Thomas Barker, Marston Mortaine UPDATE!!!

[Yvonne from Oz]

Well you are all super sleuths!

I had an email 'out of the blue' last night that confirms that Thomas Barker was born in Marston Mortaine. A direct descendant from another sibling to Thomas has been in contact with a descendant of Thomas' children here in Australia.

Uncle John - if you can manage it, I would still be grateful if you could sight the parish records for the marriage of Thomas's parents - we did have the right one, well done Merry - and at least check that the birth date I have been given is correct for Thomas as his has the major discrepancy.

At the moment the information I have for the family is: Elizabeth Dudley (b. 20 July 1760 Wilstead, married Thomas Barker on 13 July 1785 in Wilstead. (The submitted entry said 13 June 1785)

The children were: Phoebe: 17 June 1787
Mary: 31 May 1789 - 1 Dec 1789
Mary: 27 May 1791
William: 13 April 1795
Elizabeth: 26 April 1796 - 22 May 1796
Thomas: 26 April 1796 - 4 may 1796
THOMAS: 27 March 1797
Sarah 27 March 1797
All born in Marston Mortaine.


The info from the International Genealogical Index: differences highlighted in green

1. PHEBE BARKER -
Gender: Female Christening: 17 JUN 1787 Marston Moretaine, Bedford, England
2. MARY BARKER -
Gender: Female Christening: 31 MAY 1789 Marston Moretaine, Bedford, England
3. MARY BARKER -
Gender: Female Christening: 22 MAY 1791 Marston Moretaine, Bedford, England
4. WILLIAM BARKER -
Gender: Male Christening: 15 MAY 1796 Marston Moretaine, Bedford, England
5. ELIZABETH BARKER -
Gender: Female Christening:26 APR 1796 Marston Moretaine, Bedford, England
6. THOMAS BARKER -
Gender: Male Christening: 26 APR 1796 Marston Moretaine, Bedford, England

7. THOMAS BAKER
Gender: Male Christening: 27 MAR 1807 Marston Moretaine, Bedford, England

8. SARAH BARKER - International Genealogical Index
Gender: Female Christening: 28 JUN 1797 Marston Moretaine, Bedford, England

[Yvonne from Oz]

Soooooooooo Thomas was either one of twins or a late surprise!!



the other interesting information that came in the email last night was this:

Our Family Story is that Thomas ran away to sea and jumped ship in Sydney and eventually became a farmer at Baulkham Hills where he married Bridget Conroy and supplied vegetables to Sydney by delivering them by horse and cart to the wharf at Parramatta for transport to the Sydney Market

Was he a convict or did he jump ship? i haven't yet been able to find information eg ticket of leave that would fit convict Thomas in Australia. but have this detail for a Thomas barker from the Bedfordshire records:

Gaol Record Detail For: Thomas Barker
Record ID: 6053
Commital Year: 1838
Reference Doc: BLARS QGV10/2
ID in Reference Doc: 193
Age: 34
Height: 6 feet 0½ inches
Hair Colour: Brown
Eye Colour: Dark hazel
Complexion: Dark
Education: Read Imperfectly
Gender: Male
Birth Town: Marston
Birth County: Bedfordshire
Residence(town/village): Marston
Residence(county): Bedfordshire
Offence: Sheep stealing in 1833
Committed By: G.Musgrave Esquire and Rev.J.Beard
When Committed: 01/03/1838
Trial Type: Lent Assizes 1838
Type of Gaol: Bedford County Gaol
Sentence: 10 Years Transportation
How Disposed: Put on board the Ganymede
Discharge Date: 10/04/1838


1838 minus 34 puts him in the middle of the two birth dates given, with a leaning to the later date!!

He wasn't married in Australia till 1854 so his 10 year sentence would be finished
and he could have reinvented himself! but I would dearly like a link!!

[Uncle John]

Uncle John - if you can manage it, I would still be grateful if you could sight the parish records for the marriage of Thomas's parents - we did have the right one, well done Merry - and at least check that the birth date I have been given is correct for Thomas as his has the major discrepancy.

Mea culpa. I keep getting sidetracked.

[Yvonne from Oz]

No pressure I'm just grateful for all the wonderful help on here.

Actually I'm away for the next week. OH is going fishing and I'll have no internet connection!!

maybe I'll take my files and get them in order

[Uncle John]

For Vonny on return:

A slight snag - Marston Moretaine is the only volume of Bedfordshire parish register transcripts not held at Bedford libraray. Quite perversely the only library with a copy is Dunstable. I've emailed the library service and the archives to see what's available.

[Yvonne from Oz]

Noooooooooooooooooo :D

Thank you Uncle John.

I'm back - we had a lovely time. OH did lots of fishing so he is happy. I put some Barker records in order and in doing so found some certificates that I didn't know I had. Long story but it involves OH's fractured family relationships. Anyway - i had a lovely time verifying information on the rest of the family.

Nothing on Thomas though.

[Uncle John]

Looks like I may have an opportunity to visit Bedfordshire Archives (for the first time) later this week. They definitely have all the available PRs, either on paper or on fiche. I'll make myself a list.

The library folk have confirmed that the paper transcription for Marston Moretaine is at Dunstable and the fiche version is at Flitwick (midway between Bedford and Dunstable).

[Anne in Carlisle]

Yvonne - I have the Marston Moretaine PRs on microfiche up to 1812.

Can you tell me exactly what you want to find and I'll get my fiche reader out of its hole and crank it up. It doesn't live in a very handy place!

On the other hand if Uncle John is going to Bedford Archives 'for the first time' maybe we should let him go and get educated . He will find the same thing that I have on microfiche in much easier to read books at Bedford. I have been down there several times and its a long way from here :p (just joking UJ!)

Anne

[Anne in Carlisle]

Well, I couldn't resist could I ;)

I think I worked out what you needed so I have had a look and this is what I found.

Baptisms in Marston Moretaine; children of Thomas and Elizabeth BARKER
Phebe: 17 June 1787
Mary: 31 May 1789
Mary: 22 May 1791, private
Thomas and Elizabeth, twins: 26 April 1796 (Eliz publicly received 15 May 1796)
William: 15 May 1796, ‘one year and 3 quarters old’
Sarah: 28 June 1797
Thomas: 27 March 1807
Sarah: 27 March 1807

Burials in Marston Moretaine
1 December 1790: Mary d of Tho and Eliz Barker, pauper
4 May 1796: Thomas twin of Tho and Eliz Barker
22 May 1796: Elizabeth, the other twin of Tho and Eliz Barker
21 Nov 1809: Mary d of Tho and Eliza Barker

There were no other relevant burials and no Barker marriages during this timescale.

My comments (for what they are worth)
There were NINE baptisms that took place on 27 March 1807. Surnames as follows:
1 Blunt; 2 Cook; 2 Barker; 4 Thompson.
My suspicion here is that the vicar was having a purge to mop up unbaptised children. Thomas and Elizabeth forgot that Sarah had already been baptised. Thomas would have been born after Sarah but not baptised at all, so they were both ‘done’ at the same time.

Therefore I would guess that Thomas was born some time before (possibly years) 1807. Hope that's the answer you were hoping for!!!!

I'm off now to check the 'Poor Law' papers, which I also have on microfiche.

Anne

[Anne in Carlisle]

There is one entry in the Poor Law papers, as follows.

BARKER Thomas, Marston Moretaine, 1788, Apprentice paper

I have one of these in my family and it was the named person taking on an apprentice. I think it would also be in the index if it was the actual apprentice, however this seems unlikely as Thomas was married by this time. It is strange that he would be described as a pauper on his daughter Mary's burial record in 1790, since I wouldn't have thought a pauper would be taking on an apprentice!

The only way to find out more is to get a photocopy of the document from Bedford Archives.

Anne

[Yvonne from Oz]

Anne,
Thank you for that. It is wonderful. :D :D I'll now have to study all my info but thanks also for your ideas - a good guess I bet!

Uncle John - if you can find any info when/if you go to Bedford Archives then great - but please don't make a special trip to the other places just for this, especially as Anne has already sighted the fiche.

Anne - what are the Poor Law papers?

I have also been contacted by another person who just discovered this site, (joined 1st November) who is researching Thomas - but they have less information than I do. However - they sent me a message while I was away so they might have wondered why I didn't answer them! never mind - I have sent them an email now so hope they contact me today!

Blessings for your week,

[Anne in Carlisle]

Hi Yvonne. I belong to the Bedfordshire FHS. They have, over the years, transcribed all the Bedfordshire PRs from the beginning to 1812 (that last date can be a bit frustrating!). The results of the transcription are in books at Bedford Archives and also for sale on microfiche. Each parish 'set' costs about £3 to £5 depending on the size. I have a few parishes relating to my family.

The 'Poor Law' papers are an index of names appearing on Parish related matters such as apprenticeship, bastardy and, above all, 'settlement' (the movement of individuals and families between parishes both in different parts of the county and further afield into other counties). This is a county-wide index of all the names recorded in the surviving papers. The reference I gave you was the only obvious one for this family.

See the BFHS website for more details of their publications Bedfordshire Family History Society.

Good luck
Anne

[Yvonne from Oz]

Thank you Anne - I am only just beginning to learn about how to search for my rellies overseas.
I have them all back to the first person in Australia now - and need to decide if I want to take them all back further! That is why i find this site, and everyone on it, so great and helpful

[Yvonne from Oz]

WELL !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I need to update you all again.

Guess who found this thread on Google???

A first cousin (once removed) from my OH. We talked for over an hour last night and I was able to give her photos of the family that she hadn't seen. Such excitement :D :D

So this site is definitely out there and Google is picking up individual threads. (Apparently buried quite a few pages back, mind you.) She had also hit the brick wall with Thomas and was just googling his name and following up any link.

Is this a first for FTF? For someone completely outside the site just following a google link??

[Anne in Carlisle]

That's a great result Yvonne! Just shows how FTF can work if people are asking Google the right questions!

Just let me know if you need anything else from Marston Moretaine.

Anne

[Uncle John]

Vonny

If you can give me an up-to-date list of what you are now looking for, I'm aiming to go the Beds. Archives on Friday (just my luck, they don't open on Thursdays).

[Yvonne from Oz]

Anne - which church were the baptisms at? and Anglican or Catholic?

Uncle John - I have sent you a message, thank you very much.

[Anne in Carlisle]

The records from Marston Moretaine are from St Mary's church - the parish church. I do not believe there was ever a Catholic Church there. The proportion of Catholics in Bedfordshire was one of the lowest in England in the early 19C (source: Colin Chapman, 'Tracing Your Ancestors in Bedfordshire').

When searching for Bedfordshire ancestors it is worth remembering that Non Conformity was very strong in Bedfordshire and later in the 19C there were Wesleyan and Primitive Methodist chapels at Marston Moretaine. However, I think this was later than the time you are interested in.

My 4x great grandfather, George White, was curate of Marston Moretaine in the 18C. He (and several of his family ) died in 1783. He was also vicar of Lidlington (next door parish) and his son William was also vicar of Lidlington. William may also have acted as Curate of Marston Moretaine so he might even have baptised some of your ancestors!!!

By the way, Marston Moretaine is sometimes spelt Marston Morteyne.

Anne

[Uncle John]

Here we go:

Wilstead marriage register (film, not transcript)

Thomas Barker otp Batchelor (sic)and Elizabeth Dudley otp Spinster were married in this church by Banns this thirteenth day of July in the year one thousand seven hundred and eighty five by me Thos. Bedford (Vicar).
Thomas and Elizabeth made their marks.
Witnesses were: Isaac Kendall and the mark of William Walker

Baps. and burials at Marston Moretaine (a single register, so infant burials can be linked to the baptisms). Film, not transcript

I've done them in strict chronological order. In each case the parents are named as Thomas and Elizabeth Barker.
There is a second Barker family in Marston (John and Ann) who seem to have had a lot more children (and infant deaths). I didn't record them. Spellings are as written.

17 June 1787 baptism of Phebe

31 May 1789 baptism of Mary

1 Dec 1790 burial of Mary (pauper)

22 May 1791 baptism of Mary (pauper)

26 April 1796 baptism of Thomas and Elizabeth (twins). Elizabeth publicly received on 15 May.

4 May 1796 burial of Thomas (one of the twins). This is the next entry in the register.

15 May 1796 baptism of William (aged one and three quarters years)

22 May 1796 burial of Elizabeth the other twin.

28 June 1797 baptism of Sarah

27 March 1807 baptisms of Thomas and Sarah
There's no intervening burial of a Sarah, so she might have been baptised twice. BUT there's also no statement about age, which suggests that these are infant baptisms.

25 November 1809 burial of Mary.

I didn't look beyond 1812 in this register.

Marston Moretaine marriage register, looking for Thomas's marriage
Two possibles:

1 September 1823 Thomas Barker otp Batchelor and Elizabeth Burridge otp Spinster
Both made their marks
Witnesses Thomas Smith and Sarah Barker (both made their marks)

15 February 1825 Thomas Barker otp Bachelor and Elizabeth Thompson otp Spinster
Both made their marks
Witnesses John Thompson (made his mark) and Thomas Sinfield (signed)

There are no more Thomas Barker marriages through to the last entry in 1837.

So, some of the dates back up the IGI transcriptions and others differ.

Enjoy.

[Yvonne from Oz]

Thank you Uncle John for all your help.

I'll spend some time on the Barkers today and see what I can finally come up with. Appreciate your help so much.