Barbara Past and Present: Maryport...

Spent a few hours whiling away my time tracking down cousins who lived in the town of Maryport, Cumberland England.

Isabella Lancaster a first cousin three times removed born in Wigton, Cumberland married William Wreay (changed to Ray) also born in Wigton.

However they did not marry in Wigton. They were married in 1847 in the southern village of Gretna Green, Dumfrieshire, Scotland, famous for runaway marriages.

The law in England for marriages at the time stated that both Bride and Groom had to be 21 years of age to marry without parent's consent. Isabella and William were both 19 years old.

The law in Scotland allowed anyone even as young as 14 years old to marry without consent. So many elopers fled to Scotland and the first village they encountered was Gretna Green.

The Old Blacksmiths Shop built around 1710 in popular folklore at least, became the focal point for marriage trade. The local Blacksmith and his Anvil have become lasting symbols of Gretna Green marriages. They became known as "anvil priests" to perform a marriage the anvil priest simply asked the couple to plight their troth in front of two witnesses and as quick as the bang of a hammer on the anvil the word was law.

So after their marriage Isabella and William returned to Wigton where William was a Mason of Monumental Inscriptions. (Graveyard Stones). They had three children one of them a son Thomas born in 1852 married Isabella Waite and they moved to Maryport where Thomas also followed in his father's footsteps as a Stone Mason.

Thomas and Isabella's third son Wilkinson Ray caught my attention he was born in Maryport in 1893. He is listed on Ship's Records 19 times as sailing to New York , Seattle, Panama, California, New Zealand,South America and Canada and many more Ports along the way. From his 20's through his fifties. He was a Ship's Engineer. He had a busy and interesting life I am sure.

I was saddened to hear of the tragic floods in this part of Cumbria this past November where rain of "Biblical" amounts" fell in 24 hours.

Maryport is right across the river from Workington.