Hi all. It's been a while. Just going to post something up for clarity. Back on the hunt for my Edwards line, who emigrated to South Oz in 1850. In the 1841 census they are in Llanforda, two miles west of Oswestry, Shropshire. I know from Australian BDM details that he was born in late 1801, and his father is John Edwards. The most likely matching record is this birth in Oswestry:
1802, Jan. 3. Thomas, s. of John Edwards, pumpmr., & Margaret, b. Dec. 24 ... bap.
Other records that appear to be for the same family include:
1799, June 9. Margt., d. of John Edwards, pumpmaker, & Margt., b. May 29 ... bap.
1803, July 21. William, s. of John Edwards, Whitehorse, & Margt., b. 15 ... bap.
1805, May 20. Richard, s. of John Edwards, pumpman, & Margaret, b. 12 ... bap.
Now I found this marriage that might be a fit:
1769, Sep. 19. John Edwards, widr., & Margaret Rogers, sp., of O., lic.
One of the witnesses to this marriage is Daniel Edwards. While the names John Edwards and Thomas Edwards are a dime a dozen in the area, Daniel Edwards is rare. The only one at the time seems to have born in nearby Llanymynech in 1773, about six miles to the south. His father is John Edwards (1731-1805), who happens to be a pumpmaker! Daniel has an older stepbrother named John, born at Llanymynech in 1763.
As John Edwards is a widower, we need a previous marriage. I did find this in Oswestry:
1786, May 15. John Edwards of Llanymynech, bac., & Margaret Aeron of O., wid., lic.
Margaret Aaron was a widow from Llanforda, with three children, the eldest was 21. However, if her new husband is John Edwards Jr, he married an considerably older woman, in fact he would be only 4 years older than his eldest stepson. If that is John Edwards Sr the pumpmaker, then he did a Mick Jagger and fathered a child at 73! But the record does not state John as a widower for this marriage, John Sr had already been married and widowed twice by then. Did John Edwards Jr take up his father's trade of pumpmaking and operate from the White Horse hotel in Oswestry? Margaret Edwards died at the White Horse 22nd July 1796, John remarries two months later?
Just to add to the confusion there's this:
1797, July 16. John, s. of John Edwards, W. Horse, & Elizth., b. June 29 ... bap.
Elizabeth? Shouldn't that be Margaret?
Anyone got any ideas on this mess?