Sarah Finch (1714-1766) and John Moore (????-1788).
My 6th great-grand aunt and uncle.
Sarah Finch was born in 1714 and baptised on 20 August that year at St Peter’s Church, Slinfold, Sussex, the daughter of carpenter William Finch and Elizabeth Puttock.
It’s likely – by process of elimination – that it was our Sarah who married John Moore on 21 May 1735 in or around the Fleet Prison in London. The records describe her as a spinster of Slinfold and he as a bachelor and husbandman of Rudgwick, villages just a few miles apart.
In the 1740s, more than half of all weddings in London were held at the Fleet and other so-called marriage shops, such as taverns and coffee houses, the May Fair Chapel and the King’s Bench Prison. The ceremonies – a typical one is pictured above – were conducted by men who’d taken holy orders without licence but who could legally marry two people at any time and at any place.
Although they ignored the rules on using banns and licences, the marriages were still legal. This was because by the late 17th century, marriages were considered legal provided that the couple exchanged vows and had some proof of the event (thus the records we see today). Marriages without banns or licence, and which usually weren’t held in a church or chapel, away from the parish of the bride or groom, were called ‘clandestine’. Couples were attracted to them because they were cheaper, but also because they avoided the need for parental consent or helped conceal potentially embarrassing pregnancies at home.
Over time a near monopoly on clandestine marriages developed, dominated by private marriage outfits outside a bishop’s visitation, such as prisons, and clergymen (many of whom were prisoners) who’d been dismissed or were in debt and who had nothing to lose by officiating at fee-paying marriages.
Parliament tried to ban marriages in prisons but these resulted in the ceremonies being held elsewhere, such as in the vicinity of prisons including the Liberties (or Rules) of the Fleet, or the Mint (for King’s Bench Prison). On 25 March 1754, all clandestine marriages were outlawed by Hardwicke’s Marriage Act.
Where Sarah and John went after the marriage is uncertain but it’s likely that they stayed local to their villages. A John Moor was born to a John Moor and baptised in Rudgwick on 18 June 1738. Sarah Moory was born in Rudgwick on 2 October 1746 and baptised on 15 October, daughter of John Moory. William Moor was born in Rudgwick on 6 August 1749 and baptised on the 20th to dad John. For all these records, no mother’s name is given. A William Moor was baptised in Slinfold on 19 January 1746 to a John and Sarah Moor. The chances are that these are the children of our couple, for no other reason than there are no other local candidates.
Sarah, noted as the wife of John, was buried in Rudgwick on 28 July 1766.
John Moore is a bit of a mystery. He may have been the John Moree born in Slinfold and baptised in the village on 15 May 1703, the son of William. However, he could just as easily have been born in a different village and there are numerous candidates in Sussex alone. However, it’s likely that he was the John Moore buried in Rudgwick on 4 May 1788, described as ‘poor’ and aged about 79.
Sources: Sussex Family History Group BMDs. Ancestry.com. Findmypast.com. National Archives for info on clandestine marriages.