Marriage Register - 19th August 1826

This photograph shows John and Esther's signatures on the Sedgeley Marriage Register. Both have a fair hand. John would be expected to have extremely high standards of numeracy and literacy as they were pre-requisites for his job in the Excise Service. Martha had also been educated to read and write, unusual for the time, when such expenditure could be considered unnecessary for her to perform her expected role as a housewife.

The witnesses, John and Mary Whitehouse, are thought to be Martha's 27 year old brother and his wife, who also can both read and write. John Whitehouse was a maltster of nearby Bromwich and would have liable for excise duties on malt made. An excise officer's malt sticks were handed down by descendants of John's son William. It is surmised that John Trease may have been his brother-in-law to be's Excise Officer.

John Trease's parish is given as Tipton but he had in fact been appointed Excise Officer for Devonport on the 10th July so technically he may have been no longer there when he married. This may have been a contributory reason for John opting to get married by Licence rather than by Banns. Presumably the posting to Devonport came at short notice and John wanted Esther to join him quickly rather than wait a further month for Banns to be read.