Hi all,
About a year ago I asked and received help in identifying where my ancestor Isabella Summerbell was born - see link:
http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=755355.0. We determined Hole, Bellingham was most likely.
Now I am trying to identify her parents, and running into some confusion. I luckily had the chance a few months ago to get to a family history centre and view the parish registers for Elsdon, because the ones transcribed in book form online are incomplete.
Here's what Isabella's marriage record says: "Christopher Arkle of Billsmoorfoot and Isabella Summerbell of Elsdon in the Parish of Elsdon were married in this Church by License this 7th day of April" - witnesses were John and James Summerbell, and Euphins Brown. Both the bride/groom signed the register.
When I was looking at the page I noticed that John Summerbell was next to her on the register marrying Mary Brown, and the fact that John Summerbell and Euphins Brown were witness to Isabella's wedding implied to me that all of these people were connected.
On Ancestry trees I find that John Summerbell was baptised abt 1773 in Bellingham, Northumberland which fits with the idea that Hole - the place Isabella names as her birth location - exists in Bellingham. So I thought these two could be siblings - but James doesn't appear on the trees with John and furthermore the parents are given as James Summerbell b. 1734 and Elizabeth Linsdale b 1724. There's no way Elizabeth could've given birth in 1779 in her fifties. They show James and Elizabeth marrying in 1760 in Cholerton. Oldest son Nicholas b. 1760 in Chollerton.
So now I am stuck on what is wrong/right. Either they have Elizabeth's birth year wrong (because honestly, to give birth in 1773 aged 49 also seems highly improbable) or something else is wrong.
Any advice? It is so hard finding Northumberland data online and very hard for me to get back to the nearest research library (I'm in the States). And it looks like maybe Isabella's baptism was never registered or is missing.
Thank you!!
Hilary