Finding a marriage record
The search for the marriage of William Duke and Ann Barnes (parents of immigrant ancestor 1796 William Duke) began in the early 1960s based on family papers which identified their names, but it wasn’t until indexed christening and marriage records became available through the IGI (International Genealogical Index) that a possibility was found. That possibility was in the city of Chichester, 200 miles from Derby where William and Ann Duke lived after their marriage. Could a marriage that far away possibly be the target couple?
There was no way to tell from the index alone if the Chichester Ann Barnes and William Duke might be from Derbyshire so the microfilm of their parish marriage record was checked. Their marriage entry had more information, but it only confused things farther because it listed William as being from Winchester and Ann from Chichester.[1]
Transcription:
“William Duke of the Parish of St. Swithin in the City of Winchester, Batchelor, and Ann Barnes of the Close within this City, Spinster were married in this church by License this twenty seventh Day of January in the Year One Thousand Seven Hundred and eighty five…” The register was signed by William Duke and Anne Barnes and the witnesses were Elizabeth Duke, James Cole, and Robt Holt.
Locating the marriage license and bond
Since the couple was married by license, that record was sought. The license was obtained by William the day before their marriage.[2]
Transcription: Decanal Jurisdiction of Chichester
On the 26th Day of January in the Year of our Lord One thousand seven hundred and eighty-five appeared personally William Duke who being sworn upon the Holy Evangelists of Almighty God to depose the Truth upon his Oath saith that he is a Batchelor of the Age of Twenty One Years and upwards and that the usual place of his Abode now is and for several Months last past hath been in the parish of Saint Swithin within the City of Winchester in the County of Southampton and that he intendeth to intermarry with Ann Barnes a Spinster of the Age of Twenty One Years and upwards the usual place of whose Abode now is and for several Months last past hath been the parish of Saint Peter the Great otherwise Subdeanery within the Decanal Jurisdiction of Chichester and that he doth not know or believe there is any lawful let or impediment by Reason of any precontract Consanguinity, affinity or any other lawful cause whatsoever to hinder the said intended Marriage: which he prayed License to solemnize in the parish Church of Saint Peter the Great otherwise Subdeanery aforesaid.
Signed by William Duke
The marriage bond was also obtained.[3]
William’s occupation in Derby was unknown when this was discovered, so the bond’s identification of him as a hairdresser (later confirmed) was not helpful at that point. Though the marriage record, license, and bond all indicated this was a marriage for a William Duke and Ann Barnes, there was no obvious tie to the couple who lived in Derby. The names themselves were not common, but neither were they so unique that the records found could be accepted due to name similarity alone.
The article
Confirmation of the marriage eventually came from an article published in the Derbyshire Family History Society’s journal in early 2011.[4]
The article stated the author’s third great grandmother, Ann Barnes of Osmaston by Derby, married William Duke in Chichester in 1785. Difficult information to confirm by searching the records alone, but the author had his great grandfather’s family notes which documented the marriage and its location. The article further explained the author’s ancestry came through Anne Duke (daughter of William and Ann) who married Charles Brentnall. Subsequent correspondence with Stephen Orchard brought a few more details to light and confirmed for him that the family legend was correct and additional members of the Duke family immigrated to America.
The article not only confirmed the 1785 Chichester marriage belonged to the ancestral couple but provided additional details on where Anne Barnes lived and her parents’ names (Joseph Barnes and Hannah Peake). It also mentioned William Duke and his brother, James, moved to Derby from Winchester and confirmed suspected dissent. The next step was to look for William and James Duke in Winchester records.
[1] Marriage record of William Duke and Ann Barnes, 27 January 1785 married at St. Peter the Great, Chichester, Cathedral Close Collection, Ref Par 44|1|1|5 fiche 4+, procured from West Sussex Archives by Alexandra Barford August 2013.
[2] Marriage license of William Duke and Ann Barnes, 26 January 1785 to marry at St. Peter the Great, Chichester, Cathedral Close Collection, Epw|3, MF1021, procured from West Sussex Archives by Alexandra Barford August 2013.
[3] Marriage bond of William Duke with James Cole, 26 January 1785, Cathedral Close Collection, no reference given, procured from West Sussex Archives by Alexandra Barford August 2013.
[4] Stephen Orchard, “The Dukes of Derby,” Derbyshire Family History Society, March 2011, 16; scan of article sent by Derbyshire FHS in September 2011 to Keri-Lynn Kendall.
