Brickwall - London to Tewkesbury?

[tofgem]

Hi everyone
I have returned to my research after a break, but unfortunately I am still unable to solve my problem.
Benjamin Gregory (my ggg grandfather) married Sarah Osborn on 20th December 1830 in St. Mary’s Church (abbey), Tewkesbury. I have a copy of the marriage certificate.
Witnesses were Walter Davis and Maria Davis.
Sarah was buried on 30th January 1832 at St. Mary’s Tewkesbury age 19.
Several family members believe that Benjamin moved to Tewkesbury from elsewhere (perhaps from London to escape creditors). The obituary in the local newspaper for my great, great grandfather (1926) states that his father moved to Tewkesbury some 97 years ago, but I don’t know who wrote it.
I can find no record of either Benjamin’s or Sarah’s birth or baptism in Tewkesbury.
Benjamin remarried in 1832 to my ggg grandmother Eliza Price, again in St. Mary’s Tewkesbury. The family lived in Tewkesbury until circa 1836 (daughter Eliza was baptised at St. Peter’s Church, Worcester in September 1836, they were in Tewkesbury at the beginning of 1835).
The 1841 census shows the family in Worcester, but unfortunately both Benjamin and Eliza died in 1842. The census indicates that Benjamin was born in Worcestershire, but I am not convinced. I can find no record.
Benjamin is shown as age 40 on his death certificate. There is no death certificate for Eliza, although I do have a copy of her burial record.
I would love to break through the brick wall and trace Benjamin’s ancestry. The only possible suggestion I have is Shoreditch, London, but no real evidence.
•   There is a record of the birth of a Benjamin Samuel Gregory on 10th May 1798 (baptism 10th June 1798, St. Leonard’s, Shoreditch) on Family Search giving Benjamin’s parents as Benjamin and Elizabeth.
•   There is a record of the birth of a Sarah Osborn on 5th August 1814 (baptism 4th September 1814, St. Leonard’s, Shoreditch) on Family Search giving Sarah’s parents as William and Elizabeth Osborn. I have a copy of this baptism record giving the family’s address as Hackney Road and William’s occupation as carpenter (from Ancestry).
•   I can find entries for a Walter and Maria Davis living in Greenwich in the 1851 and 1861 censuses. Walter is shown as originating in Gloucestershire as is his wife Maria. Were these friends who travelled to Tewkesbury for the wedding?
Benjamin was a boat builder (he owned his own boatyard in Tewkesbury) and was a boat builder in Worcester so it is possible that he learned his trade on the Thames.
Please does anyone have any suggestions as to how I can put together the jigsaw or show me that I need to throw away the pieces and start again?
Any suggestions gratefully received. I am well and truly stumped.
Tofgem

[alpinecottage]

Do you know what Benjamin's father was called?  I think it was possible that his father was also a boatbuilder, as that trade tended to run in families.

I also think it is unlikely that friends would travel from London to Tewkesbury for a wedding in 1830 - weddings weren't the big event we make them these days.

My guess would be that Benjamin was born in Worcestershire and may well have gone to Tewkesbury  (which is Gloucestershire, a different county) for whatever reason, before returning to his home county.

Just going to look for Gregory boatbuilders in Worcs.

[tofgem]

Thank you for your comments.
Sorry, I know nothing at all about Benjamin's parentage. If I had a name it may have helped me in the past. I have traced several of his descendants, but no-one knows anything at all. The obituary in the local newspaper would have been supplied by a relative in Tewkesbury, but I have no idea who. London came from a remark made by the father of one of the descendants who emigrated to Australia, but there is nothing concrete. I agree that it is unlikely that a couple would travel from London to Tewkesbury for a wedding, but Walter was born in Gloucestershire and I can find no other Walter and Maria Davis in the census. I really am clutching at straws. There were four boatbuilders listed in contemporary Worcester (when Benjamin was living there, Pigot 1842), but Worcester Archives could find no mention of the Gregory family at the boatyards. I have no idea what happened to the children when Benjamin and Eliza died (they were too young to be independent) and again Worcester Archives could find no record e.g. workhouses. If there had been local family they could have gone there, but I have found no trace. Benjamin had a boatyard in Tewkesbury, but disolved the partnership with his partner (I have the record of the sale of the yard and goods in 1833) and I have a record of a boat he built in 1830 in Stratford upon Avon. I have looked for a suitable family in Stratford, but without success and the Shakespaeare archives can find no record of a boatbuilder named Gregory in the town.
I really am frustrated.