Yarmouth, Norfolk marriage and baptism images

[Toban]

Just gotta know where to look... 

Titbit: James' landlord went bankrupt in '84 - maybe that's how he came by his property in Market Place....

1784 - June 5; The Norfolk Chronicle
To be SOLD by AUCTION
Under a Commission of Bankrupt awarded against James Hey, at the Wrestlers, in Great Yarmouth, on Wednesday the 23rd instant, at Twelve o’Clock at Noon.
ALL that MESSUAGE or DWELLING-HOUSE, consisting of a Shop, two Parlours, Kitchen, Dining-room, seven Bed-chambers, and other convenient Offices, most advantageously situated for the Millenery and Drapery Business, in the Market-place of Great Yarmouth aforesaid, late in the Occupation of the said Bankrupt.
Also a BARBER’s SHOP and a CELLAR, used as a Public-house, known by the Sign of the Chequers, adjoining the above Premises, now under Lease to James Wetherill, for Twenty-one Years, from Christmas 1783, at the annual Rent of 8l. 8s.
For Particulars enquire of Messrs. Spurgeon and Preston, Attornies, in Yarmouth.

[pergamond]

I thought it was strange that he had property! Generally the family was not prosperous at all.

Thank you again Toban!

His son-in-law is proving to be a bit of a problem too.

James Wetherill's daughter Mary Weatherall (1781-1820) married John Brown LESTER (Leicester) on 21 Oct 1810 in East Ham, Essex. John died in 1841. I've found the marriage and death, but so far I am unable to find a baptism record for him. John and Mary Lester had a daughter named Mary Ann Lester in 1817. Any help gratefully received.

[Toban]

I'll look into him and see what I can find. How did you make the jump from Essex to Yarmouth? Just curious...

[pergamond]

I made the jump from the other end - I'd started in Essex researching the Lester family, confirmed that John Samuel Lester married Mary Ann Lester in 1839, and that Mary Ann's father was John Brown Lester. Then I was most surprised to be moved from the general Barking area to discover John Brown Lester's wife, Mary Weatherall (Wetherill)  (whom he married in Essex in 1810) was born in Great Yarmouth.

John was a fisherman. Not sure how he met a peruke maker's daughter, or why they married in Essex instead of Norfolk.

Does it sound implausible to you?

[Toban]

I was just wondering whether you had any evidence to suggest Mary came from Yarmouth when she lived in Essex. As John was a fisherman and Yarmouth a port town, it's not impossible for them to have met while John was in port and she settled in Essex with him...

[Toban]

No luck unfortunately, well nothing terribly solid!

Couldn't find a baptism for him, but I believe his parents are the William Lester and Martha Brown who married 25 Apr 1779 in Bromley by Bow - this fits the geographical location the family were in and accounts for his middle name of Brown. I believe his brother was the William Lester who was also having kids in Barking around the same time. William's father was William, as recorded on his marriage to John's widow in 1846 in Poplar (not sure if this was legal...)

I also assume that John Brown Lester is related to George Lester, who was the father-in-law of his daughter Mary Ann. They're probably cousins...

But, I have no proof! Essex isn't really my area of expertise (if I have one), so maybe some people in the Essex forum have some more ideas or better access to records.

[pergamond]

That's brilliant. (You must be from the Sthn Hemisphere too judging from the time!))

My head has been spinning since you asked me the question about evidence for Mary coming fromYarmouth. I suddenly realised there may not be any evidence. You know what it's like - names and dates and paper everywhere ....  I'd got so far - Mary Ann Lester's birth in 1817, parents John and Mary from Barking. Then when I looked for appropriate marriages, the only one in that area was for John Lester and Mary Wetherall. The problem occurred when I looked for Mary's birth. There were a few possibilities, and I suspect I was influenced by a family tree on Ancestry, and tried to make it fit with that, which had the Yarmouth connection. There wasn't a Mary Wetherall from Essex that I could find born about the right time. Maybe I need to widen my dates.

Yes, you are right about a Lester marrying another Lester. I really need a break now! Thanks so much for everything Toban.  When I've recovered I'll take this to the Essex board.

[Toban]

Sure am! In sunny Melbourne! 

It's easy to be influenced by trees online, but you've always got to take what they say with a grain (or ton, in some cases) of salt - not many will have comprehensive records and reasonings (I think I've only ever seen one where the owner made notes on why he traced the lines he did! It's a shame it's not standard practice...) That being said, I still think the Yarmouth girl is a good contender due to the maritime connection between the two places. A quick look on FamilySearch brought up Marys mainly from Yorkshire and Lancashire, though there was one born in 1785 in Southwark - just up the Thames - which would mean the age is out for Mary Lester's burial date, but that can be unreliable.

It might take a brief investigation into each of the other Mary Wetherall (and variants) to see if you can definitively exclude any and narrow down the suspect pool. Also, I'd look into whether Wetherill is  a common name around Barking, west Essex or east London to see if it's likely she's a local girl...

Best of luck with everything! After your recovery, of course 

[pergamond]

Thanks Toban. It certainly is all a bit of a tangle in terms of family relationships.

Just one parting question if you don't mind - the 1846 marriage between William and Rebecca Lester, widower and widow, in Poplar on 14 April - are you able to read William's occupation? It looks a bit like Silk -  Dyer?