Francis Sheard – 1800

Francis SHEARD is as far as we have been able to trace our SHEARD line back to; we have found his marriage to Rachel SIGSWORTH from a search we had done of the parish registers of Sheriff Hutton, Yorkshire held at the Borthwick Institute in York.

Banns of marriage were heard on 3 consecutive Sundays and no objections made. Francis SHEARD of the parish of Sutton and Rachel SIGSWORTH of this parish were married by banns on 25 November 1800. The witnesses were John GRAVES and Christopher CATTLE. Borthwick Institute Ref: (PR S.H. 18)

It is assumed that Francis must have died sometime before 1810 as Rachel SHEARD got married again on 27 August 1810 to Christopher HAMMON in Sutton on the Forest after banns & witnessed by Edward SIGSWORTH & John ROWNTREE. Rachel’s condition is recorded as a widow.

Francis & Rachel had a son also named Francis, who was christened on 12 September 1801 in Sutton on the Forest. This Francis put his fathers name as Francis on his marriage certificate for his 3rd marriage in 1866 and stated that his fathers profession was a Plumber, both his previous marriages taking place before the start of Civil Registration in 1837 and the relevant Parish Registers not apparently being the more informative Dade Registers it is fortunate that this third marriage took place.

We have recently found a reference for a Sarah SHEARD being christened on 17 July 1803 in Sheriff Hutton, father recorded as Francis SHEARD. As previously mentioned Francis SHEARD married Rachel in Sheriff Hutton, Rachel being “of this parish”, surely it is not unreasonable to assume that Sarah was the second child of Francis & Rachel.