Thursday, January 17, 2013

Marley’s Ghosts: The Marlow--or is it "Marley"?--Family


I was contemplating the next set of records I was going to send for from the General Registry Office in England, and I thought about obtaining my great grandfather Joseph Marlow’s birth record. I noticed that I did not have the reference for it yet, so I searched again on Ancestry and discovered (once again) that I could not find a “Joseph Marlow” who fit the data. I did find a “Joseph Marley”. I had to consider that this was possibly my guy. I went back and looked into his father, William Marlow, and discovered that he was married under the name “Marley”, although he was christened under “Marlow”.  Joseph’s siblings, Mary Jane, Benjamin, and Maria were registered under “Marlow” at birth, but Elizabeth, who was born after Mary Jane, was registered as “Marley”. The “Marley” clue was therefore relevant, and the Joseph Marley that I found was looking more likely to be my great grandfather.

I decided to go to Family Search to see if I could find a baptism record for Joseph under “Marley”. Sure enough, I found it. He was baptised in Whitby, Yorkshire on August 25, 1853 nine days after his birth. His parents are “William Marley” and “Elizabeth”, as expected. I then found baptism records for some of his siblings: Elizabeth was baptised under “Marley”, Mary Jane under “Marlow”, and Benjamin’s surname was transcribed as “Morley” on his baptism record. I could not find Maria’s record. I did, however, find another sibling who does not appear with the family on the census records I was able to find: “George Marley”, baptised on July 19, 1855. He is also registered under “Marley” on his birth registration. I could not find any other records which I could be sure applied to him.

It is interesting to note that the Haviland Marlow described in Ruth Peacock’s story, whom I mentioned in my posting about William Marlow, and who came to town resembling the Marlows to a striking degree, was taken aback when he saw and heard Joseph’s son George Marlow. He said that it was as if his uncle “George Marlow” had come back to life. Curiouser and curiouser. This is all very intriguing, and I hope to find more data about the Georges and Haviland as I go along.

The most exciting outcome of this investigation, was that when I looked for a baptism record for William’s father George under “Marley”, I found it, with of course the names of his parents! This meant that I was able to take the family back another generation, which is always a thrill when I am able to do this. George Marley, my three times great grandfather, was baptised on February 3, 1795 in Fylingdales, Yorkshire with the parents “George Marley” and “Mary”, my four times great grandparents. I have not yet been able to find a marriage record for the couple, which may have provided me with Mary’s maiden name. I was able to find three siblings for William's father George, who were Jane, Margaret and Mary, all baptised in Fylingdales with the same parents, in 1792, 1797, and 1799 respectively.

So far, it looks as if the family was using the names “Marlow” and “Marley” almost interchangeably, at least beginning with the George Marlow who was my three times great grandfather, as he was married under “Marlow”. “Morley” appears to be another name which could apply to this family, judging by Uncle Benjamin’s baptism record. Right now, it appears that the original family name could have been “Marley”. I will keep looking, and keep you, gentle reader, apprised. These additional surnames may help me find homesteading, passenger and naval records for Joseph. We shall see. My next step will be to order Joseph Marley's birth record.
                   

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