Borthwick Institute for Archives University of York Heslington York YO10 5DD Tel: 01904 321166 Email: borthwick-institute@york.ac.uk Website: www.york.ac.uk/borthwick
Further research continues to find sources for the Mary Walker who married Thomas Bielby of Wheldrake. However to date this has been inconclusive. I aim to visit Borthwick Institute Archives when they reopen in the Autumn to examine the Wheldrake poor-law register to see if Mary is recorded there as having received financial assistance.
Hannah West
"England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N5SL-33F : 11 February 2018, Mary Walker, 31 Jul 1797); citing , index based upon data collected by the Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City; FHL microfilm 919,051.
"Name: Mary Walker; Gender: Female; Christening Date: 31 Jul 1797; Christening Date (Original): 31 JUL 1797; Christening Place: , WHELDRAKE, YORK, ENGLAND; Father's Name: Sylvester Walker; Mother's Name: Ann."
"England Marriages, 1538–1973 ," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NKYY-4XM : 10 February 2018), Thomas Bealby and Mary Walker, 17 Dec 1810; citing Wheldrake,York,England, reference , index based upon data collected by the Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City; FHL microfilm 919,051.
"Name: Thomas Bealby; Spouse's Name: Mary Walker; Event Date: 17 Dec 1810; Event Place: Wheldrake, York, England."
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1. This Mary Walker (daughter of Sylvester and Ann) can NOT be the same Mary Walker who married Thomas Beilby.
2. The Mary Walker who married Thomas B was not born in Wheldrake
3. Her birth date is likely to be 1790 - 1793
Her death registration says:
Name: Mary Bielby Gender: Female Age: 53 Birth Date: 1793 Burial Date: 1 May 1846 Burial Place: Wheldrake, York, England FHL Film Number: 1068418 Reference ID: pg 55 #437
It is not uncommon for children to be christened at an older age.
This date of birth makes more sense of Mary's life, as it means she got married at 17 rather than 12 or 13, and had her first child after she was married and not three years before at age 13 or 14?
Many thanks - Hannah
edited by Hannah West