A Blacksmith’s Tale
Chapter 7 Marter or Martyr – b ut d oes Seniority or Subservience Matter?
Which was t he First Family and Whence ? Th e s e may seem to be somewhat trivial question s to ask, but in the context of establishing family trees and trying to ascertain which of these t wo family names came into being first , if indeed one did precede the other, then the answer to th ese question s is relevant and important.
In general, the recording of family names in baptism, marriage and burial records in England parishes was either th e duty of the incumbent vicar or curate , or was deputed to someone who had literacy skills . Thus, it will come as no surprise that the spelling of the surnames entered into the registers is either skewed towards the particular whims of the recorder, or ha ve been spelled as they were phonetically provided to him by the family concerned. As many, if not most, of the rural Surrey villages were predominantly agricultural, reading and writing rates among the inhabitants were extremely low and families would ha ve invariably accepted whatever surname was ‘provided’ for them in the registers by the officiating church staff.
A natural conclusion from the above might be that there should be some pattern to the spelling of surnames within the parish registers and th at it could be possible to infer some time lines in the transition from one variant of a surname to another very similar, but differently spelled one. To imply that it is logical to make such an inference is one thing; however, to prove th is posit is alto gether a much more difficult task.
To test this theory I examined the parish registers for baptism, marriages and burials of all the parish registers of Surrey and extracted all th os e records where the surnames of MARTER and MARTYR and their variants of M ARTAR, MARTIR and MARTYRE were ‘populated’ . P arish es were then selected where records existed on or prior to 1700 and I recorded dat a as far back as those records were available. By using these primary source data, rather than secondary data, this would improve the validity of any conclusions which might be drawn from this research.
169
A Blacksmith’s Tale
In an attempt to ‘find’ any positive correlation between parish records I did not confine myself to ‘clutches’ of locations but research ed the more geographically dispersed areas of Surrey wherever possible. At first, I had no idea just where this detailed and time - consuming research would lead me, but it seemed like a good adventure upon its embarkation! In order to assist you in orientating yourself during this exercise, please see the map below:
Fig 7 - 1 The Ancient Parishes of Surrey, England as at 1837 1 © June Rudman and the W est S urrey F amily H istory S ociety
1 This map is a wonderful resource for all family historians who wish to study families whose ‘roots’ are in Surrey. In addition to showing the ancient parish boundaries of Surrey it shows the areas of the county where the West Surrey Family History S ociety (WSFHS) and the East Surrey Family History Society (ESFHS) are responsible for research projects and producing publications and CDs. The map can be viewed at the WSFHS web site at: http://www.wsfhs.o rg/ParishMap.htm and is reproduced here with kind permission. 170
A Blacksmith’s Tale
The parishes which eventuall y ‘ selected ’ themselves were , in alphabetical order : Ash , Banstead , Bramley , Chertsey , Chipstead , Chobham , East Clandon , Cobham , Croydon , Dorking , Effingham , Fetcham , Great Bookham , Guildford , West Horsley , Kingston - upon - Thames , Leatherhead , Long Ditton , M erstham , Mickleham , Morden , Ockham , Ockley , Reigate , Walton - on - the - Hill , Walton - on - Thames , Wonersh , Worplesdon , and Wotton .
The following parish es, although they had register records of MARTER/MARTYR , did not ‘make the cut’ because the first record did not commence on or before 1700 : Horsell: First record was in 1710 . Seventeen records. Byfleet: First record was in 1715. One record. Stoke D’Abernon: First record was i n 1715. Four records. Pyrford: First record was in 1722. Two records. Esher: F irst record was in 1723. On e record. Pirbright: First record was in 1734. Eight records. Ewell: First record was in 1744. Four records. Woking: First record was in 174 9 . Twelve records. Beddington: First record was in 1762. One record. Chiddingf old: First record was in 1770: One record. Bisley: First record was in 1772. Two records. Epsom: First record was in 1783. Nine teen records. Thames Ditton : First record was in 1784. Three records. Send: First record was in 1799. One record. Sout hwark: First record was in 1805. Nine records. Windlesham: First record was in 1807. One record. Hascombe: First record was in 1810. One record. Nutfield: First record was in 1827. One record. Weybridge: First record was in 1833. Five records. Co mpton: First record was in 1834. One record. Kew: First record was in 1838. One record. Frimley: First record was in 1839. One record.
171
A Blacksmith’s Tale
Any parish not previously mentioned above indicates that there were no records of MARTER or MARTYR , or their name varia n ts , found in the parish registers .
These parishes include d : Abinger, Addington, Albury, Alfold, Ashtead, Capel, Caterham, West Clandon, Coulsdon, Cranleigh, Crowhurst, Barnes, Burstow, Betchworth, Chelsham, Dunsfold, Egham, Elstead, Ewhurst, Farle igh, Frensham, Gatton, Godalming, Godstone, Hambledon, Haselmere, Horne, East Horsley, Malden, Merrow, Mortlake, Newdigate, Oakwood, Oxted, Peper Harrow, Petersham, Putney, Puttenham, Ripley, Sanderstead, Seale, Shalford, St Martha’s, Stoke - next - Guildford , Sutton, Tandridge, Tatsfield, Thorpe, Thursley, Titsey, Wanborough, Warlingham, Wimbledon, Wisley, Witley, and Woldingham.
The following data is presented in decreasing order of the number of life events or , in the case of equal numbers, alphabetically, and are based upon the original parish register entries and/or t he WSFHS Parish Registers on Microfiche Series , unless otherwise indicated . It should be noted that this Microfiche Series of registers is complete for the Surrey parishes for which the W est S urrey FHS is ‘responsible’ for but there are some gaps in the records for baptisms and burials, and more so for marriages.
For those Surrey parishes for which the E ast S urrey FHS is ‘responsible’ there are 28 parish gaps in the Microfiche Series , many o f which are in the metropolitan area of Surrey. In order to ‘fill the se gaps’, other sources such as The Church of the Latter - day Saints I nternational G enealogical I ndex , the WSFHS Surrey Burials Index CD - 10 , Surrey Baptisms NOT in the IGI CD - 15 , the WSF HS An Index of Burials in Metropolitan Surrey CD - 18 , and the WSFHS London and Middlesex Burials Index, CD - 20 , were consulted. The majority of these parishes within the ESFHS area had few, if any, records for MARTER or MARTYR
The enormity of the data avai lable means that I give no guarantee that the parish register records for the surnames of MARTER and MARTYR , and their variants , are complete . But it was never my intention that every such record was to be sought out at all costs, rather it was to ensure that the major and minor ‘hubs’ of the records for these surnames should be identified, quantified and then analyzed. For those of you who have an aversion to viewing raw data then ‘ look away now ’
172
A Blacksmith’s Tale and just enjoy the tranquillity and beauty , if on occasion artificially prettied with additions of posed residents, of some of the images of the Surrey churches which are shown for each parish discussed.
Effingham: Baptisms 5 7 , Marriages 11, Burials 3 3 (Total of 102 records) The parish of Effingham is in the ce ntre of Surrey and its church is dedicated to St Lawrence. In 1831 the population of the village was 565 and the parish registers commence in 1565 with the WSFHS Surrey Parish Register Microfiche Series containing b aptisms: 1565 - 1851, m arriages: 1565 - 1837 , and b urials: 1565 - 1852 .
Fig 7 - 2 S t Lawrence’s Parish Church, Effingham, Surrey, England , 1997 © John Lynch (19 36 - Present ) 2
2 John Lynch has a background of being an architectural artist whose work has earned him a high reputation. His series of watercolours entitled Surrey Churches Collection was completed dur ing Lynch’s extensive ‘tour’ of Surrey in 1997. This image and others by the artist are reproduced with kind permission of: Surrounds Art, 13 Old Woking Road, West Byfleet, Surrey. The gallery’s web site can be found at: http://www.surrounds - art.co.uk . 173
A Blacksmith’s Tale
MARTER MARTYR
Baptisms 1565 - 1579: 7 nil (first MARTER baptism 1565) Ma rriage s 1565 - 1579: 1 nil (first MARTER marriage 1577) Burials 1565 - 1579: 3 nil (first MARTER b urial 1568)
Baptisms 1580 - 1594: 7 nil Marriage s 1580 - 1594: 1 nil Burials 1580 - 1594: 4 nil
Baptisms 1595 - 1609: 3 nil Marriage s 1595 - 1609: 2 nil Burials 1595 - 1609 : 5 nil
Baptisms 1 610 - 1624: 7 nil Marriage s 1610 - 1624: 1 nil Burials 1610 - 1624: 1 nil
Baptisms 1625 - 16 3 9: 2 nil Marriage s 1625 - 1639: 2 nil Burials 1625 - 1639: 1 1 (last MARTER burial 1631 ) ( first MARTYR buria l 1639)
Baptisms 16 4 0 - 16 5 4: 1 7 (first MARTYR baptism 1645) Marriage s 1640 - 1654: nil 3 (first MARTYR marriage 1641 ) ( last MARTYR marriage 1647) Burials 1640 - 1654: nil 3
Baptisms 1655 - 1669: 3 4 Burials 1655 - 1669: n il 3
Baptisms 1670 - 1684: 1 2 Burials 1670 - 1684: nil 4
Baptisms 1685 - 1699: 6 1 Marriage s 1685 - 1699: 1 nil (last MARTER marriage 1689) Burials 1685 - 1699: nil 3
Baptisms 1700 - 1714: nil nil Burials 1700 - 1714: nil 4
174
A Blacksmith’s Tale
Baptisms 1715 - 1729: nil 2 Burials 1715 - 1729: nil 1
Baptisms 1730 - 1744: 1 3 (last MART Y R baptism 173 1) ( last MART E R baptism 173 7) Burials 1730 - 1744: nil 1
Burials 1745 - 1779: nil 1 (last MARTYR burial 1766)
From th is data and the original from which it is derived, it can be deduced that :
1. Because the firs t baptismal record for MARTER is in the first year of available records, namely 1569, it would be reasonable to assume that there should be earlier non - recorded baptisms for the name of MARTER .
2 . T he usage of the surname of MARTER pre - dates that of MART YR for baptisms by 80 years , for marriages by 64 years and for burials by 71 years. These are significant period s of time especially as all the families descend from a comm on ancestor.
3 . Within a single family unit, children were sometimes baptized eit her MARTER or MARTYR.
4 . Sometimes the same child who was baptized MARTER or MARTYR was married as MARTYR or MARTER, and buried as MARTER or MARTYR !
5. By the year 1766 there was probably no more MARTER or MARTYR resident s in the village of Effingham.
Dorking: Baptisms 42 , Marriages 6 3 , Burials 32 (Total of 80 records) The parish of Dorking is in the south of the geographical of Surrey and its church is dedicated to St Martin. In 1831 the population of the parish was 4,711 and the parish registers c ontained in
3 The Dorking WSFHS Surrey Parish Registers on Microfiche ISSN 0952 - 4576 does not contain marriages. The marriage records were obtained through the WSFHS Surrey Marriages to 1837, CD - 2, 4 th Edition, 2010. 175
A Blacksmith’s Tale the WSFHS Surrey Parish Register Microfiche Series commence in 1538 with b aptisms: 1538 - 1840, m arriages: 1565 - 1837, and b urials: 1538 - 1840. The records for the surnames of MARTIR and MARTER have been combined.
Fig 7 - 3 Old St Martin’s Paris h Church, Dorking, Surrey, England , pre - 1837 Engrave d by J. C. Allen & Printed by J. Hensall, London , 1839 i
MARTER MARTYR
Marriages 155 0 – 15 64 : 1 nil (first MARTER marriage 156 3 )
Baptisms 1565 - 1579: 1 nil (first MARTIR baptism 1579)
Baptisms 1580 - 1594: 3 nil Burials 1580 - 1594: 6 nil (first MARTIR burial 1581) (last MARTIR burial 1593)
M arriages 1595 - 1609: 1 nil ( only MARTIR marriage 1609)
Baptisms 1610 - 1624: 1 nil (last MARTIR baptism 1610) Burials 1610 - 1624: 2 nil
No baptisms, marriages or burial s recorded from 1625 - 1669 inclusive. 176
A Blacksmith’s Tale
Baptisms 1670 - 1684: nil 2 (first MARTYR baptism 1681) Marriages 1670 - 1684: 1 nil Burials 1670 - 1684: 1 1 first MARTER burial 1680)
Baptisms 1685 - 1699: 4 1 (first MARTER baptism 1685) Burials 1685 - 1699: 2 nil
Baptisms 1700 - 1714: 1 3 Burials 1700 - 1714: 1 2
Marriages 1715 - 1729: 2 nil Burials 1715 - 1729: nil 2
Baptisms 1730 - 1744: 2 nil Marriages 1730 - 1744: 1 nil (last MARTER marriage 1741) Burials 1730 - 1744: 1 nil
Baptisms 1745 - 17 5 9: 1 1 (last MARTER baptism 1746) Burials 1745 - 17 5 9: 1 nil (last MARTER burial 1745)
Marriages 17 60 - 1 77 4: nil 2 Burials 17 60 - 1 77 4: nil 3
Baptisms 1 77 5 - 1 789 : nil 10 Marriages 1775 - 1789: nil 1 Burials 1 77 5 - 1 789 : nil 3
Baptisms 1 790 - 1 8 04 : nil 8 Marriages 1 790 - 18 04 : nil 1 (last MARTYR marriage 1801) Burials 1 790 - 18 04 : nil 1
Burials 1805 - 1819: nil 1
Baptisms 1 820 - 1 834 : nil 1 Burials 1820 - 1834: nil 5
Baptisms 1 835 - 1 849 : nil 2 (last MARTYR baptism 1837) Burials 1835 - 1849: nil 1 (last MARTRYR burial 1839)
From this data and the original from which it is derived, it can be deduced that:
177
A Blacksmith’s Tale
1. There were two population influxes: the first being around 1579 with the arrival of a MARTIR family who remained for probably no more than two generations since the last MARTIR burial was in 1593, the la s t marriage was in 1609, and the last baptism was in 1610.
2. Interestingly, of the two marriages during this period, one was for MARTER in 1563 and the other was for MARTIR in 1609. This begs the question as to whether the surnames MARTER and MARTIR were interchangeable at that time.
3 . There is then a period of 63 years before the next appearance of recor ds for MARTER and MARTYR. For the period 1673 - 1747 there is approximately equal numbers of baptisms for MARTER and MARTYR, but the four marriage records are all for MARTER and this surname is recorded a total of 17 times compared to that of 12 for MARTYR.
4 . The last record for MARTER is 1745 but the use of MARTYR continues for 90 years with the last marriage in 1801, the last baptism in 1837, and the last burial in 1839.
Great Bookham: Baptisms 30, Marriages 8, Burials 2 7 (Total of 6 5 records) The parish of Great Bookham is virtually the geographical centre of Surrey between Cobh am to the north and Dorking to the south. The parish church is dedicated to St Nicholas, and the population in 1831 was 890. The WSFHS Surrey Parish Register Series of Microfiche Series includes b aptisms and b urials for the period 1632 - 1840, and m arriage s for 1632 - 1837.
MARTER MARTYR
Baptisms 1625 - 1639: 6 nil (first baptism 1633 all MARTIR) Burials 1625 - 1639: 3 nil (first burial 1633 all MARTIR)
Baptisms 1640 - 1654: 3 2 (first MARTYR bap tism 1645) Marriages 1640 - 1654: 2 nil (first marriage MARTIR 1642 both) Burials 1640 - 1654: 3 1 (first burial MARTYR 1640)
178
A Blacksmith’s Tale
(first burial MARTER 1654 other two burials MARTIR)
Baptisms 1655 - 1669: 4 nil (all MARTER first baptism 1665) Burials 1655 - 1669: 4 1 (MARTYR (1), MARTER (2) and MARTIR (2) )
Fig 7 - 4 St Nicholas’ Parish Church, Great Bookham, Surrey, England From C. T. Cracklow’s Views of the Churche s and Chapels of Ease in the County of Surry 4 ii
Burials 1670 - 1684: 3 nil (all MARTER)
4 Charles Thomas Cracklow was an architect and surveyor who meticulously recorded Surrey’s churches in beautifully detailed drawings and engraved them using the relatively new invention of lithography. Each drawing is accompanied by a measured plan of the c hurch and a description, providing important information before later alterations. There are a total of 153 images in the book, which was originally published in London in 1827. The title includes the older spelling of Surrey. The book was p rinted by Pe ter Simonau of Essex Street, off the Strand. Some of the etchings were produced by an artist identified as “G. C - s” and others by an artist identified as either “Chas . Burton” or “C . Burton” that is, Charles Burton . Other etchings have no identifiable ar tist ascribed to them. The original work was published in 1823 - 1824 , to accompany Owen Manning and William Bray's, The History and Antiquities of Surrey , with a facsimile Copy of Domesday, engraved on thirteen Plates ,’ three volumes, London, 1804 – 9 – 14. M anning amassed materials for a history of Surrey, but he did not regard his collections as sufficiently complete for p ublication, and a total loss of sight prevented him from having them printed under his own direction . The manuscripts were eventually entr usted to William Bray who published them, with additions and a continuation of his own, for the benefit of Manning's widow. 179
A Blacksmith’s Tale
Baptisms 1685 - 1699: 7 nil (MARTER (3), MARTAR ( 4 ) ) ( first MA RTAR baptism 1694) Marriages 1685 - 1699: 1 nil (first MARTAR marriage 1689) Burials 1685 - 1699: 2 nil (MARTER (2)
Baptisms 1700 - 1714: 6 nil (all MARTER last baptism 1708) Marriages 1 700 - 1 714 : 1 nil (first MARTER marriage 1714) Buri als 1700 - 1714: 3 nil (all MARTER)
Burials 1715 - 1729: 1 nil
Baptisms 1730 - 1744: nil 2 ( both MARTYR last baptism 1746) Burials 17 30 - 17 44 : 1 2 (last MARTIR burial 1742)
Marriages 1 74 5 - 1 75 9: nil 1 B urials 17 4 5 - 17 5 9: nil 1
Marriages 1 760 - 1 774 : nil 3 (last MARTYR marriage 1772)
B urials 17 79 - 1 804 : nil 1
B urials 1 820 - 1 834 : nil 1 (last MARTYR burial 1 832)
From this data and the original from which it is derived, it can be deduced that:
1. The first 40 years of records are dominated by the surname of MARTIR starting with a first record of a baptism in 1633.
2. During the period 1665 - 17 29 the record s are predominantly of MARTER with smaller numbers of MARTIR and MARTAR with only a single MARTYR record. However, b etween 1753 and 1832 the 9 records are all of MARTYR but, with only two entries after 1772 .
Fetcham: Baptisms 24, Marriages 6, Burials 3 5 (Total of 65 records) The parish of Fetcham is very near the geographical centre of Surrey. The parish church is St Mary, and the population in 1831 was 384. The parish registers for b aptisms go from 1559 - 1840, and for b urials go from 1562 - 1840. The W SFHS Surrey Parish Register Microfiche Series
180
A Blacksmith’s Tale does not include m arriages which, in part, were extracted from the WSFHS Surrey Marriages to th 1837, CD - 2 ROM, 4 Edition, 2010.
Fig 7 - 5 St Mary’s Parish Church, Fetcham, Surrey, England b y John Hassell (1 767 - 1825) 5 iii
MARTER MARTYR
Burials 155 0 - 15 64 : 1 nil (first MARTER burial 1562)
Baptisms 1565 - 1579: 1 nil (first MARTER baptism 1577)
Baptisms 1580 - 1594: 3 nil Marriage 1580 - 1594: ni l 1 (first MARTYR marriage 1589 )
5 An English watercolour landscape painter, engraver, illustrator, writer, publisher, and drawing master who completed a large ser ies of upwards of 750 watercolour views of churches, houses and other buildings of historical or architectural interest in Surrey. 181
A Blacksmith’s Tale
Baptisms 1595 - 1609: nil 1 (first MARTYR baptism 1609) Marriage 1595 - 1609: nil 1 Burials 1595 - 1609: 1 3 ( two MARTYRE burial s 1602) (first MARTYR burial 1606)
Baptisms 1610 - 1624: nil 5 (two MARTYRE baptisms 1618) Burials 1610 - 1624: nil 2
Baptisms 1625 - 1639: nil 4 Marriages 1625 - 1639: 1 1 ( fi rst MARTER marriage 1639) Burials 1625 - 1639: 4 4
Baptisms 1640 - 1654: 4 2 Marriages 1640 - 1654: 1 nil (last MARTER marriage 1640) Burials 1640 - 1654: 3 nil
Baptisms 168 5 - 1699: 1 nil (last MARTER baptism 1696) Marriages 1685 - 1699: nil 1 (last MARTYR marriage 1687) Burials 1685 - 1699: 2 1
Baptisms 1700 - 1714: 1 nil (only MARTIR baptism 1701 ) Burials 1700 - 1714: 1 3 ( only MARTIR burial 1710)
Baptisms 1715 - 1729: nil 2 (last MARTYR baptism 1726) Burials 1715 - 1729: nil 2
Burials 17 30 - 17 44 : 4 1 (last MARTER burial 17 37)
B urials 17 4 5 - 17 5 9: nil 2
B urials 17 7 5 - 17 8 9: nil 1 (last MARTYR burial 1783)
From this data and the original from which it is derived, it can be deduced that:
1. For the purposes of this research it has been c onsidered that the surname of MARTYRE is the same as that for MARTYR , and that of MARTIR for MARTER .
182
A Blacksmith’s Tale
2 . The first record for MARTER is that for a burial in 1562 and the first record for MARTYR is that for a marriage in 1589. It appears, therefore, that the introduction of the sur n ame of MARTER may be earlier than that for MARTYR.
3 . The names of MARTER and MARTYR seem to run in fairly good tandem for the 17 th Century but the name of MARTYR surname is slightly the more dominant in as much as it accounts for about 57% of the records.
4 . By 1754, with the exception of a single burial in 1783, there are no further parish register records for MARTER or MARTYR.
Guildford: Baptisms 21, Marriages 1 3 , Burials 2 4 (Total of 58 records) The city of Guildford had three ancient parishes: Holy Trinity, St Mary, and St Nicholas, as well as Stoke - next - Guildford . Guildford is in the middle of west Surrey and in 1831 the population of town’s parishes was 4,332. The date s for b aptisms, m arriage s and b urials for the parishes were varied but for Holy Trinity were : b aptisms and b urials, 1558 - 1840, and m arriages 1558 - 1837. For St Mary the dates were : b aptisms and b urials, 1540 - 1840, and m arriages 1540 - 1837 , and f or St Nicholas the dates were : b aptisms and b urials 1561 - 1 840 and m arriages 1561 - 1754.
Fig 7 - 6 St Mary’s Parish Church, Guildford, Surrey, England John Hill (1770 - 1850) – From: The Ecclesiastical Topography of the County of Surrey 6 iv
6 John Hill was born in London and was apprenticed as a youth to an engraver. He became interested in the process of aqua tinting, a technique wherein a metal plate is etched several times in order to create tonal gradations, a 183
A Blacksmith’s Tale
The records for the surnames of MARTAR, MARTIR and MARTER have , for the mo st part, been combined but for certain events have been desegregated .
MARTER MARTYR
Baptisms 15 30 - 15 4 9: 1 nil (first MARTIR baptism 1549 ) Marriages 1530 - 1549: 3 nil (first MARTIR marriage 154 6 ) Burials 1530 - 15 49: 1 nil (first MARTIR burial 1545)
Baptisms 15 50 - 15 64 : 2 nil (first MARTER baptism 1553) Marriages 1550 - 1564: 1 nil (last MARTIR marriage 1563)
Baptisms 1565 - 1579: 3 nil Marriages 1565 - 1579: 2 nil (first MARTAR marriage 1568) (first MARTER marriage 1579) Burials 1565 - 1579: 2 nil (first MARTER burial 1565) (first MARTAR burial 1577)
Baptisms 1580 - 1594 : 10 nil ( only 2 MARTAR baptisms 1582) (last MARTIR baptism 1592) Marriages 1580 - 1594: 1 nil Burials 1580 - 1594: 2 nil
Baptisms 1595 - 1609: 1 nil Marriages 1595 - 1 609: 1 nil Burials 1595 - 1609: 4 nil (last MARTAR burial 1597)
Baptisms 1610 - 1624: Marriages 1610 - 1624: 1 nil (last MARTAR marriage 1619) Burials 1610 - 1624: 6 n il (last MARTIR burial 1623)
Burials 1640 - 1654: 1 nil
resulting in a print that is easier to hand - clour due to the variety of subtle tones produced. Hill began working in London under his own name in 179 8 and mainly produced aquatints which were to be used for book illustrations. In the above series, there are forty - five views of Surrey churches which were drawn by Hill and engraved by James Peak (1729 - 1782) were published in 1819. This image is made av ailable by the generous contribution of the E. Rhodes and Leonora B. Carpenter Foundation and forms part of the Pitts Theology Library at the Chandler School of Theology, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA. The complete set of etchings from this John Hill collection is available at: http://www.pitts.emory.edu/dia/cfm via the Digital Image Archive Search Form, and then entering “1819Eccl” into the Call No box. This image and all others from this coll ection which appear in this family history are printed with permission. 184
A Blacksmith’s Tale
Marriages 1655 - 1669 : 1 nil Burials 1655 - 1669: 1 nil
Baptisms 1670 - 1684: 3 nil (last MARTER baptism 1676) Burials 1670 - 1684: 2 n il (last MARTER burial 1676) (first MARTYR burial 1682) Burials 1700 - 1714: nil 1
Marriages 1715 - 1729: nil 1 (first MARTYR marriage 1727) Baptisms 1745 - 17 5 9: nil 1 (only MARTYR baptism 1751)
Burials 1775 - 1789: nil 1
Burials 1790 - 1804: nil 1
Marriages 1805 - 1819: nil 1 (last MARTYR marriage 1808)
Marriages 1820 - 1834: 1 nil (last MARTER marriage 1830 ) 7
Burials 1835 - 1849: nil 2 (last burial of MARTYR 1843)
From this data and the original from which it is derived, it can be deduced that:
1. The earliest use of a MARTER name variant is MARTIR with a marriage in 1541 closely followed by a burial in 1545 , and a baptism in 1549. Whether this is significant is debateable since the first record of MARTER , a baptism in 1553, is on ly twelve years later then the first MARTIR event .
2 . T h e use of the se three MARTER ‘ name s’ continues until 1623 after which the surname variants of MART I R and MART A R dis appear , but the MARTER name continues to appear until the 1676 with the last baptism and last burial .
3. The name of MARTAR first makes an appearance in 1568 with a marriage.
7 The marriage record for a MARTER in 1830 is not related to the Guildford parish population since the bride, Letitia MARTER, was a resident of the nearby parish of Horsell.
185
A Blacksmith’s Tale
4 . The name of MARTYR makes its first appearance in 1682 with a single burial event. For Guildford; therefore, the use of the name of MARTER predates that for MARTYR by almost 130 years.
5 . During the period 1 677 - 1849 the only sur name to be used is MARTYR; however, its usage is in small numbers , with a mere seven records.
6 . The vast majority of the records come from the parish of St Mary.
Long Ditton: Baptisms 19, Marriages 7, Burials 2 2 (Total 4 8 records) The parish of Lon g Ditton is on the Thames in the north centre of Surrey. The parish church is St Mary and the parish had a population of 627 in 1831. The parish register records are: b aptisms 1564 - 1840, m arriages 1564 - 1837, and b urials 1566 - 1858.
Fig 7 - 7 St Mary’s Parish Church, Long Ditton, Surrey, England b y John Hassell (1767 - 1825) v
186
A Blacksmith’s Tale
MARTER MARTYR
Baptisms 1565 - 1579: nil 2 (first MARTYR baptism 1574) Burials 1565 - 1579: nil 2 (first MARTYR burial 1576)
Baptisms 1580 - 1594 : nil 2 Burials 1580 - 1594: nil 4
Baptisms 1595 - 1609: nil 1 Burials 1595 - 1609: nil 1
Baptisms 1625 - 1639: nil 2 Burials 1625 - 1639: nil 3
Marriages 1640 - 1654: nil 1 (first MARTYR marriage 1651) Burials 1640 - 1654: nil 1
Burials 1655 - 1669: nil 1
There is a gap in baptisms, marriages or burial s for MARTER/MARTYR from 16 65 - 1 743 inclusive.
Baptisms 1730 - 1744: 1 nil (first MARTER baptism 1744) Marriages 1730 - 1744: 1 nil (first MARTER marriage 1743)
Baptisms 17 4 5 - 17 5 9: nil 2 Marriages 1745 - 1759: nil 1
Baptisms 17 60 - 17 74 : 1 8 (las t MARTER baptism 1772) (last MARTYR baptism 1774) Marriages 1760 - 1774: 1 2 (last MARTYR marriage 1775) B urials 17 60 - 17 74 : nil 5
Marriages 1 77 5 - 1 78 9: 1 nil (last MARTER marriage 1782) B urials 17 7 5 - 1 7 8 9: nil 1
B urials 17 90 - 1 804 : 2 1 (only MARTIR entry 1790) (only MARTYRE entry 1798) (first MARTER burial 1803)
187
A Blacksmith’s Tale
B urials 1 820 - 1 834 : 1 nil (last MARTER burial 1833)
From this data and the orig inal from which it is derived, it can be deduced that:
1. All the records except eight are in the surname of MARTYR and this is even more evident as first MARTYR record is in 1574 and that for MARTER is 1744, exactly 170 years later.
2. There is a gap of almost 8 0 years between 166 5 and 1743 of MARTER or MARTYR records which suggests that the parish was‘re - populated’ with MARTERs/MARTYRs in the mid - to late - 1700s.
3. The single record of MARTIR in 1790 has been counted as MARTER, and that of MARTYER in 1798 has been counted as MARTYR.
4. The marriage s of MARTER in 1743, MARTYR in 1749 were ‘out of parish ’ records for the purposes of this research.
Ockham: Baptisms 14, Marriages 5, Burials 10 (Total 29 records) The parish of Ockham is in the west of Surrey between Cobham and Send. The parish church is dedicated to All Saints, and the parish has a population of 590 in 1831. Parish register records in the WSFHS Parish Register Microfiche Series for baptisms, marriages and burials all commence in 15 68 and end in 1840.
MARTER MARTYR
Baptisms 1595 - 1609: nil 1 (first MARTYR baptism 1601) Burials 1595 - 1609: 1 nil (only MARTIR burial 1606)
Burials 1610 - 1624: nil 2 (first MARTYR bur ial 1613)
Baptisms 1625 - 1639: nil 1 188
A Blacksmith’s Tale
Marriages 1625 - 1639: nil 1 (first MARTYR marriage 1635)
Baptisms 1670 - 1684: nil 2
Fig 7 - 8 All Saints’ Parish Church, Ockham, Surrey, England From C. T. Cracklow’s Views of the Churches and Chapels of Ease in the County of Surry
Baptisms 16 85 - 16 99 : 2 nil (first MARTER baptism 1685) Marriages 1685 - 1699: 1 nil (first MARTER marriage 1686)
Baptisms 1715 - 1729: nil 4 Burials 1715 - 1729: 1 1 (first MARTER burial 1717)
Baptisms 1730 - 1744: nil 3 Burials 17 30 - 17 44 : nil 2 (last MARTYR burial 1732)
Marriages 1745 - 1759: 1 1 (las t MARTER marriage 1757)
Baptisms 17 60 - 17 74 : 1 nil (last baptism MARTER 1772) Marriages 1760 - 1774: nil 1 (last MART Y R marriage 1771)
B urials 1 805 - 1 819 : 3 nil (last MARTER burial 1807)
189
A Blacksmith’s Tale
From this data and the original from which it is derived, it can be deduced that:
1. There are no MARTAR records and only a single MARTIR record , that for a burial , in 1606.
2. For the period 1601 to 1685 only the surname of MARTYR is found but thereafter, the surnam es of MARTER and MARTYR are both recorded but the latter 1.5 times more frequently than the former, particularly in the period 1715 to 1744.
3. Based upon the above it would appear that the surname of MARTYR might pre - date that of MARTER by about 80 year s.
Banstead: Baptisms 1 5 , Marriages 2 , Burials 7 (Total 24 records) The parish of Banstead is in the east of Surrey, more or less in the centre of that half of the county. The parish church is All Saints and had a population of 991 in 1831. The parish r egisters in the Surrey Parish Register Microfiche Series consist of : b aptisms 1547 - 1840, m arriages 1547 - 1753, and b urials 1548 - 1840.
Fig 7 - 9 All Saints ’ Parish Church, Banstead, Surrey, England vi b y John Hassell (1767 - 1825)
190
A Blacksmith’s Tale
In addition, the following document was consulted: The Registers of Banstead, In the County of Surrey, 1547 - 1789 . 8
MARTER MARTYR
Baptisms 1580 - 1594: 1 nil (first MARTAR baptism 1585) Marriages 1580 - 1594: 1 nil (only MARTAR marriage 1584) Bu rials 1580 - 1594: 2 nil (first MARTAR burial 1581)
Burials 1595 - 1609: 1 nil (last MARTAR burial 1599)
Marriages 1745 - 1759: nil 1 (only MARTYR marriage 1748)
Baptisms 1 77 5 - 1 789 : nil 1 (first MARTYR baptism 1785)
Baptisms 1 790 - 1 804 : 6 2 (first MARTER baptism 1794) (last MARTYR baptism 1793)
Baptisms 1 80 5 - 1 819 : 5 nil (last MART E R baptism 1816)
Burials 1820 - 1834: 4 nil (first MARTER burial 1826) (last MARTER burial 1830)
From this data and the original from which it is derived, it can be deduced that:
1. The earliest records clearly indicate the use of the MARTER variant MARTAR for the 15 year peri od 1585 - 1599.
2. The first use of MARTYR is a single marriage event in 1748 and its last usage is in 1793 ; however, this only represents 4 records.
3. The use of MARTER commences in 1794 and continues until 1830 with a total of 15 records.
8 Tra nscribed and Edited by F. A. Lambert, Esq., F.S.A. with the permission of The Rev. E. V. Buckle, Vicar of Banstead and Privately Printed for the Parish Register Society, 1896.
191
A Blacksmith’s Tale
4. It appea rs, therefore, as if the name hierarchy is: MARTAR, MARTYR, and MARTER, although the MARTYR/MARTER cross - over is far from clear.
Kingston - upon - Thames: Baptisms 8, Marriages 7, Burials 5 (Total 20 records) The parish of Kingston - upon - Thames is the adminis trative centre of Surrey, though it is no longer within the modern county borders. The town had royal connections as the name implies, and several Saxon kings were crowned there in the 10 th Century. The earliest surviving register of the parish church of All Saints is that for baptisms in 1541 . The rest of the registers are: baptisms 1541 - 1553, followed by a gap, then 1560 - 1665 with another gap to 1668 and continuous thereafter. For marriages: 1543 - 1557, followed by a gap, then 1560 - 1665 with another ga p to 1668, and thereafter continuous. For burials: 1542 - 1556 and then a gap to 1668 and continuous thereafter.
Fig 7 - 10 All Saints’ Parish Church, Kingston - upon - Thames, Surrey, England John Hill (1770 - 1850) – From: The Ecclesiastical Topography of the County of Surrey
MARTER MARTYR
Baptisms 15 3 5 - 15 4 9: 1 nil (first MARTORE baptism 1546)
192
A Blacksmith’s Tale
Baptisms 155 0 - 15 64 : 1 nil (first MARTER baptism 1563) Marriages 1550 - 1564: 1 nil (first MARTER marriag e 15 6 2 ) Burials 1550 - 1564: 4 nil (first MARTER burial 1560) 9
Baptisms 1595 - 1609: 1 nil (only MARTTER record 1595) Burials 1595 - 1609: 1 nil (last MARTER burial 1598)
Baptisms 1655 - 1669: 1 nil Marriages 1655 - 1669: 1 nil
Marriages 1685 - 1699: 1 nil
Marriages 1715 - 1729: 2 nil
Baptisms 17 60 - 1 774 : 3 nil
Baptisms 1 790 - 1 804 : nil 1 ( sin gle MART Y R record 1793) Marriages 1790 - 1804: 1 nil
Marriages 1805 - 1819: 1 nil (last MARTER marriage 1805)
From this data and the original from which it is derived, it can be deduced that:
1. These data represent the earliest recorded surname of MARTER in 1563 . Additionally if one counts the surname variant of MARTORE , which is recorded as a baptism in 1546 as MARTER , then this is the earliest record found.
2 . It is significant t here is only a single r ecord of MARTYR in 1793 and that there are no records of the early MARTER variants of MARTAR and MARTIR.
3 . Most of these events were probably of unrelated families with the exception of the four burials in the years 1560 - 1563 which relate to the family of Robert MARTER and his wife Mary (nee DOWCE) who married in 1562 .
9 There are two records of MARTER deaths for the year 1563. One is for Rober t MARTER who was buried on the 29 th August and the other is for Mary MARTER buried on the 1 st September. There are annotations against these two burial records, and for many others close to them, of “Plague”. Plague was a devastating disease that hit bot h urban and rural areas alike. There were major outbreaks in London in 1563, 1593, 1603, 1625, 1636 and finally, in 1665. In between these major outbreaks there were smaller, milder outbreaks with only the years 1616 - 1624 and 1650 - 1664 being plague - free.
193
A Blacksmith’s Tale
4. The baptism record of 1595 of MARTTER has been counted as a MARTER record.
Wonersh : Baptisms 7, Marriages 4, Burials 9 (Total 20 records) The parish of Wonersh is in the south - west of Surrey between Albury and Bramley and its church is dedicated to St John the Baptist. The parish had a population of 1,069 in 1831. The WSFHS Surrey Microfiche Series registers run form 1539 - 1841 for baptisms and burials, and the
WSFHS Surrey Marriage CD - 2 was consulted for Wonersh marriages.
Fig 7 - 11 St John the Baptist Parish Church, Wonersh, Surrey, England From C. T. Cracklow’s Views of the Churches and Chapels of Ease in the County of Surry
MARTER MARTYR
Marriages 1610 - 1624: 1 2 (only MARTIR marriage 1614) (first MARTYR marriage 1617) Burials 1610 - 1624: nil 3 (first MARTYR burial 1616)
194
A Blacksmith’s Tale
Baptisms 1625 - 1639: 5 2 (first MARTER baptism 1631) (last MARTER baptism 1639) (first MARTYR baptism 1625) (last MARTYR baptism 1630)
Marriages 1625 - 1639: nil 1 (last MARTYR marriage 1636) Burials 1625 - 1639: 4 2 (last MARTER burial 1638) (last MARTYR burial 1632 )
i This image is taken from Select Illustrated Topography of Thirty Miles Round London comprising Views of Various Places Within this Circuit . Engraved by W. Floyd, C. Bentley, C. Mott ram, J. C. Varrall and W. and J. Hensall after original drawings of Charles Marshall, J. W. Allen, G. B. Campion and other artists w ith Topographical and Historical Notes of Each Place by William Edward Trotter with Thirty - Four Views and a Map of the Distr ict. This particular print was painted by J. W . Allen and engraved by J. Henshall , London, Simpkin, Marshall & Co., C. Tilt and the Proprietors, 1 Cloudesley Terrace, Islington/A . Asher, Berlin . Printed by Richard and John E. Taylor, Red Lion Court, Flee t Street, London, 1839, page 102, Dorking Church, Surrey. The complete book can be viewed at: http://books.google.com/books/about/Select_illustr ated_topography_of_thirty.html?id=nlfXAAAAMAAJ ii This image and all subsequent ones taken from C.T. Cracklow’s Views of Churches and Chapels of Ease are reproduced by Courtesy of the Digital Image Archive, Pitts Theological Library, Chandler School of T heology, Emory University, Georgia, USA . The images we re selected from the university web site: http://www.pitts.emory.edu/dia/searchform.cfm Call Number 1827Crac , and are listed sequentially as they appear :
St Nicholas’, Great Bookham, Surrey, England (viewed from the South - West) All Saint’s, Ockham, Surrey, England (viewed from the East) St John the Baptist, Wonersh, Surrey, England (viewed from the North - West) St Katherine’s, Merstham, S urrey, England (viewed from the South - West) St Mary’s & St Nicholas’, Leatherhead, Surrey, England (viewed from the North - East) St Andrew’s, Farnham, Surrey, England (viewed from the North - East) St John the Baptist Minister, Croydon, Surrey, England (vi ewed from the North - West) St Thomas of Canterbury, East Clandon, Surrey, England (viewed from the South - West) St Michael’s, Mickleham, Surrey, England (viewed from the North - West) St Margaret’s, Ockley, Surrey, England (viewed from the South - East) St Ja mes’, Shere, Surrey, England (viewed from the North - West) St Mary’s, Worplesdon, Surrey, England (viewed from the South - West) St Peter’s, Ash, Surrey, England (viewed from the South - East) St Mary’s, West Horsley, Surrey, England (viewed from the South - West) St John’s, Wotton, Surrey, England (viewed from the South - East)
iii Original and copyright held by the Surrey History Centre under their Catalogue Reference: 4348/2/97/3. Painting annotated “Fetcham Church” and is signed “J Hassell 1822”. Reprodu ced by permission of Surrey History Centre, 130 Goldsworth Road, Woking, Surrey, England.
iv This image and all subsequent ones taken from The Ecclesiastical Topography of the County of Surrey by John Hill (1770 - 1850) are reproduced by Courtesy of the Dig ital Image Archive, Pitts Theological Library, Chandler School of Theology, Emory University, Georgia, USA. The images were selected from the university web site: http://www.pitts.emory.edu/dia/ searchform.cfm Call Number 1819Eccl , and are listed sequentially as they appear:
St Mary’s, Guildford, Surrey, England
195
A Blacksmith’s Tale
All Saint’s, Kingston - upon - Thames, Surrey, England St Mary’s, Walton - on - Thames, Surrey, England Holy Trinity, Bramley, Surrey, England v Original and copyright held by the Surrey History Centre under their Catalogue Reference: 4348/4/68/5. Painting annotated “Long Ditton new Church” and is signed “J Hassell 1822”. Reproduced by permission of Surrey History Centre, 130 Goldsworth Roa d, Woking, Surrey, England. vi Original and copyright held by the Surrey History Centre under their Catalogue Reference: 4348/2/78/1. Painting annotated “Banstead Church” and is signed “J Hassell 1823”. Reproduced by permission of Surrey History Centre , 130 Goldsworth Road, Woking, Surrey, England.
196