Person:Martha Belton (6)

Martha Belton's marriage record from the 15th April 1760 shows that she was a spinster from Frodingham, Lincolnshire, England and she married William Hobson, a bachelor from Bottesford. The witnesses were Ann Scott and John Belton and a note says Licence John Belton Snr. This note potentially indicates 2 things, Martha was not yet 21 and therefore a licence was required with consent provided by at least one of her parents and therefore we could assume that her father was John Belton Snr

Martha's parents have been listed by different researchers as;

• John Belton and Catherine Soresby. I have found no record of this couple having a daughter named Martha, however they do live in Frodingham where Martha married and died. Also in Frodingham at the time of their burials, John is listed as John Belton the Elder and Catherine is listed as the widow of John Belton the Elder which seems to match up with parental consent given on Martha's marriage licence.

• John and Martha Belton. This could be a likely couple however this information may be in error. I think this became the accepted couple because for a long time this was the only freely available record for the birth of a Martha Belton born in about the right year of 1742 making Martha 18 when she was married, however it seems highly likely that this Martha died young as it currently appears that the same couple had another daughter they named Martha 3 years later. Because the father in this couple, John is a son of the previous couple and would be Martha's brother. He would more likely have been referred to as 'junior', not the 'elder' at the time of Martha's marriage.

• William Belton and Bridget. This relates to a christening in 1748, which would make Martha 12 years old when she married and other information indicates that her fathers name was John.

1. ↑ .

   "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/NG41-6BS : accessed 26 Dec 2013), Martha Belton, 28 Oct 1742.

2.   .

   "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/NGHW-ZZY : accessed 28 Dec 2013), Martha Belton, 30 Oct 1748.

3.   .

   "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/J3S2-TQD : accessed 28 Dec 2013), Martha Belton, 05 Jul 1745.

4.   .

   http://www.genogold.com/frodingham/frodingham.php?search_fd0=belton%2A&multisearch_fd0=9&multisearch_fd1=9

5.   Marriage of William Hobson and Martha Belton, in Church of England. Parish Church of Frodingham (Lincolnshire). Parish register extracts for the parish church of Frodingham (Lincoln). (Salt Lake City, Utah: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1966)
   15 Apr 1760.

   http://www.freereg.org.uk/