1833 m. at Saint Dunstan

[don_niagara]

Hello all,

I.G.I. notes extracted from register a marriage 21 November, 1833 at Saint Dunstan, Stepney, of Kenneth McDonald to Mary McKenzie

I am unfamiliar with how much extra data might be in English Parish Registers, the Scottish ones vary over time and area. Appreciate whatever details might be there...

My guess is the guy was "Capt. Kenneth MacDonald of Clarendon" in Jamaica, who had married in 1827 to Mary's aunt Catherine MacKenzie at Ullapool in Scotland. Mary with three MacDonald children later shows up at Melbourne, Quebec.

Donald.

[keyboard86]

Hi the marriage you found, was by license and if of any help Kenneth was a widower when he married .

Witnesses very hard to read, will come back if no further clues are found for you.

Keyboard86

[Eyesee]

The witnesses names look like Alex and Mary CROW or CRAW to me.

Mary also signed as MacKenzie

Ian C

[don_niagara]

Great stuff!

The noting of Kenneth as a Widower strengthens my guess this is  the correct couple, unfortunate the registration does not contain further detail such as confirming Kenneth as a Captain, either military or ship Captain, mention Jamaica or Lochbroom, or name either's parents, but that is luck of the draw.

The spelling of surname "Mac" or "Mc" was not standard then (often "Mc" had a raised "c", sometimes underlined, sometimes underlined with two dots, all indicating dropped letters)

Slight possibility the wittnesses were MacRaes, who dropped the Scottish first part of their surname, but more likely and simply the "Craw" or "Crow" you read.

The "marriage by licence", other than the Parish Register were such licences noted?

All the best,

Donald.

[keyboard86]

Hi Donald, it is "noted" in the Parish Register, this explanation of "by license" is taken from The London, England, Marriages & Banns, 1754-1921

" Couples usually married by license if they didn't want to wait the required 3 weeks for the banns, or if the bride and groom lived in different dioces, marriage by license was also common with the upper classes"

Keyboard86

[don_niagara]

Hi Donald, it is "noted" in the Parish Register, this explanation of "by license" is taken from The London, England, Marriages & Banns, 1754-1921

" Couples usually married by license if they didn't want to wait the required 3 weeks for the banns, or if the bride and groom lived in different dioces, marriage by license was also common with the upper classes"

Keyboard86

Thanks, would have been to easy if there was a second source!

Google search notes the church at Saint Dunstan's was popular with seamen and their familys,.. the two of them may have had less than three weeks before a return to Jamaica... Mary (and her aunt) were from a "Tacksman" family, the MacKenzies of Langwell, though not titled they were higher up the food chain than most, that class were educated and provided the merchants at Ullapool and elsewhere.

Donald.

[Eyesee]

Some London marriage allegations survive and are on the London Signatures website, which is part of LMA. They are due to disappear off that site early 2012, when they become available on the LMA records on Ancestry.

Ian C