Woodward family

[Tracy]

Hello
I'm interested in the family of Esther Woodward who married Thomas Beard in 1791. I've found their banns recorded in Oct 1791 in Appleby but not yet pinned down a marriage date/place. They were my 4xg grandparents.
Esther was the daughter of Thomas & Mary Woodward but there are two couples of the same name around the same time and I'm not sure which one to follow up; Thomas & Mary (Taverner) who married 1759, or Thomas & Mary (Parker) married 1764. My money's on the second couple because the first child was baptised in 1765 but I'm far from sure and any inside knowledge would be welcome.
Many thanks in advance.
Tracy

[Chris]

Tracy -

Some of my 2+2 may = 5 logic ..........................

From the Parish Registers.

Thomas Woodward marries Mary Taverner in Appleby in 1759.

There is then a burial record for a Mary Woodward dated 5th December 1762. Is it possible that Thomas' wife Mary (Taverner) died, and he then remarried Mary (Parker) in 1765 and subsequently had several children ?

There are two other significant burial records, Mary Woodward, wife of Thomas Woodward (1801) and Thomas Woodward Senior (1803).

The burial record for Thomas Woodward in 1803 is the only record I can find for the burial of a Thomas Woodward, so maybe there was only one - he just married twice.

Also I could only find one Mary Woodward being buried after the dates of the children's christenings.

As always - no real way of proving the theory, but a possibility.

Chris

[Tracy]

Chris
That's a good thought because I've not yet found the baptism of one Thomas Woodward, let alone two! I've had a closer look at the first marriage as well & realised that Mary Taverner was a widow. More speculation here but that might tie in with a marriage in 1743 of Samuel Taverner to Mary Pratt and the death in 1757 of Samuel Taverner. By the time of the second Thomas Woodward marriage, the vicar had stopped noting marital status so there's no way of knowing at the moment. Thanks for the suggestion though - definitely worth investigating!
Tracy