Sarah Parker born 1751, 27SV-T2X: Two Husbands at the Same Time? Who's the Real One?
I am considering removing Sarah Parker from the marriage and children to John Siddals G8TX-KWJ because a woman could not be married to two men and have children at the same time. There were two Sarah Parkers. The Sarah Parker in this line was born 25 October 1751 in BURTON-upon Trent and married Thomas Cantrill 16 May 1776 at St. Modwen’s in the same place. This is well documented. According to the source attached (marriage registry for the parish of WESTON-upon-Trent), the other Sarah Parker married John Siddals G8TX-KWJ three months earlier on 4 Feb 1776 at WESTON-upon-Trent about 13 miles downriver toward Nottingham. Both couples had children at the same time making a marriage to both men impossible. Attached sources for the first child Sarah MH67-RQ6 shows her born in Burton o. T. to John and Sarah Siddals one year prior to either marriage. Sarah’s maiden name in this instance was not given, so we cannot assume it. The birth would strike out a marriage to this Sarah (in Burton) because she was married by banns in the church at St. Modwen’s. Due to the time elapsed between the birth of the child and the union of both couples, a church wedding in either place would be unlikely (or would it?). That opens the possibility of the third couple with a similar profile. I reviewed the record of John Siddals G8TX-KWJ and found that his date and place of birth were assumed based upon the date and place of birth of the first child Sarah. There are zero sources referring to John's date and place of origin in his record. What makes this a tough nut to crack is that the births of all the children of both couples are recorded at St. Modwen’s in Burton. Which way does one go with this? Opinions would be appreciated.
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Ultimately it may be impossible to decide on this as there may be insufficient evidence to point firmly in one direction or another
I agree that there are almost certainly two Sarah Parkers involved. Parker is quite a common surname and Sarah is a common first name. Also, in that time period, people with the same surname tended to be in clumps - perhaps descended from a common ancestor a few generations earlier.
Firstly, do not rush to delete one marriage as both marriages are valid records. A better course is to undo the merger between 27SV-T2X and KH5K-R2B. You may not be able to do this. The merger took place on 17 Nov 2021 and was done by CPaxton1. I suggest contacting him/her to find out the justification for the merger. To merge two people with different husbands seems to me very unwise without some solid backing for it beyond similar names, dates and (not so similar) places. If such evidence is lacking, CPaxton1 should be able to undo the merger and should be encouraged to do so.
Of course this does not offer any help in deciding which Sarah the baptism in 1751 belongs to although, as you have pointed out, Weston is quite a long way from Burton so the Burton marriage must be more probable. Have you been able to get sight of both marriage records? This may not offer any help but is worth trying.
Have you hunted for any Sarah Parker baptisms in the Weston area at that time?
The baptism of a child to John and Sarah in 1775 is also an issue. Conception before marriage was quite common in those days but birth, whilst not unusual, was less so. Such baptisms are normally listed as base born with just the mother listed. A possibility is that John had an earlier wife, also named Sarah. Have you checked for such marriages and burials of a Sarah (assuming the earlier one died)?
Hopefully that will give you something to work on. Please post again with any updates - positive or negative.
Regards
Graham Buckell
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