struggling to find a marriage record for James whitehead and Ellenor st Marylebo

[GingerVicky]

Hi there I am trying to find out more about my great x 5 grandparents.  All I know is that they are called Jas whitehead and Ellenor and that they had at least 3 children in St Marylebone in 1792, Edward,   1798, Thomas,   and 1804, Henry.  I can't find a marriage for them and no date of birth for either or place of birth. How do I find out more about them? Does a lack of marriage record in London mean they were from somewhere else?  Any advice would be much appreciated.  Thanks

[Mabel Bagshawe]

Not sure about the marriage, but another possible child is

John Whitehead
Birth - 11 Oct 1795
Baptism - 15 Nov 1795, Saint Mary-St Marylebone Road
Father - Jas. Whitehead
Mother - Ellen

[GingerVicky]

Ooh thanks hadn't spotted that one

[patrish]

Its quite possible that they were never legally married for one reason or another, its was more common than you would think.

Have you looked for a marriage several years after the children were born, that sometimes happened as well.

[dawnsh]

There are 2 problems with looking for this marriage:

1st) Not all historic marriages are online so you'll need to check the likes of the subscription sites and family search and see what counties are covered. (City of London, Middlesex & Surrey are with Ancestry, Westminster is with FindMyPast)

2nd) They could have come into London from anywhere.
Once you have done that and searched there you'll need to look at a map and start working out from Marylebone like ripples on a pond and look for alternative on and off-line sources.
(My ancestors married at St Martins in the Fields, Westminster in 1820 having arrived from Dublin & Cornwall)

The main road from the west into Marylebone starts in Wales via Oxford, (Oxford, Bucks, Berks): look at the M40.

Go north from Kings Cross.

Go south into Surrey and Sussex

Go east into Kent

[GingerVicky]

thanks for all your responses. I have found some in Lancashire that could be them as dates March up but how do I figure out which one is the right one as there are a number of possibilities? James whitehead unfortunately is a pretty common name and there are quite a few james and ellens.

[dawnsh]

Have you found burials for the family?

Did James leave a will?

[Ladyhawk]

Not sure about this one but thought I'd post so you could take a look and see what you think

England, Select Marriages, 1538–1973
James WHITEHEAD
Helen SMITH
Marriage Date:   17 Nov 1778
Marriage Place:   Saint Mary-St Marylebone Road,St Marylebone,London,England
both Of this Parish Banns 25th Oct, 1st & 8th Nov
No other details

there's also this entry

 England, Select Births and Christenings, 1538-1975

Benjn.Whitehead Died 11 Jun 1787   Born 10 Jun 1785   
Baptism Jun 1785   Saint Mary-St Marylebone Road, StMarylebone,London,England   
parents James & Helen

[GingerVicky]

He was buried in st Pancras in 1813. Got a will for him which says he was a stone mason and talks about his brothers john and William and his wife ellen.  a lot of james whiteheads had brothers called john and William.