Can someone check ancestry marriage please

[Heather Positive Thinker]

I have a John Davis marrying (apparently) an Isabella YARK. Now I immediately think this is likely York, but to be honest looking at the register it does look like an a rather than o. What does anyone reckon. I spose it could be York with an accent but ............ I cant find any other Yark families in the area.


29 October 1776 - Southwark

[niftynannie]

Hi Heather

I think it is Yark.There is banns on the 18th Aug 1776 and it is clearly Yark.

[Val and George]

Hi Heather - I agree that it does look like Yark on all the entries - so was written as such.........however I do think you need to keep an open mind at present.

I went into the LMA records for baptisms, marriages and burials 1538 - 1812 and typed in Yark and quite a few came up for around that time - but a lot of entries for the name York came up too.

I couldn't find a birth for Isabella Yark/York - however there was an Isabela York baptised in 1704 - a little too early for yours I would imagine.

Good luck

[Heather Positive Thinker]

Many thanks. Seems a bit odd doesnt it, particularly when you cant find any Yarks in the area at all :(

Having googled it looks like Yark is a German or Dutch name.

[Val and George]

I think then Heather that it may have started off as Yark, but ended up as York as time went on.

I know that is what happened to our Flemish ancestors. They came over as Samain but down the years it changed to Semain/Semaine - with a few other variations in between.......lol

[Heather Positive Thinker]

Its just strange there arent any others - or Yorks come to that - that fit in as her family :(

[Val and George]

Heather, maybe she came over on her own - or with her family who then returned.
I know ours seemed to do a lot of traipsing back and forth in that timeframe.

[Heather Positive Thinker]

Thanks val.

I do hate dead ends

I was scanning through PRs on ancestry for the area and the name Yark - found a bap not many years before her likely date of birth, excited, looked at the original and pmsl it said "Young black man from Africa". Im guessing that should also be York.