Establishing Mary Nance's birth details

Mary Nance was born between 1808 and 1810 in Kenwyn, Cornwall, England.

Place of birth is supported by

1.  the banns and marriage of her first marriage to Henry George she is identified as “being of this parish”, the parish being Kenwyn, Cornwall. [i] [ii]
2.  the banns and marriage of her second marriage to Hezekiah Bennetts, where she is identified as a widow and sojourner, indicating that she was not born in Perranzabuloe [iii] [iv]  A sojourner “means someone who is a temporary resident, but in Parish Registers its meaning is a little more precise. When the Hardwicke Act was introduced in 1754, clerks were required to enter the parish for each party to a marriage. If they had been resident for more than 3 weeks then they were shown as “o.t.p.” (of this parish). However, for someone who had only taken up residence in lodgings to avoid the necessity for banns fees, this was frowned upon and the word “sojourner” was added to the entry to indicate that they had met the letter of the law but didn't really belong.”( Found in the Glossary of the website belonging to West Penwith Resources at  http://west-penwith.org.uk/wpenlink.htm)
3. 1851 English Census where her birthplace is given as Kenwyn, Cornwall.[v]

Date of birth is a little more complex because

1. her age is not given at the time of her first marriage to Henry George
2. at the time of second marriage she gives her age as 26, indicating that she was born in 1813
3. in 1841 census her age is recorded as 25 which may indicate that her age was somewhere between 25 years and under 30 as the enumerators were instructed to write 25 if the persons' age was between these years. This means she could possibly be born anywhere from 7/06/1806 to 7/06/1811
4. the only birth for a Mary Nance in Kenwyn at any time is for a Mary Nance who was born in 1810 but not baptised until 13 years of age.  She was the daughter of Thomas & Rebecca residing in Kenwyn, Cornwall. [therefore, her calculated birthdate would be 1810 [vi]
5.  Thomas was given as her father’s name on her second marriage certificate as well as her on her Australian death certificate, where her mother was also listed as Rebecca.[vii]
6. Mary died at the age of 70 years in 1878 indicating that her birth year was 1808.

Conclusion

Mary was probably born between 1808 and 1810, because she was older than her second husband it is possible that she changed her birthdate slightly to decease the age difference, or she may not have actually known her real birthdate as her baptism was done so late compared to her siblings – at present no reason has yet been found as to why her baptism was so much delayed)]

WikiTree Profile for Mary (Nance) Bennetts (abt. 1810 - 1878)

---

[i] Banns of Marriage Henry George & Mary Nance, banns read 4, 11 & 18 December 1836, Kenwyn Parish Register unnumbered entry, year 1836, page 36. "England, Cornwall Parish Registers, 1538-2010," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-6SFS-9KP?cc=1769414&wc=3CB4-4W5%3A138123201%2C139147401%2C139205601 : 14 April 2015), image 21 of 149, citing Kenwyn Parish Registers, Marriage Banns banns, 1836-1844; Cornwall Records Office, Truro

[ii] Marriage of Henry George & Mary Nance married 19 December 1836 , Kenwyn Parish Register entry 580, year 1836, page 194. "England, Cornwall Parish Registers, 1538-2010," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-6SFS-932?cc=1769414&wc=3CB4-4WG%3A138123201%2C139147401%2C139221401 : 14 April 2015), image 100 of 150, citing Kenwyn Parish Registers, Marriages, 1829 -1841; Cornwall Records Office, Truro.

[iii] Banns of Marriage Hezekiah Bennetts & Mary George(widow), banns read 10, 17 & 24 March 1839, Perranzabuloe Parish Register unnumbered entry, year 1839, page 180. "England, Cornwall Parish Registers, 1538-2010," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-65ZV-SP?cc=1769414&wc=3CB8-7M3%3A138123201%2C140512501%2C140542901  : 14 April 2015), image 193 of 116, citing Perranzabuloe Parish Registers, Marriage Banns banns, 1823-1844; Cornwall Records Office, Truro.

[iv] Marriage of Hezekiah Bennetts (miner aged 21, son of Philip Bennetts, husbandman) & Mary George(widow aged 26 daughter of Thomas Nance, Husbandman), married 28 March 1839, Perranzabuloe Parish Register entry 47, year 1839, page 24. "England, Cornwall Parish Registers, 1538-2010," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-65ZK-MY?cc=1769414&wc=3CB8-7MW%3A138123201%2C140512501%2C140550201  : 14 April 2015), image 27 of 254, citing Perranzabuloe Parish Registers, Marriages, 1837 -1860; Cornwall Records Office, Truro.

[v] 1851 census of England, Cornwall, The household of household of Hezekiah & Mary Bennets, Goonhaven in Probus, the Parish of Perranzabuloe. Citing PRO HO107 piece 1909 Folio 431 page 14

[vi]  "England, Cornwall Parish Registers, 1538-2010," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-6SFS-S8R?cc=1769414&wc=3CB4-HZ9%3A138123201%2C139147401%2C139147402 : 14 April 2015); Baptism of Mary (13 years) baptised on 11 July 1823, daughter of Thomas(labourer) & Rebecca Nance residing Church town, Kenwyn parish register for baptisms, 1813-1829, entry 1252, page 157. Year 1823, Kenwyn Cornwall > Kenwyn > Baptisms, 1813-1829 > image 82 of 158; Cornwall Records Office, Truro.[born circa 1810)

[vii] Death Certificate Mary Bennetts, died 15 August 1878, Chewton, Victoria Australia (Victoria  Australia Registry of Births Deaths and Marriage 2051/1878)