Genealogy Chat

I have found an 1853 marriage at St Marys, Portsea, is this the same church as St Marys, Portsmouth? Thank-you

Hi Helen It looks very much like it. Portsea - See Portsmouth St. George St. Mary All Saints Portsmouth - See Portsea Royal Garrison Church St. John St. Thomas http://www.hgs-online.org.uk/hgs_pictures/hgs_parish_pic_index.htm Jeanette x

Looks like it is. http://www.portseaparish(.)co.uk/smhistory.php?page=firstchurch Remove () Anna

Yes, they are the same Church. St.Marys was one of the main Churches at that time. Have you got the details because I can go and look it up for you next week. Jan

Thank-you to all three of you. When you don't know the area it's almost guesswork! Jan.jan. the marriage is dated 20th February 1853 between Thomas Lock and Sarah Ann Chase at St Mary's, Portsea. I'm not 100% sure this is my Thomas as I thought he had married an Emma. However, Sarah Ann could well be his first wife. If you are able to visit and have a look I would be thrilled to bits. And, being cheeky, I have their son George born 1866 but I have yet to find Harry born 1867- 1868. If this is the right Thomas then this could be the church where he was christened. At any rate, thanks very much for your offer of help, it's much appreciated. Helen :))

Do you have any info about him from the censuses? I/we could look him up on 1861 if we knew where & when he was born - and then we could see who he had for a wife at that stage. The same IGI batch (M062613) which gives Thomas LOCK marrying 20 FEB 1853 Saint Marys, Portsea to Sarah Ann CHASE also has a Thomas LOCK marrying 2 OCT 1853 Saint Marys, Portsea to Mary Ann ROSS. for instance... 1861 census: Source information: RG9/632 Registration district: Portsea Island Sub-registration district: Kingston ED, institution, or vessel: 5 Folio: 94 Page: 31 Household schedule number: 185 GSU Number: 542674 Thomas Lock abt 1803 Dorset, England Head Elizabeth Lock abt 1803 Pulle Town, Dorset, England Wife and Source information: RG9/644 Registration district: Portsea Island Sub-registration district: Landport ED, institution, or vessel: 39 Folio: 35 Page: 24 Household schedule number: 131 GSU Number: 542677 Thomas Lock abt 1808 Meon Stoke, Hampshire, England Head Mary A Lock abt 1822 Langridge, Somerset, England Wife

A word of warning. As Jan says, St Marys is one of the main churches on the Island. All the scaff and raff were baptised and married there. (This means most of my Dad's family!) The registers are huge, and the ministers clearly did not know their congregation - which is how one of my distant aunts managed to get married twice as a spinster. The saving grace is that addresses are actually fairly full, but by the 1860s lots of new churches and chapels are springing up, so children might be baptised in any one of a large number of places. (I still don't understand how my father, a life-long Congregationalist, was baptised in All Saints, which was C of E!)

Hi Christine, in 1871 my Thomas was married to an Emma who was 14 yrs or so younger than him. At this stage they were in Rochester, Kent. The 2 older children are George, whose birth I have possibly found, and Harry, my great grandfather, plus a younger sister, also Emma. I can't find Harry's birth and suspect there are transcription errors all over the place which is why he's still hiding from me! There is a possible George whose birth certificate I ordered; this gives me Thomas as his father (good) and Sarah Ann, formerly Chase, as his mother (bad!) It's their marriage I'm looking into at the moment. She is around the same age as Thomas but they seem to have been married 13 years before George was born. Either there are other siblings I don't know about or else Sarah Ann died and new wife Emma gave birth to Emma junior. Either way, it's driving me mad!!!!

Brenda, now I feel really depressed!