Starting the hunt for Matilda

 

                                             The Benjamin Cavanagh/ Matilda Fletcher part of my family tree

As I wrote last time, I'm starting my search for the Matilda Fletcher who married Benjamin Cavanagh on May 29, 1815 in Saint Andrew Holborn by licence. Information on marriage entries in those days was even sketchier than that found in the civil registration entries which became the requirement in July of 1837. In England in 1815, marriages were required to be performed in the Church of England. This became a requirement after the Hardwicke Act became effective as of March 25, 1754. So it didn't matter what denomination the couple was, they had to get married in the C of E, unless they were Jewish or Quakers (there's always some exception to the rule.)

The fact that the marriage was by licence, might mean that they were nonconformist or it might not. In any case, it meant that the banns weren't called in the church for three weeks as they would have been done for a couple who married by banns. A licence could also be used to married in haste, say if the bride was already pregnant.

Finding that out got my suspicious mind going. There was also something else that didn't seem right. The baptisms of Benjamin and Matilda's two sons were odd. The entry for their first son, Benjamin, stated that he was baptized in the parish church of St. Andrew Holborn on February 11, 1820. A note on the entry indicated that Benjamin was actually born on February 11, 1816. In the case of the next son, Francis Mark John, his baptism took place on September 8, 1823 in the same parish as his brother and, like his brother, he was also born in a different year from his baptism. His entry indicated his actual birth date was September 8, 1817. Why didn't both baptisms happen at the same time if they were late anyway? Francis would have been born before the date of Benjamin's baptism.

What if the timing of the first baptism was due to the fact that Matilda was pregnant at the time of the marriage? They then waited until later for the first child, Benjamin, to be baptized. No one would be counting the months after 4 years had passed. Then the couple waited to get Francis baptized because the sizes/maturity of the boys would obviously not go with their ages if they were seen together. The dates of birth are strange as well, both being the same days as the actual date of the baptism in each case. 

So I'm going into this search with a great deal of skepticism. It will be interesting to see if I can discover anything conclusive!

Sources:

Ancestry.ca     1815 marriage entry for Benjamin Cavanough and Matilda Fletcher in St. Andrew Holborn, London, England Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1941

                        1820 baptism entry for Benjamin Cavannaugh in St. Andrew Holborn, London, England, Church of England Births and Baptisms, 1813-1925

                        1823 baptism entry for Francis Mark John Cavenaugh in St. Andrew Holborn, London, England, Church of England Births and Baptisms, 1813-1925