Well, now that FreeREG have re-introduced the witness search, I searched for John Vowles as a marriage witness and I found a John Vowles making his mark (like my John did on his own marriage record) at the wedding of a John Baber, labourer, and Hester Sage 24 Sep 1837 at Dundry, Somerset. Her father is William Sage, sawyer.
Hester Sage was baptised 17 Oct 1819 at Dundry, parents William and Jane, with father's occupation sawyer.
There is also a Mary Sage baptised 7 Aug 1808 at Bristol St Philip and St Jacob, parents William and Jane of Lamb Street, father's occupation sawyer.
I've looked at the Baber family through the censuses and not found anything to connect them with my Ann Sage and John Vowles yet (though there are some Vowleses near them on the 1851 census, in Bedminster, but not mine as far as I know). Remembering that Alfred was a rare name at the time, they have an Alfred Seal age 6 born Bristol St Thomas visiting them in 1871. Oh, maybe not such a rare name by then?
Surely William and Jane must have had some more children in between Mary and Esther / Hester? And my Ann is supposed to have been born in the parish of St Philip, Bristol, where Mary was baptised.
I know this may turn out to be a red herring but I'm getting so excited!
Can anyone see William and Jane's marriage? The only one I can find so far is William Sage / Jane Hughes 4 Oct 1802 at All Saints, Maidstone, Kent, which seems a bit unlikely but I will look into it.
(Edit - the Kent, Tyler Index to Parish Registers on ancestry has Wm as a bachelor and Jane as a widow which might fit if the ages on the deaths in the next post are approximately correct.)
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