What and why might this be as such?
I must say that pre 1800 England is a real slog. And with so many little things to learn that may have a big impact, I'd appreciate your wisdom here.
First, a general question: I seem to find many family getting baptized at churches close, but in what I think is their home parish. Marriages too. Why?
An example. George and Sarah baptize John in 1759 in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire.
Everything I can figure is that they actually live in Stratford on Avon. Perhaps not at the time, but before and after as best I can tell. See book index.
For a trade, two words are offered: Weaver and A strainger. (be sure to read it yourself)
Perhaps they are strangers to the church? Perhaps not. I will not list all of my "whys" here as I think you get the idea.
Perhaps my best, final question; What is my best approach to sorting these families? And having some level of confidence that they are correct.
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These records present a fairly uncomplicated picture. The 1756 marriage record shows Sarah to be a native of Stratford (on Avon) and George of Alveston, less than three miles away from the town.
True, the next event you appear to have found is at a place (Bromsgrove) over 20 miles from Stratford, but - as is clearly shown, George is shown as a "stranger" - i.e., not "belonging to", or known in the parish of Bromsgrove. Maybe he moved there for work (in his occupation of weaver), or his wife had a family connection there. One can only speculate, because while it was common for movement at this time to be to / from parishes within a few miles radius, finding work often took an individual (and his family) many miles from his home town or previous place of residence.
This would appear to be the same couple, but you should make searches - within FamilySearch and on other websites - for persons of similar identity and try to trace their movements through the years.
Researching ones family going back this far can often be a difficult task. It took me many years to piece together some branches of my family tree. In some cases you might always have a degree of uncertainty as to whether you are following the correct branch of a family with multiple branches, who might have lived in the same area and included family members of very similar identity.
In summary, carry on looking even if it does at first appear you have found the correct family line - there just might be another (in this case) George Witherington, who married a Sarah and lived in the same area during this period. Look for anything to back up your theories - especially wills or other documents that might help distinguish one George Witherington from another. Finally, be patient: it might take years, rather than weeks or months, before you can be confident you have got it all right!
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Thank you for the thoughts. Indeed it is a puzzle and often the clues are only simple. Sometimes too simple. With the traditions of honoring family by naming children after older members, it gets very hard and tangled.
I try to imagine the human nature of what might be sensible and "likely" in the context of the times. In some cases babies are baptized shortly after birth--say a month or two, and in others it could be a season. Say, a child is born in late Fall and then baptized in the Spring when travel with a young one and church schedule would allow. Again, this is just a sensible guess. I've seen all sorts of time schedules.
My particular clan here seems to be rather spread out in a region that is somewhat close enough to make sense, yet spread just far enough to cause doubts.
I came across an item called a "clandestine" marriage record the other day and did a little homework. This only adds to the mess as the record had nice info, but lacked some key context.
Part of my understanding needs to include social norms and customs of the day, which may or not be easy to learn as they were often unwritten.
Thanks again!
We shall see said the blind carpenter as he picked up his hammer and saw...
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Hello Jack,
Yes, there is much to learn!
Usually Banns were read at a bride's home church. So perhaps Sarah and George originated from Stratford upon Avon, but moved away? The family may have moved around the parish for work, thus attending other churches. The areas are only about 20 miles apart.
A weaver could travel to work where they were needed, as they usually worked their own loom at home, so it could be portable.
There is no occupation of a stranger, so that would suggest they were new to the community, or just passing through.
You may be able to find out more answers to your questions about the places through the FamilySearch Wiki
Kind regards,
FamilySearch Support
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