Stephen and Maria's Marriage - Chelsea, 1814

         23 Sep 2006 email from Renee          

               **Have you ever got a date of marriage for Stephen and Maria da Silva. I was today looking at 
                 Pallots marriage index in the Ancestry.com website and decided to put in Stephen and their 
                 marriage came up. 

                 Maria was listed as Mary Silva but when you view it it is Mary De Silva. There is nothing  
                 else on but their two names written and Chelsea 1814 so this is where they married. **

            

         Eureka!  And this was just before our PALMER Reunion of 30 September 2006. So I did a bit of searching
         as to churches in the Chelsea area and discovered that the registers of St. Luke's, Chelsea were
         available from the ArchiveCDBooks project. I immediately ordered a copy and kept my fingers crossed
         that it would arrive in time to check and be able to confirm details for the Reunion.

         They were married on 5 September, 1814, at St. Luke's, Chelsea. They were listed as bachelor 
         and spinster and were married after Banns by the Curate.

         

         Witnesses were: Gordon Hume - the other signature is unreadable.

         So, were they married in Portugal beforehand, as their eldest son, Stephen was born about 1812 - in 
         Portugal. [ref: 1851 & 1881 England Census]  
         Could they have had a drumhead wedding in the 48th Foot Regimental camp? [aka 'The Spanish Bride']
         To my knowledge, no regimental records exist of marriages from this period, but there is a register
         of Baptisms - which I have been unable to trace.

         One theory put forward is that Stephen's mother died in childbirth, and that Maria, a village girl, 
         was his nursemaid. 

         Other theories have Maria as a member of a highborn aristocratic family, who was cut off from her 
         family after taking up with Stephen and having her 1st child out of wedlock. 
    
               Answers on a postcard please.          

          Stephen & Maria
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This page created Sep 2006     
Updated 12:59 07/05/2020