mariage index look up

[Richard54]

Jane,
    Another thankyou to you and others who are so helpful taking the time to help others, I only have Marlow Bucks info and though I check occaisionally I havent been able to return in kind yet
  Yes I too had trawled the IGI  but was wary of taking it as gospel
On two generations up the line they throw in a NZ and Russia link, the Russian link is indeed a possible from oral statements  from the oldest  living member of the family , now 102, but the NZ one is giving me a real run around.
I'm on good ground until the 1888 marriage with other sources, however as you say I will have to keep an open mind till further clues turn up
                      regards
                                 Richard

[Jane Masri]

Hi Richard,
I had another thought on this problem.  It might be worth looking for the deaths/burials for the two Mary's, either GRO index if the died post 1837, an entry in the Eastbourne PR's or a MI.  Maybe one of these will give an age or DOB.  Even better if they are buried with their husbands!

Jane

[sillgen]

Wills?    There are various pre 1858 wills for Crunden and Verralls in Sussex on the www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documentsonline site
 You can download them immediately for a modest sum - very exciting if you find the right one!
Andrea

[sunic]

Hi Richard,
I know your post is very old, but I wondered if you managed to resolve it as I'm just facing the same dilemma?  i've actually found THREE Mary Verrall baptisms in St Mary Eastbourne that could be 'our' Mary:
Verrall — Mary of John and Anne baptiz'd Sept 13th 1767
Verrall — Mary of Samuel & Mary privately baptiz'd Aug 17 admitted into y Chh Aug 19 1770
Verrall —Mary of Thomas & Elizabeth baptiz'd Oct 3 1773

I don't have a clue which is the right one!  I've tried tracing as many Mary Verrall marriages as I can backwards but got nowhere.

I don't know if you know but Mary died in the Workhouse on 2 Nov 1848 of 'Decay of Nature' and was buried at St Mary's on 5 Nov.

Sunic

[Richard54]

Hi Sunic,
  It is indeed a very old post. Sadly 11 years on I'm still no wiser as to Mary Verall. I have so often found that pre 1800 records are a matter of digging and hoping it all falls into place.  My main research had been the Costers  who began with William b. 1781 in Marlow. who moved to Eastbourne. Fortunately I live not far from Marlow, and was able to spend a lot of time going through church records but even so I only got back to about 1690.
   I did however have a lot of fun with the Russia / New Zealand link mentioned in this thread and again it was a sheer luck thing. Found a dead australian e mail, googled the Australian phone book, rang a number and found a pile of Coster descendants in NZ, descended from a Coster sister who emigrated there. She had two sisters who were governesses in Russia to the Russian Royal family. The New Zealand descendants had letters from them but presumed they had both died in the revolution. I had to ruin a great family story proving they both escaped and lived to a ripe old age in Eastbourne.
       Sorry I cannot be more helpful
                                        Richard.

[sunic]

Hi Richard
No problem - I'll keep looking.  The other names you quote are not names I've come across yet.
Several trees on Ancestry show Mary's parents as Samuel and Mary, but none of them have any sources.    
Sunic