1673 Burial Query

[Janet Waterhouse]

Hello,

I am having trouble making sense of the following entry:

January 14 1673/4 John son of uxor [wife of] Asquith buried January 14.

Does uxor on this occasion mean something else?

Regards,

Janet

[arthurk]

It's hard to think of any other meaning. One possible explanation could be that Mrs Asquith had been married before, and that John was her son but not her present husband's. Other entries in the register might shed light on this, but it might be a lengthy search that still ends up with possibilities rather than certainties.

[Watson]

Wouldn't it be a little unusual to use the word Uxor when the rest of the entry is in English?  I am wondering if instead it could be a male forename, but am struggling so far ...

[arthurk]

The BT is in Latin, and has Jo: f. uxoris Asquith (I think - it's faint in places). I wonder if the BT might have been the original here, and the PR was written up neatly later, translated into English; and whoever did it also wondered about the lack of a forename but thought they'd better leave the original 'uxor(is)' just in case that was it.

Alternatively there might have been a rough copy in Latin that no longer exists, which is the source for both the BT and the PR.

In the BT the entry immediately below the last one in our PR clip is Jennet uxor Sam: Birkbie (and there are several similar entries on the page). Are they shown as 'xxx wife of yyy', or something else?

[Watson]

Batley Hearth Tax, 1666 refers to the following:

Widow Asquith, Edward Asquith, Edward Asquith, Richard Asquith, William Asquith, John Asquith.

(Source: M. Sheard, Records of the parish of Batley, Worksop, 1894)

I wonder if the first of the above, Widow Asquith, is being referred to when "Uxor Asquith" appears in the register.

[Janet Waterhouse]

Thank you to all who replied.

I am drawn to believe that John was the son of the now Mrs. Asquith, and probably Mr. Asquith's step-son.

I suppose we will never know with certainty.

Until we meet again.

Regards,

Janet