Marriage registration of John Huskisson & Mary Grenneer
John Huskisson
John Huskisson is the earliest known of our Huskisson ancestors. He died aged 39 years in 1820 making his birth date sometime between 1780-1781.
Sources give his occupation as 'Spur Maker' and 'Bridle Bit Maker'.
| JOHN or JAMES HUSKISSON? |
| The certificate for the
first marriage of John's son, Henry, gives the father's name as
'James Huskisson'. All other sources give his Christian name as 'John'.
It may have been due to human error, or indicate that he was known by
both names. No Christening record has been found to confirm his full
name and we must therefore presume that his name could have been any of
the following: - John Huskisson - John James Huskisson - James John Huskisson |
John's Marriage
The Christening records for
John's daughter Mary Ann (born 1811) and sons James Thomas (born abt. 1814) and Henry (born 1817)
each indicate the parents to
be 'John & Mary Huskisson'.
No marriage record has been located for
John & Mary prior to the births of their children, but a marriage did take place
between a 'John
Huskisson' and a 'Mary Grenneer' on September 21, 1818 at St Martin's in the Fields,
Westminster.
If the 1818 marriage is 'our' John's, he'd have been about 37/38 years old
at the time and already the father of three children. That said, he could have
been married before. If that were the case, 'Mary' was the name of both his
first and second wife.
Unfortunately the 1818 marriage record gives no
indication to either John or Mary Grenneer's marital status' at the time.
| Download pdf file of original document |
|
Marriage registration of John Huskisson & Mary Grenneer |
Nevertheless, we can confidently presume that the 'John Huskisson' who married Mary Grenneer
in 1818 was the father of Mary Ann, James and Henry. This is because a
significant witness, one Samuel Delofe, is recorded on the marriage record. The handwriting looks like 'Delafoe'
but 'Delofe' is surely the correct spelling. I believe this can be corroborated
in the notes
on Samuel Delofe below.
Samuel Delofe
My father
Wilfred Huskisson owned two large early 19th century Bible commentary books. They'd been
given to him along with other memorabilia by his Grandmother Annie Huskisson
(nee Rogers) shortly before she died in the late 1930s.
The original owner of the volumes had written his own
family history on a blank page inside the first volume's cover. His name was
Samuel Delofe. I'm sure Dad presumed the books had little
significance other than the fact that his grandma had owned them. Dad passed them
on to me sometime back in the 1980s at a time when I was interested in and was
collecting various translations of the Bible. Much later, and after my
father's death, I disposed of the books, but not before I'd removed the page
that contained the handwritten family history of Samuel Delofe.
Samuel gives the dates of his marriage to a Mary Bellingham
and the births of his two sons Samuel and Henry.
| Download pdf file of original document |
|
Family history page from Samuel Delofe's family Bible |
Mary Grenneer
I have searched various family history web sites, the IGI, the FreeBMD civil registrations and Census indexes, but I have not been able to find a record of anybody other than Mary with the surname 'Grenneer'. There is no mistaking the original handwriting in John Huskisson and Mary Grenneer's marriage record. It's neat and not difficult to read. It clearly spells GRENNEER.
However, John's son Henry spent nine years as an apprentice to Alfred Greener learning his father's occupation of 'Spur Making' (and presumably the related bridle-bit making). Henry married twice, and his second wife 'Jemima' had previously been married to a George Greener. Many years later, Henry's Granddaughter, Annie Laurie Grace Huskisson, married an Arthur Thomas Greener. He was the great grandson of George Greener.
Clearly, the 'Greener' name has been closely associated with our Huskisson family and for that reason I think it possible that Mary 'Grenneer' was actually a 'Mary Greener'. We therefore have to consider why the name 'Grenneer' was used in her marriage record with John Huskisson.
Some possibilities exist:
1) The Greener family may have been well known in Soho and without the blessing of her parents, Mary may have married John in secret and disguised her name.
2) The Curate spelled her name incorrectly after mishearing her (or John's) pronunciation of her name.
3) The Curate suffered from dyslexia! Although unlikely, some further evidence can be taken from the mis-spelling of the name of the witness Samuel Delofe (spelled 'Delafoe') in the same document.
3) Her name really was 'Grenneer' and she was unrelated to the Greener family.
The research continues
Addresses
According to the christening record of
John's son, James Thomas Huskisson (January 30,
1815) the family were living at 12 Little St. Martin's Lane,
Westminster.
According to the christening record of John's son, Henry Huskisson (July 20,
1817) the family were living at 23 Porter Street, St Anne,
Westminster.
John's Death
John died in 1820 aged 39 years. He was buried at St Anne's, Soho on September 28, 1820.
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|
Burial record for John Huskisson |
Soho Square in 1816. John Huskisson would have known this place well. He was living at 23 Porter Street, St. Anne's, Soho when his son, Henry was born.