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WHITE - RHODES Marriage 11/5/1803

G

gbwhite

New Member
My ggg-gparents James White & Sarah Rhodes were married at St Martins 11/5/1803. I understand there were no witnesses recorded, but I wonder if there might be any other parish mentioned, or any possibility that a licence had been obtained, Sarah being a minor.

Sarah was born in Castle Bromwich in 1785, & judging by his age at death, Jas must have been born around 1781, but where I don't know. During the early part of the 19th cent another White -John- brought up his family in C Brom, before they moved to Wishaw; he gave Sedgley as his place of birth on the '51 census, but I've not found a corresponding baptism. Assuming that there was a family connection -& several of their children were similarly named- this makes the Wolverhampton area a more likely place for James' birth than Birmingham itself. There is a baptism for a Jas White @ St Peter's Wolverhampton in 1781, but it's also possible that this one may have died as a child.

Is it possible I might find a marriage bond @ Lichfield, which could make things clearer? They were quite frequently used in cases of a minor getting married, but I have a suspicion that they may only have been married in B'ham to cover up this fact! -Aston would seem more appropriate. Can anyone help?

Thanks in anticipation,

Geoffrey White
Sheffield.
 
Is Sarah Rhodes the daughter of Edwards Rhodes married Hannah Ellis 17 Apr 1770 Aston Juxta Birmingham ? If so I would be interested in her descendants.
 
the info from the marriage at st. martins is as follows

james white of this parish bachelor and sarah rhodes of this parish spinster were married in this church by banns this 11th may 1803. they both signed with a cross

the witnesses were mary rhodes and alexander sanders (a church official).
 
Thanks all, especially to Shera for details of entry. We can now be fairly certain of Sarah's identity, tho' she would only have been 18 & should really have had some note of parental permission, even though her father was dead. I think she was probably also pregnant: there is a St Philip's baptism for Thomas s of Jas & Sarah White 17/7/05. In that case, they probably did live in B'ham, & my identification of James with the son of Thomas & Ann bp 26/11/81 Wolverhampton gains a bit of support. Was baby Thomas the same as the burial noted on NBI for St Martin's 7/5/06? Or 1 of those at St Mary's in 1806-7? Jas &Sarah had another Thos ca1818-78. There is a problem, though, that there are other baptisms at St Phil's 1792-1816 of children of Jas & S, some of which may refer to children of Jas White & Sarah Watson, married @ Aston in 1801. Oh to have a less common name!

I imagine Jas & Sarah's life was hard, as he's always described as a labourer, & she died in 1828, followed by James in 1830 'age 48'. After that several of the brothers moved away.
William 1806-ca86 only got as far as Erdington, but Joseph was a railway worker in Stevenage in '51 & later moved to London; Thomas ca1818-78 was a coachman in Worcs, later in Handsworth, Henry seems to have died in C Brom, but my gg-gf John 1816-55 moved to Thornes, between Wakefield & Sandal & married the daughter of the house where he lodged in 1843 (just as well as she was certainly pregnant). They moved to Rotherham about 1850, & in all they had 5 drs & 1 son, Thomas, my g-gf 1858-1909, who was a groom & then a carter: he was probably the real origin of Appleyard's removals, who moved us from Stevenage to Sheffield 5 yrs ago -that took the name of his s-in-law.

My gf Walter 1889-1954 was 1 of 10 children, & became a skilled steel-worker (a 'ganger' -but that sounds rather sinister!) He married Ivy, but only 1 of their children survived childhood: my father Ernest 1918-87, who was a steelworks wages clerk for most of his life. (I hope that answers your question, Mike. Which of the Rhodes' are you descended from?)

That's all for now. I should be v pleased if someone could cast more light on James' parentage. I'm probably clutching at straws in assuming he was related to John White who was in C Brom in the early 1800s, as the latter was a 'druggist', so a shopkeeper with some education.

Best wishes,

Geoffrey White
Sheffild.
 
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