West Harptree - birth/marriage of Hannah WYATT

[stephiewills]

Hi... am desperately seeking any info on a Hannah Wyatt - who from census records - I believe was born around 1806 in West Harptree - I have no idea who her parents or siblings were - (although I did find a possible brother George Wyatt in the 1841 census) - any verification of her birth would be brilliant! I'm also after details of her marriage to a William Bussell (a saddler from Holsworthy) around 1828?? - this possibly also took place around West Harptree, although they are in Bristol by the 1841 census so they could have married there.
Any info/tips would be greatly appreciated.

[DRH123]

Hi Stephie

Try these for West Harptree transcriptions

FreeREG     http://www.freereg.org.uk/cgi/Search.pl

Chewton Hundred Group  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/chewton/

Good luck

David

PS just had a look at the files on the Chewton group. It seems the pre-1812 register is in very poor condition and a lot of entries were unreadable. 1806 look particularly bad. (The FreeREG database uses the same transcription.)

You won't have much luck with the wedding there either, as it looks like they married in Bristol. The CD of Bristol Marriages gives this one:

St Mary Redcliff
20.08.1828 BUSSELL WILLIAM BACH OTP and HANNAH WYATT SPIN OTP   Banns

[stephiewills]

Thank you so much David! I did come across the these websites yesterday, but haven't had time to explore fully as yet, but will certainly have another go now!! As for the marriage, this is looking very likely, as they were both living in Bristol with their children by the 1841 census... Does this info on the cd give any info on the fathers names (of William and Hannah)?? - also, does OFP mean that they were just living in Bristol at the time of their marriage, or that they were born there?
Thank you again... it's so lovely to know people out there can take their time to resolve complete strangers dilemmas!!!
Regards, Stephanie

[DRH123]

Sorry, that's all that's given on the CD.  To see the full entry you'll either have to visit the Bristol Record Office or get them to send you a photocopy (which I imagine would be quite cheap as you already know the date and place).  However, the registers had a standard format and usually the only extra info will be the witnesses and the actual signatures of the couple - or their marks.  The witnesses often are the fathers but the relationship is not usually stated. Still, you may get a useful clue.

To be "of the parish" you were supposed to have been resident there for at least a certain period, but I don't know how long. In large urban parishes it probably wasn't strictly enforced anyway. A lot of couples from North Somerset villages seem to marry in Bristol and then go back to where they came from. I don't know why but suggestions I've met are  to avoid the expense of having the banns read in two parishes  or to get round parental opposition. If your couple stayed in Bristol perhaps they had genuinely moved there first, especially if William came from Devon.

(The CD I used is "Bristol Marriage Index 1813-1837" from the Bristol & Avon FHS. They have others for baptisms and burials and for marriages in North Somerset.  http://www.bafhs.org.uk/shop/shop.htm  )

David

[stephiewills]

Thank you again David - I've been to the record office before, but didn't know where to start! With this info, I'll certainly be making another trip there. The CD's seem like a really useful resource, so it looks like I might just be calling into their shop while I'm there!
Best wishes, Stephanie

[Kmsiggs]

Fairport Convention (the band) mention and have a photograph of George Wyatt of West Harptree on the notes of their album 'Liege and Lief', a Victorian 'songster' apparently.