Monday, March 29, 2010

A Pemberton - Middleton / Wilmslow - Wrenbury Connection

[Note: the following entry is based on the assumption that the place names presented on the web were correct as stated. However, since then I have discovered that there is a whole group of events across many names that show this same anomaly. So this entire post is about an error and hence of negative value. I leave it only because someone may have copied it and it is better for them to find this later than to find nothing.]
I have found the following intriguing events:
George Pemberton Baptism in Wilmslow, 08 Feb 1624 principal's residence in Wrenbury
George Pemberton Burial in Wilmslow, 16 Oct 1684 principal's residence in Wrenbury
Elizabeth Middleton Burial in Wilmslow, 28 Jun 1688 principal's residence in Wrenbury

They took baby George to Wilmslow to baptise him and also to bury him 60 years later? (He seems much too old to be the husband of Sarah Middleton.) That's reasonable. But why did they also bear Elizabeth Middleton 25 miles to bury her?
It seems to me that if we assume this Wilmslow/Wrenbury connection is a strong one, then the Elizabeth Middleton is one of the following (not in any particular order):
1. Elizabeth Anyname who married a Middleton
2. George's Pemberton's sister Elizabeth who married a Middleton
3. The spinster daughter of a Middleton

That little exercise seems to under score the relevance of the connection, but t also raises the question: Which family name was the compelling one here: Pemberton or Middleton, or maybe even both? Since George is the male, it is likely that the Pemberton name is the draw to Wilmslow. That seems to give more weight to the maiden name Pemberton for Elizabeth Middleton.

No comments: