A Long Way.

[zetlander]

Looking at my family tree all members seem to have found partners within a fifty mile radius of their home. 

Just been reading about the Bronte family of Haworth. Maria Branwell mother of the literary family was born (1783) and raised in Penzance yet met her husband Patrick Bronte in Yorkshire - a distance of 400 miles. (They were married in 1812.)

What's the longest distance between birth places of couples in your family tree - not including marriages abroad?

[Stanwix England]

I'm not sure but I think the longest is one person who was born in Norfolk and the other who was born in Dumfries, Scotland. They appear to have met in roughly the middle as they got married in Durham.

So not that far I suppose really.

[Maiden Stone]

It's long way to anywhere from Penzance. Patrick Bronte was from County Down in Ireland so he'd come a fair way.
Mine's either the one from somewhere in Scotland who married a Lancashire lass or one from Ireland who married a lass born in Lancashire of County Dublin parents, 170-180 miles + sea crossing. Most of the others didn't look beyond the next parish. I have 1 "Southerner", born in Cheshire c.1800 who settled in Wigan, Lancashire. There should be Welsh ancestors there.
 

[mckha489]

I am not sure if this one counts. Conceivably he could have got the train?? I cannot find a date for first ones into London from the north.  But James travelled from Perth, Scotland before 1841 and married a Londoner in 1843. ( 8 children & 14 years later they came to NZ)

But another lot

(This is all before 1785) she born Staffordshire.  He born Warminster.
Married in London 1767, Back to Staffordshire to have first child baptised.  Back to London
Then finally  to Warminster.   Thank goodness for Wills otherwise I would never have believed it. And also as a result of the Will it is obvious they kept in touch with wife’s sister who had also married London. The rest of that family I think stayed in Staffs.

[Kiltpin]

An uncle of mine was born and lived all his life in Madras. At the outbreak of WWII he joins up and spends the war in the far east. End of war is transferred to Bombay to await demob. Orders come through to board troopship. Next port of call Southhampton. From there by train to Birmingham. De-trained and de-mobbed - on the platform.   

Wants a cup of tea so goes to the WVS kiosk. Given a cup of tea by a very pretty girl. They are married 28 days later and 9 months after that my cousin arrives. 

She had never left Birmingham and it was her first week volunteering. 

Regards 

Chas

[Maggsie]

Hi there. I heard that Patrick Bronte was born in Ireland as Maiden Stone says, but, his name was Brunty. He changed his name to Bronte.
Maggsie

[Liz_in_Sussex]

What an interesting thought!

I had a look - firstly at Dad's side and his ancestors all married someone who lived in the next road / same village although in a few case the couples had migrated with their families (eg West Bromwich to central London and Wiltshire to the same bit of central London) earlier on.

Mum's ancestors have all lived in a very small area and in each case the bride and groom lived in the same village (some times for many generations).

Of all my direct "ancestors" the greatest distance between the homes of a man and his bride was 9 miles - my parents - they both caught the same train to commute to London - because they always stood on the same bit of their respective platforms they saw each other every day...!

Liz

[YorkshireBorn]

My great grandmother was born in a small village near Bristol in the 1850s, married a Welsh gentleman and moved with him to Liverpool. After he died, she married an Irish gentleman and end up with him in Yorkshire. I doubt she ever expected to end up so far away from her friends and family!

[Top-of-the-hill]

  One great grandfather was born in East Lothian, (southern Scotland) must have moved to London, and married a girl born in Edmonton, (London) in 1862. Shortly after that they went to New Zealand. The girl's mother was from Ireland, but married in London.
   My husband's great uncle, born in Kent, married a woman from Sutherland, almost at the top of Scotland. They married in Derbyshire, so as someone else said, they met half way.