Name recorded as 'Tempus' - obviously wrongly

[Nick Carver]

One of my ancestors' names is recorded as Isabella Tempus in a marriage record. I rather suspect that the parish clerk with pretensions of learning wrote that down for her and that she, being illiterate was unable to pass comment. I'm now hunting for birth records, which surprising do not show anything for Isabella Tempus. What could the name really be?

The obvious one is Tempest, but I haven't found a baptism or birth record in that name, so am asking for the collective wisdom of the Rootschat readership to come up with some suggestions.

[PaulineJ]

Whereabouts in the country did the marriage take place?

Tempers?

Pauline

[Sylviaann]

Have you looked at the IGI?  I find it quite interesting in it's groupings.  Whilst there is no Isabella Tempus the surname seems to come from Austria and Germany.  There are Isabella Tempests. The grouping only seems to include Tempus and Tempest.  Have you found her in a census?  She could be foreign.

I'm sure this doesn't help you at all.  Good luck in your search.

Sylviaann

[Hackstaple]

The parish clerk may have been having a quiet joke at the expense of an illiterate person. Try Time or Thyme.

[Nick Carver]

The wedding took place in Newcastle in about 1800. I must admit I hadn't considered that she might have been a foreigner, but my ancestors were pretty humble ag labs, dockers, coal miners and suchlike. Hardly the type to marry a foreigner. Perhaps the parish clerk was not a native North Easterner and found the local accent somewhat impenetrable? Although I am from that part of the world myself, my children who are not, look at people as if they are talking a foreign language. The chances are probably greatest that the name has been misheard and wrongly recorded as a consequence.

[Gardener]

If you look up the offspring of this couple at www.familysearch.org
then some of them are listed as having the mother Isabella Tempest. It is looks as though the church records for that time are vvery good and give the maiden name of the mother plus the birth date of the child. I think you can be fairly sure she was Tempest but if you can find a way to see the parish records then you can be 100%

[Nick Carver]

Thanks for all the useful comments. I've found the names of both the father and grandfather now - both in the  same parish. There's a gap of 50 years then to the haptismal record of John Tempest son of Edward in 1685. Who knows, perhaps one day I'll be able to establish a link to these earlier Tempests. (I live in hope)

[Kazza]

Hi,

You say you assume you humble ancestors would not have married a foreigner.  Never make an assumption like that,  it could haunt you. 

In one of my lines,  where the men all worked in the local quarry,  they married a Norwegian and an Australian.  A sailor and a quarryman. 

The accent question is a possibility,  lots of mine came up from deepest Devon and their names changed in South Wales.

Kazza.

[Sylviaann]

My Gooch family are spelt Goodge in the early parish registers in Suffolk.  They used to be filed in under Godge in the IGI.  I can only assume that the broad Suffolk accent was not understood by a southern clergyman.

My G Grandfather was a foreigner from Jersey with a French surname and not rich at all.  One of his relatives married Mr Pinoil from Jersey.  That name was anglicised to Pinwell

You definately have to keep an open mind in this game.

Sylviaann