The search for Richard and Charl

Mary Taylor from England aids in the search within Church Records for Richard Waite and Charlotte

Hello Ralph,

I did go to the Record Office and checked the original PR for the marriege
- and promptly came down with 'flu! From which I am still recovering.

The marriage entry was as follows:

Bans of Marriage between Richard Wait of ye Parish of Woolverton Bachelor
& Charlotte Scott of this Parish spinster were published 5th, 12th and
19th of April 1801

The said Richard Wait of ye Parish of Woolverton Bachelor & ye said
Charlotte Scott of this parish spinster were maried by Banns 12 May 1801
Richard Wait made his mark, Charlotte signed
Witnesses John Smith, Mary Waite, and another I couldn't read.

So no county, so highly likely that this is Wolverton, Bucks, not
Woolverton, Somerset.

Mary Taylor in the UK

The search for Richard and Charlotte Waite
who married in the Paulerspury Baptist Church in 1801.

Weston by Weedon Baptist Chapel was the mother church of Towcester Baptist
Chapel. The pastor at Weston used to preach in Towcester occasionally -
until he fell off his horse. Shortly after, the Baptists in Towcester
(about a dozen of them) decided to form their own church, and call their
own pastor.

Although there were Baptist Colleges at this date, they were very few, and
most Baptist pastors had no formal training.

One of Towcester's early pastors was called to the ministry in this way.
John Barker came from the Baptist Church at Walgrave in Northamptonshire.
From the Church Book of Walgrave Baptist Church:
1796 1 Dec At the Church Meeting this evening Br. Stephen Cox began in
prayer, sung a hymn, Br Timy Smith prayed, sung again and then in a humble
manner Br Stephen Barker spoke from Ps 90 v12. He took up two ideas and
made some pertinent remarks much to the satisfaction of all that heard
him. This was a pleasing and profitable session and we could not but bless
God for the appearance of acceptable gifts in one of our youngest members.
1796 29 Dec Br. John Barker and Br. Denton prayed. Br Stephen Barker spoke
from Habakkuk 2 v 3 - pertinent and much for edification.
1797 12 Jan Br. John Barker delivered some acceptable ideas from James 5 v
16. It was a pleasing and profitable season.
1797 Feb 16 Br John Barker delivered an acceptable sermon from Matt 22 v 42
1797 Mar 30 A letter was read from the church at Moulton asking leave of
us for our Brethern John and Stephen Barker to go and preach to them.
Leave was given.
1797 Apr 7 Our Brethern John and Stephen Barker delivered a short but
satisfactory account of their views of the Ministry; their leading motives
for their engaging them; their consciousness of inability and each
concluded with desiring the prayers of the Church for steadfastness in
their faith and practice and success in their work.
1797 Dec19 Our Br. Stephen Barker returned from Henley-in-Arden Warks
where he had spent one month by the invitation of that Church. In a
letter, they said they found him acceptable, and wished his return after
his brother John Barker had supplied them for four Sabbaths
1797 Dec28 Br. Stephen Barker was encouraged to accept the invitation from
Henley.
1798 Brother Barker set out for Henley on 16th January, after a service on
the 15th.
1798 The church prayed for Stephen Cox, as he was also entering the ministry.

1802 May 20 Our Brother Barker lately dismissed to the Church at Towcester
was ordained to the pastoral office over them. The congregation upon the
occassion was very large and much seriousness and attention was
discovered. A. Payne [Pastor at Walgrave, and Elizabeth's father] was 1797
Dec19 Our Br. Stephen Barker returned from Henley-in-Arden Warks where he
had spent one month by the invitation of that Church. In a letter, they
said they found him acceptable, and wished his return after his brother
John Barker had supplied them for four Sabbaths
1797 Dec28 Br. Stephen Barker was encouraged to accept the invitation from
Henley.
1798 Brother Barker set out for Henley on 16th January, after a service on
the 15th.
1798 The church prayed for Stephen Cox, as he was also entering the ministry.
1802 May 20 Our Brother Barker lately dismissed to the Church at Towcester
was ordained to the pastoral office over them. The congregation upon the
occassion was very large and much seriousness and attention was
discovered.

I should mention that what these days is called "induction" into a church
was at this date called "ordination". They were ordained to the ministry in
a particular church, not to "the ministry" as a whole. John Barker stayed
at Towcester until his death. Another early member of Towcester Baptist
Church, Richard Lowe, also became a minister via this route.

So, no formal training, but rather a sense of calling backed up by a
testing of relevant gifts for the ministry. William Carey from
Paulerspury, who was the first missionary to India, also had no formal
training, but taught himself Latin, Greek and Hebrew with whatever local
help he could find. Freedom of worship was only granted in England in
1689, so we are talking about a time of only 100 years since being a
Baptist was actually illegal.

Woolverton will be Wolverton - spelling was not their strong point! No
compulsory education results in some weird and wonderful spellings.
Towcester itself (pronounced "Toaster") is also spelt Toster, Towster,
Tocester, Tossiter and many more ways.

The nearest chapel to Wolverton would be Stony Stratford Baptist Church.
This was started before the 1689 Act of Toleration, so the members
occasionally had to escape from the chapel before it was raided! However,
there is no guarantee that Richard was a Baptist much before he was
married. He may alternatively have been Church of England or even
Independent. All I can say with some certainty is that his birth is not
recorded either at Towcester (any church) or at Potterspury Independent
Church. The early Stony Stratford Baptist registers do not appear to have
survived. He may well have been baptised in an Anglican church, however.
And Richard may only have been working in Wolverton, rather than having
started life there. It would be helpful if you could try to locate his
death / burial in Lorraine (?possibly) and ascertain an approximate age
for him. Without that, extensive work to make sure all possible Richards
are found, and eliminated may be necessary - there seem to be all too many
of them round here.

I am very much aware that you are not only trying to research in a foreign
country, but across 200 years and in a totally different church culture
(at that date, it is pretty foreign to us to!). So while I am trying to
explain as simply as I can, it may not be simple enough. So come back if
there's anything you don't understand.

Mary

You introduced new facts:
> Woolverton (assume not wolverton) Buckinghamshire.as a living place for
> Richard Wait
> Weston for a Baptist chapel - but relationship not defined
> Scott name for Charlotte Born Dec 21 1775
> John and Mary Scott as her parents
> Richard and Charlotte marriage date 1801 12-May Paulerspury
> Paulerspury Baptist church began 1784.
>
> The attached obit in 1892 of his son John Waite indicates his father was a
> Baptist minister.
> The open question is what was the way for Richard from Woolverton to become
> a minister within this UK background.
> How can we get more records for Richard, birth and more.

These are from the records of Towcester Baptist Church. Towcester Baptist
> Church was only started in 1784, and being a Baptist was no easy thing at
> that date. They were viewed with suspicion, and discriminated against.
> During the time Richard and Charlotte were having children, there was a
> minister called John Barker resident in Towcester, and it is obvious that
> people travelled a long way to services. Before the Towcester congregation
> started, Towcester people were members at Weston Baptist Chapel, which was
> miles away.

In the Northants Marriage index, I have:
>
> Richd WAIT of Woolverton Charlotte SCOTT 1801 12-May Paulerspury
>
> The Baptist register does have several children for a John & Mary Scott of
> Paulerspury, and adherence to the Baptist cause had a tendency to run in
> families. Charlotte Scott's birth is recorded in the register:
> Charlot Scott d John & Mary Scott Paulerspury Northants Born Dec 21 1775
>
> Wolverton is over the county border in Buckinghamshire.

If Baptist people from Towcester came to the Westin Baptist Chapel to attend church it is easy to see that Richard could meet Charlotte (born 1775) in in this situation.

As the Paulespury Baptist church in 1784 came into being it she would have been 9 years old and it would be natural for Richard to move/visit Paulerspury to be near her and for their marriage when she was 26 in 1801. He also may have been a minister in training.

When he came to the US as a minister it is not clear if she survived and came with him to Lorraine NY

The marriage entry was as follows:

Bans of Marriage between Richard Wait of ye Parish of Woolverton Bachelor
& Charlotte Scott of this Parish spinster were published 5th, 12th and
19th of April 1801

The said Richard Wait of ye Parish of Woolverton Bachelor & ye said
Charlotte Scott of this parish spinster were maried by Banns 12 May 1801
Richard Wait made his mark, Charlotte signed
Witnesses John Smith, Mary Waite, and another I couldn't read.

So no county, so highly likely that this is Wolverton, Bucks, not
Woolverton, Somerset.

Mary Taylor

Towcester Look-ups http://www.kellner.eclipse.co.uk/genuki/NTH/Towcester/
Towcester Families
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~towcesterfamilies

>
>
>> This is where it may be worth checking the original. In Potterspury,
>> Wolverton was local, and may have been dignified with "Bucks" after it,
>> or
>> possibly nothing at all.
>>
>> If it was Woolverton in Somerset, this would have been exotic, and the
>> fact that it was in Somerset clearly marked.
>>
>> Mary
>>
>> Towcester Look-ups
>> http://www.kellner.eclipse.co.uk/genuki/NTH/Towcester/
>> Towcester Families
>> http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~towcesterfamilies

Woolverton to Towcester Paulerspury Baptist Church was 108 miles or 2 hr 24 min today

Dear Ralph

I have just visited your website. Fascinating reading as my g g grandmother was Rebecca Waitt, daughter of a yeoman farmer Thomas Waitt, and granddaughter of William Waitt, whose family had land in Braunston in Northamptonshire, after moving from Cold Higham /Litchborough.

Probably a connection somewhere?

Yours, Anne Armstrong

Interesting information: since Braunston is 16 miles from Towcester Northamptonshire, England, and Litchborough is 7 miles to Towcester

1861 England Census
about William Waitt

Name:

William Waitt

Age:

Estimated Birth Year:

abt 1805

Relation:

Head

Spouse's Name:

Sophia

Gender:

Male

Where born:

Bramston, Northamptonshire, England

Civil Parish:

Birmingham

Ecclesiastical parish:

Bishop Ryder

Town:

Birmingham

County/Island:

Warwickshire

Country:

England

Street address:

Occupation:

Condition as to marriage:

View Image

Registration district:

Birmingham

Sub-registration district:

St Peter

ED, institution, or vessel:

Neighbors:

View others on page

Household schedule number:

103

Household Members:

Name	Age
Mary Phillips	25
Edwin Waitt	14
Sophia Waitt	48
Thomas Waitt	12
William Waitt

Appears her facts are from an older period than the above.

02/11/08

Hello Ralph

My research so far dates back to William Waitt ( written as Weight in church register) who was baptised in Cold Higham in 1706. His parents were William and Elizabeth, nee Pinckard, who married in Paulspury in 1704.

William's brothers included Robert, baptised in Litchborough in 1714, and Richard, baptised in Litchborough in 1712. William moved to Braunston, where he ran quite a substantial farm. Robert remained in Litchborough and was executor of William's will, proved in 1774.

It would seem that Waitts (or Waites, Weights, etc) who lived in the Litchborough, Cold Higham, and Braunston areas were inter-connected.

Yours, Anne

The I have submitted dna and found what may also have first link to Richard
>> Waite of Watertown Ma Wintrop Fleet around 1630.
>> The bottom line is we have dna identified a possible new link to a an
>> earlier Richard Waite who came to Watertown Ma on the Winfhrop Fleet
>> around 1630.
>> We have some very interesting results from the first part of my dna test.
>> A link to Zane Waite has been identified. Zane Waite GED lineage
>> http://www.waitegenealogy.org/DNA/10892.pdf
>>
>> Zane Waite donated his DNA years ago but I've never heard from he or his
>> sister since. BUT...although we're still waiting for the second panel,
>> your results are really cool!!! It looks like you're going to be a match
>> to the Richard of Watertown line. Really cool! But...how did a descendant
>> of Richard of Watertown immigrate from England in the early 19th
>> century...hmmmm. Two explainations...your ancestor is a descendant of a
>> Richard of Watertown man who returned to England...and had a
>> family...who's "son" later returned to America...or...your line and that
>> of Richard of Watertown descend from a common ancestor who would have to
>> be at least Richard's father...and possibly even earlier. Richard is said
>> to have come from Wethersfield, Essex, England. Does this make sense in
>> relation to the location in England from which your Richard immigrated?
>> Could your Richard have been born here and simply lived for a time in
>> England? Where do you think we should start in our search for the
>> connection? I'm really excited for you. This is the first time we've had
>> an English line match an American line. Looking forward to hearing from
>> you. sue of waitegenealogy http://waitegenealogy.org/
>>
>> Now we are on to our search for more details on John and Sara Waite's
>> father Richard in England. The area of our Richard has many Waite
>> families
>> living close together in many towns.
>> This adds to the confusion of marriage around 1802 Richard and Charlotte
>> Waite.
>>

Thanks Ralph.

Let's keep in touch. I recently hired help from a professional researcher, who is gradually uncovering more about my branch (and the West family -my g g g grandfather's sister, Hannah, married into the local gentry), so I will keep you posted.

Kind regards, Anne

1861 England Census about William Waitt

1861 England Census
about William Waitt