Brickwall with a ray of light

[pinefamily]

Hello Rootschatters,
I have a brickwall that has only just shown some light, with the help of a very clever Rootschatter. But it seems the rest of the wall remains.
I have posted on here in the past about a Mary Ann Blake, who was a widow when she married my ancestor Jonathan Dowdeswell in 1805 in London, without success. Mary Ann is my 3x great grandmother. From census and burial records, I have her birth date as c.1772.
Now, thanks to this clever Rootschatter, I have Mary Ann Palmer as the widow of John Cartwright Blake. They married in 1790 in Uplyme, Devon; for the purposes of this brickwall I am keeping details to a minimum. The connection to my Mary Ann Blake is the will of Mary Palmer of Lyme Regis in Dorset, proved 1818. In it she names her daughter, Mary Ann Dowdeswell, and her three granddaughters, whose names tie it all in.
From land tax records, we have Mrs. or Widow Palmer living in Lyme Regis from about 1797; at the same address from about 1789 to 1795 is John Palmer listed. So the assumption is John is Mary's husband. There is no appropriate burial or will to be found. There is a burial for a Mary Palmer of Lyme Regis in Sep 1816 in Comb Pyne, Devon.
Can any other clever Rootschatters please help and find more on this very elusive family.
Thanks in advance.

To the mods: I have posted here because of the two counties currently involved.

[pinefamily]

Reading through my post, I realized I wasn't very clear in what I wanted. I am looking for help in finding Mary Ann Palmer's baptism, John and Mary Palmer's marriage, and a burial for John. I have checked Lyme Regis, Uplyme, Comb Pyne, and some surrounding parishes, without success.
Other connecting pieces of information are: Mary Ann was described as of Lyme Regis in the marriage record, and one of the neighbours in Lyme Regis was also party to a document in the National Archives for John Cartwright Blake. This same neighbour was also named as a trustee on Mary Palmer's will of 1818. The other trustee named was a Rev. William Palmer. I have not found a connection to his family, if there is one; both trustees were described as "dear friends". The 1818 will mentions property, but very unhelpfully doesn't say where it is.
I have no clues as to where else to look. I am really stuck with this one.

[pinefamily]

So I looked at the National Archives and Dorset Archives for any records on this couple, to no avail. I have even resorted to wading through PCC wills from the area, a very long process.
Does anyone have any other suggestions on where to look?

[..claire..]

Hi PF

I can see the marriage of Mary Ann Palmer to J C Blake in 1790, and it was by Licence. Have you tried searching for this ? It may give a more definite age for Mary Ann.

I see she fibbed about her age in the 1841 census when comparing that with her age at burial. Most census ages in 1841 were rounded down but it looks like most ages were exact when looking at the family.

Claire

[pinefamily]

Thanks Claire. Yes, I have taken the burial age to be more accurate than is usually the case. Given she was a widow when she married Jonathan, perhaps she lied about her age to bring it more in line with her husband.
What I find perplexing is the lack of will for Mary Ann's father, John Palmer.

[..claire..]

Hi PF

Checking through the Dorset Church & Poor law records I came across the seating (pew) records for the church in Lyme Regis , dates roughly between 1791 - 1825 and onwards. They are very informative - even giving maiden surnames and other family members. The Palmer family were not included in these records anywhere ( 79 pages of records)  - perhaps may explain why Mary Palmer was buried in Combpyne - they worshipped in that church.

There was also a William Palmer in Lyme Regis, not born in County as from the 1841 census. But he was buried by the Baptists in 1847. Wonder if the family were Non Conformists ? It may explain a lack of baptism for Mary Ann that we can see, he could possibly be a brother or relation - he appeared in the Land Tax records in the mid 1790's, and had a birthyear c1777.

There has been a Baptist church in Lyme Regis since c1653

http://www.lymeregisbaptistchurch.co.uk/history.html

Claire

[pinefamily]

That's a great find, Claire. Thank you.
I will look into the Baptist records.