Martha Wood of Whitstable

[MattD30]

I am trying to trace the christening of my ancestor Martha Wood who married Thomas Chambers in Seasalter on 24 January 1740.

She was married as "Martha Wood of Whistable" but so far I haven't found any sign of a christening there. I have found the following possible candidates though

Martha Wood - christened 5 June 1714 Boughton under Blean - daughter of John and Susan

Martha Wood - christened 8 December 1717 Petham - daughter of John and Mary

Martha Wood - christened 10 June 1705 Rochester (St Nicholas) - daughter of Lullam and Elizabeth.

Of these three the second Martha appears to have died young as there is a burial for "Martha Wood
daughter of John and Mary" in Petham on 13 January 1718.

I think the Martha born in Boughton under Blean could be mine but I am not sure.

Possible parents for her are John Wood and Susan Godfrey who were married there on 9 February 1701. There is a John Wood christened in Selling in 1686 however I don't think this is Martha's father now as he would have only been 14 when married.

If anyone has any suggestions it would be great to know.

Thanks in advance

Matt

[redtonyt]

Hi Matt,

Now this is interesting, or not!  It rang a bell, can't remember why.

The marriage actually took place at Rochester (St Margaret) by Licence.  The PR at Seasalter does state where, when and by whom!

The licence does not appear to be held at Canterbury so, maybe it was issued at Rochester as it was to take place outside the see of Canterbury.  The Licence for Thomas Chambers' next marriage was issued at Canterbury.  Martha buried 5 Feb 1744 at Seasalter.  I don't know if any Rochester Licence details are online anywhere.

Maybe someone will know where and how to get details of Rochester Licences.

Tony

[MattD30]

Hi Matt,

Now this is interesting, or not!  It rang a bell, can't remember why.

The marriage actually took place at Rochester (St Margaret) by Licence.  The PR at Seasalter does state where, when and by whom!

The licence does not appear to be held at Canterbury so, maybe it was issued at Rochester as it was to take place outside the see of Canterbury.  The Licence for Thomas Chambers' next marriage was issued at Canterbury.  Martha buried 5 Feb 1744 at Seasalter.  I don't know if any Rochester Licence details are online anywhere.

Maybe someone will know where and how to get details of Rochester Licences.

Tony

Now this is interesting, and puzzling. I have a record of Martha's burial and also a record of Thomas' second marriage. This second marriage took place in 1744 when he married Margaret Blackbourne of Whitstable. Again the marriage took place by licence and the entry reads as follows:

"Chambers, Thomas of Seasalter, widr. and Marg. Blackbourne of Whitstable, spr. At W. Norton or Lynstead. Aug 1, 1744"

What's puzzling is that Thomas appears to have had two sons with the same name, William.

Thomas and Martha had a son named William christened in Seasalter on 6 June 1742.

Thomas and Margaret had a son name William christened in Seasalter on 29 October 1755.

William is my direct ancestor and married Farley Allen on 29 November 1768. They had a son named James born in Faversham in 1770, whose daughter Martha (born in Faversham in 1801) married Nathaniel Shrubsole Smith in Faversham in 1820.

The first William would be about 26 then. On the other hand the second William would only be 13 so he is unlikely to be my ancestor.

It could be that this Thomas is not my direct ancestor, but if that's the case then where was my William from? I'll look into this and see what I can find.

Matt

[MattD30]

Just found what looks like the burial for the first William on Familysearch. This gives William's date of death as 9 August 1742, and date of burial as 21 August 1742 in Seasalter. The entry doesn't give a father's name but it does look like this is the William born to Thomas and Martha. Which would explain why there is a William born in 1755 to Thomas Margaret.

Of course that would mean this William can't be the William who married Farley Allen in 1768. That marriage took place on 29 November 1768 in Faversham.

For now I'm taking Thomas and Martha, along with their related parents and siblings, off of my tree as it seems unlikely that Thomas is my ancestor. I can't see William being married at the age of 13 either.

I'm going to do some more digging and see if I can find any sign of another William born in the Faversham area.

William and Farley's last child (that I know of) was born in Faversham in 1792. I don't know if I have William's death or burial so I will look into that as that might help pinpoint a date of birth.

Thanks again

Matt