I really would be grateful for any critique, thoughts or suggestions etc. so feel free to pick holes in the following. Searching for the Mary Tra(u)nter who married Isaac Tranter 18 May 1789 at All Saints church West Bromwich, Staffordshire. A Staffs wide search gives me 5 Mary’s to consider, their ages in 1789 ranging from 40 to 17 years. 1) Mary Traunter bap 2 Sep 1749 at Bloxwich, Staffs, daughter of John & Mary. (she died) 2) Mary Traunter bap 12 Feb 1750 at Wolverhampton, Staffs, daughter of John. (she married) 3) Mary Traunter bap 16 Aug 1755 at Bloxwich, Staffs, daughter of John & Jane. (died?) 4) Mary Tranter bap 20 Apr 1766 at Darlaston, Staffs, daughter of John & Mary. (she died) 5) Mary Traunter bap 22 Apr 1772 at Wednesbury, Staffs, daughter of Thomas & Hannah. Mary Tra(u)nter burials, Staffordshire wide search 1748 to 1800 on Free Reg. Mary Tranter wife of John 4 Jul 1756 at Bloxwich. Mary Tranter daug of John 9 Jul 1759 at Bloxwich. (Exit Mary #1) Mary Tranter daug of John & Mary 11 Dec 1769 at Darlaston. (Exit Mary #4) Mary Tranter 31 Jan 1780 at Bloxwich, no additional info. (Exit Mary #3?) Mary Traunter married Robert Perry 8 Nov 1773 at Wolverhampton. (Exit Mary #2) That leaves me, I think, with Mary Traunter (#5) bap 22 Apr 1772 at Wednesbury, Staffs, daughter of Thomas & Hannah. Thomas Traunter married Hannah Dudley 28 Dec 1766 at Wednesbury. Children of Thomas & Hannah, all baptised at Wednesbury. Hannah Traunter 1768. John Traunter 1770. Mary (#5) Traunter 22 Apr 1772. Mary would have been 17 years of age if married in 1789. Thomas Traunter 12 Jun 1774 (buried 1775 the burial entry noted he was the son of Thomas & Hannah Traunter.) Thomas Traunter 9 Sep 1776. Isaac Tranter and his wife Mary also named children Thomas and John, not that it helps much John and Thomas being quite common first names. I searched Wednesbury, West Bromwich and Wolverhampton burials 1775 to 1890 specifically for the burials of Thomas and Hannah Tra(u)nter because of the link my wife’s Tra(u)nters had to those places, then followed up with a Staffordshire wide Tra(u)nter search with the same year parameters. I found plenty of Hannah Tra(u)nters buried in that time frame but none fitted. Also found plenty of Thomas Tra(u)nters buried in that time frame and I was able to rule out all bar four. Thomas buried 23 Mar 1789 at West Bromwich, no additional info. Thomas buried 5 Aug 1790 Pattingham, no additional info. Thomas buried 3 Feb 1804 Walsall, no additional info. Thomas buried 7 Jun 1838 at Clent, aged 93 therefore born about 1745, although this Thomas Tranter burial looked possible I think the following research rules him out:- Thomas Tranter married Rebecca Eades 28 April 1771 at Clent. Children of Thomas & Rebecca Tranter all baptised at Clent, searched 1770 to 1800. Thomas 22 April 1781. Nancy 5 May 1783. Jenny 20 Mar 1785. Joseph 25 May 1788. There could be other children but a note on FreeReg states: “Baptisms & Burials from 1758-1776 have scant coverage due to the vicar being ill - many of the events have been recovered from the Bishops Transcripts except for the years 1777-1780 which are missing (In the Parish Register no baptisms are recorded and only four burials are recorded for this period).” At this stage the Mary (#5) Traunter daughter of Thomas and Hannah baptised 22 Apr 1772 at Wednesbury seems to be in with a chance to be Isaac Tranter’s wife but the following give me cause for concern. When Isaac Tranter married Mary Tranter there was no mention of Mary being a minor or marrying with parents consent. I’m mindful that there are parishes that are not covered by FreeReg or Family Search. How safe is it that I assume that any Mary Tra(u)nter over the age of 40 years in 1789 is unlikely to be the Mary Tra(u)nter who married Isaac Tra(u)nter in 1789? I'm sorry this is so lonnng but I wanted to avoid anyone covering the same ground. All this data comes from FreeReg some of it also on Family Search.
Hi, Derek. My critique is that I like the way you have laid out the data and your line of thinking. Unfortunately, I cannot form an opinion because it's too close to bedtime here. I think you need more documentation on your prospective matches, such as probates or anything else you can find. I do know the experience of gaps in the parish records. Sorry I'm not more help.
The only newspaper report which might just help is - Wolverhampton Chronicle 30th June 1838 On the 7th instant at Broom Hill, Mr Thomas Tranter, in his 96th year, brickmaker, formerly of Holy Cross, Clent. His conduct through his extended term of life, endeared him to the affectionate regard of his family and friends He had in children, grandchildren, and greatgrandchildren, ninety-one descendants, and was carried to his grave by his great-grandchildren. Shame none of the descendants aren't named!
Have you looked through the Black country archives for Tranter at http://blackcountryhistory.org/collections/search/?q=tranter&cb_submit=Search to see if any items are useful?
I will check for the Thomas Tranters buried at Walsall, West Bromwich and Pattingham to see if they had raised families there. I think an explanation is called for, the reason I was searching for the burials of Thomas and Hannah Tranter is tied in with seeing if they might also have baptised children in West Bromwich, where Mary Tranter married Isaac Tranter. Prior to that I had found two children baptised in West Bromwich. William 5 Nov 1787 & Mary 22 Mar 1789. Both were children of Thomas and Ann Tranter, knowing that Hannah often becomes shortened to Ann I thought they were slightly possible. Then ,from FreeReg, to throw a spanner in the works, I found Thomas Tranter married Nancy Turton 14 May 1787 at West Bromwich. I know Nancy can be Nan but I have a thought at the back of my mind that Nancy can also be shortened to Ann, perhaps I'm wrong on that score? A Staffs wide search on FreeReg 1760 to 1788 for a Thomas Tra(u)nter marriage to an Ann came up zero. So that's when I decided to search burials on FreeReg for Thomas and Hannah, hoping notes attached to the burials would identify them and that the burial parish would provide a clue where the couple went after seemingly having left Wednesbury.
Thanks for that Ann, I had decided that Thomas of Clent was out but that Newspaper extract does I think put the final nail in his coffin.
I have checked out Pattingham, Walsall and West Bromwich in order to see if any of the Thomas Tra(u)nters buried there could be the Thomas father of Mary Traunter baptised 1772 at Wednesbury. Pattingham baptisms 1690 to 1791 No children with a father named Thomas in that period, in that period only five Tranter children baptised, all of Richard and Ann, 1720 to 1727. Walsall baptisms 1690 to 1791 Found three children baptised there 1740 to 1752 the children of Thomas and Hannah Tranter, that made me sit up, a hurried check in my notes for the date Thomas Tranter married Hannah Dudley, 1766 at Wednesbury, defined the Walsall Thomas and Hannah Dudley as a different, earlier Thomas and Hannah. Interesting to note that the last child of Thomas and Hannah baptised in Walsall, Ann 1752 noted the family abode was Bloxwich, so Ann's father Thomas could have been buried at Walsall in 1804 or Bloxwich in either 1757 or 1767, no defining info attached to the entries on Free Reg. I'm hoping that the PRs might note she was a Minor or give parent names that aren't on Free Reg, probably hoping in vain! West Bromwich baptisms 1690 to 1791 Quite a few Tranter children baptised there but only one with a father named Thomas, William bap 5 Nov 1787 of Thomas and Ann. To cut a long story short Mary the daughter of Thomas and Hannah Traunter bap 22 Aug 1772 at Wednesbury is still the only contender to be Mary Tranter the wife of Isaac of those on FreeReg. I'm going to cease any more checks until I can get the marriage of Isaac Tranter to Mary Tranter 16 May 1789 at West Bromwich checked in the PRs, hoping they will note if Mary was a Minor, probably hoping in vain.
