Richard Palmer - Dorsetshire

[aldessam]

Hi,
I am trying to locate any information on a Richard Palmer who lived in Wyke Regis and also Chickerell.

This Richard Palmer was a widow who married a Charlotte Gulliver in Chickerell on 25 July 1830.  They had a son William who was baptised in Wyke Regis on 18 Sept 1831.  It states that Richard was a Carpenter at the time.  In 1839 Charlotte remarried a James Hellier (recorded as James Helgar in the online Dorset OPC) and they in the 1841 census together along with their son and William Palmer. 

I am stumped as to how to go about finding more information on Richard Palmer.  There seem to be a few located around the area.  All I know is that he appears to be a carpenter and a widower who died between 1830 and 1839. I cannot seem to locate him in the Chickerell or Wyke Regis OPC.  I am so confused as to where to look as I am unsure of his age or his origins.

Can anyone please give me a few hints on where to look next. I am located outside of the UK. 

Cheers,
Desiree
 

[Redroger]

According to the IGI there is a Richard Palmer b1811 Cerne Abbas Dorset. Next step find the family in the 1851 census which gives places of birth, and confirm this is him, then Dorset OPC records for Cerne Abbas. Hope this helps.

[aldessam]

Hi Redroger
I had a look at Richard Palmer(1811), but after doing the numbers I ruled him out.  If he was born in 1811 and then married Charlotte in 1830, he would have only been 19.  Since the Richard Palmer I am looking at was a widower prior to marrying Charlotte, he would have had to marry too soon after the first wife died.

The hardest thing is that Richard Palmer died between 1830(when he married Charlotte) and 1839(when Charlotte married James Hellier). He would therefore not be in the 1841 nor 1851 census.

Richard Palmer(1811)  born in Cerne Abbas is shown to have Fanny has a spouce in the census data.

Thank you anyway for your help, it was very much appreciated.

I might just have to look at all the Richards in the area and match them up with census data and death records and work out which one is possibly mine by process of elimination. 
 

[Redroger]

Just a comment on Richard Palmer, and an early second marriage. It was by no means unusual for marriages to take place between by today's standards very young teenagers, the legal age for a girl was 12 until 1929; also there was a very heavy mortality amongst women through death in and shortly after childbirth, so remarriage very quickly was the norm, specially if the child had survived, or if there were other children to the marriage. I believe it would be worthwhile looking at this Richard again in this light, i.e.seeing whether there is a death of a Palmer wife shortly before the re marriage, and/or whether there is a record of any baptisms/ burials of children.
Just re-read your reply, had a senior moment, many of the above points had either been covered or are irelevant in the situation, however, the generalities still apply.

[allibaker]

wonder if this helps at all?
richard palmer bapt 25th dec 1811 upper cerne dorset.parents listed as henry palmer and martha.looks like there older children were baptised in cerne abbas.
mary palmer bapt 18th april 1813 cerne abbas
frances palmer bapt 10th feb 1815 cerne abbas
there are a couple of older younger baptisms to same couple but in different location
regards
alli

[aldessam]

Hi Redroger and Ali
Thank you very much for your help.  It is really appreciated.

After taking your advice Redroger in regards to remarriage not long after the death of a spouse, I re-looked into a death of an Ann Palmer(35) and daughter Sarah (3d) in March 1830 in the Chickerell OPC. 

Not being able to find any marriage of Ann to a Palmer on the Dorset OPC or family search , I then looked at FindMyPast.  There I was able to find a marriage to a Richard Palmer and Ann Elgrove in 1822 with children born Charles (1824) and Richard(1827), although I am yet to determine if they survived. 

I would more than likely take this as the Richard Palmer I am looking for, although I must admit, by today's standards, marrying 4 months after the passing of a spouse seems quite bizarre  :-)

Ali, Thank you, Taking into account Redroger's suggestions, I will look into the the Richard Palmer born in Upper Cerne and see what I can come up with.

Cheers,
Desiree
 

[Redroger]

In the 19th century and earlier I have seen re marriages within 8 weeks of the death of the first partner.It was about support for the family, in my tree I have a case of a widow with 10 children whose husband a farmer died in 1860, married by relative, one of the labourers a few weeks later, and had three further children with him between then and 1868. Searching for family in 19th century censuses shows this to have been the norm.