This is a research note, for the purpose of gathering and evaluating the relevant facts about the Richard HARPER and Elizabeth ROSEVERE who married at Luxulyan, Cornwall 21 May 1724. -- Wesley Johnston -- last updated 27 Aug 2011 12:15 GMT

On 21 May 1724 at Luxulyan, Richard HARPER married Elizabeth ROSEVERE. I do not have access to the image of this marriage, so that I do not know who the witnesses were.

Which Elizabeth Rosevere?

In the Cornwall Family History Society's research database, there were only three Elizabeth "Rosevere" baptisms at about the right time (1690-1709) to be this Elizabeth:

1 Jul 1694 at Luxulyan to John and Ann ROSEVERE

6 Apr 1702 at St. Blazey to John and Ann ROSEVEAR

2 Sep 1694 at St. Mewan to Richard ROSEVERE

Geographically, all of these are in or close to Luxulyan.

Were the 1604 and 1702 Elizabeths children of John and Ann actually sisters, so that the 1694 likely died and the 1702 one was given her name?

There were only three John R*S*V*R* marriages to an Ann in all of Cornwall in all years in the CFHS DB:

12 Feb 1677/8 at Luxulyan (no surname for Anne)

9 Jun 1799 at Roche (Ann GROSE)

4 Mar 1700/1 at St. Mewan (Ann LAKES)

Again, the geography does not rule any of them out, since all of these are in or near Luxulyan. The 1799 marriage can clearly be ruled out.

Could the St. Mewan (west of St. Austell) John and Ann have been the parents of the 1702 St. Blazey (east of St. Austell) Elizabeth?

The CFHS DB shows 12 baptisms of children of John and Ann R*S*V*R*. Three of those are in the 1800's and can be ruled out, leaving these nine:

ROSVERE Thomson Dau ROSVERE John - Ann Luxulyan 21 Jul 1680

ROSEVEAR Susana Dau ROSEVEAR John - Ann Luxulyan 4 Feb 1682

ROSEVERE William Son ROSEVERE John - Ann Luxulyan 12 Apr 1684

ROSEVEAR Edwin Son ROSEVEAR John - Ann Cubert 8 Oct 1865

ROSEVERE Henry Son ROSEVERE John - Ann Luxulyan 18 Feb 1688

ROSEVEAR Walter Son ROSEVEAR John - Ann Luxulyan 31 May 1690

ROSEVERE Elizabeth Dau ROSEVERE John - Ann Luxulyan 1 Jul 1694

ROSEVERE Thomazine Dau ROSEVERE John - Anne Luxulyan 2 Jun 1700

ROSEVEAR Elizabeth Dau ROSEVEAR John - Ann St Blazey 6 Apr 1702

The 1700/1 marriage notation apparently refers to the ecclesiastical calendar, which began at Easter and not on 1 Jan. Thus the March 1700/1 date is what we would consider as March 1701: it was still in 1700 by the ecclesiastical calendar, since Easter did not come until 27 Mar in the civil calendar year 1701. Thus all baptisms prior to 4 Mar 1701 (civil) must have been children of the 1677/8 marriage.

That leaves only the St. Blazey Elizabeth as a possible child of the 4 Mar 1701 (civil calendar) marriage at St. Mewan. But her timing is also right for her to be a second Elizabeth born to the 1687/8 John and Ann.

So is there a burial for a young Elizabeth ROSEVERE in this time frame?

The burials are somewhat less reliable records, but there were no Eli* R*s*v*r* burials in all of Cornwall in the 1690-1709 period. So this does give a very small added weight to the possibility that the 1702 Elizabeth was the daughter of the 1700/1 St. Mewan John and Ann. But the fact that there clearly are no other baptisms anywhere in Cornwall for this couple gives a very small added weight to this 1702 Elizabeth being the child of the 1687/8 John and Ann. (There are no John or Ann burials anywhere in Cornwall that from 1690-1702, so that neither of the marriages apparently ended in death during this period.)

The findings are inconclusive. The St. Mewan couple either had the 1702 Ann in St. Blazey and had no more children or else they had no children at all and the 1702 Ann was the second Elizabeth born to the Luxulyan couple. Other information is needed in order to proceed further; the parish register indexes are insufficient to reach a definitive conclusion.

Thus the Elizabeth married in 1724 was either the 1694 (aged 30) or the 1702 (aged 22) Elizabeth.

Which Richard Harper?

The groom in the 1724 marriage may have been born in the period 1680-1706 (aged 18 to 44). In that period, there were these Richard H*r*p*r baptisms found in the CFHS DB in all of Cornwall in the period 1680-1709:

3 Jan 1684 Lanivet to John and Ann HARPER (age 40 in 1824 vs. Elizabeth age 22 or 30)

14 Mar 1703 St. Juliot to John HARPER (age 21 in 1824 vs. Elizabeth age 22 or 30)

The couple had children baptized at Luxulyan 23 Oct 1726, 15 Nov 1729, 11 Nov 1732, 22 Jun 1735.

In 1735, the ages of the possible parents would have been:

Richard 1684 age 51

Richard 1703 age 32

Elizabeth 1694 age 41

Elizabeth 1702 age 33

While this does not rule any out, it does weigh more favorably toward the 1703 Richard and the 1702 Elizabeth. And the closeness of their ages weighs more favorably than does any other pairing.

Conclusion

I realize that there are a number of public member trees on Ancestry.com that show the 1694 Elizabeth married to the 1702 Richard. But none of these show any evidence or evaluation of evidence to support this. And I suspect that they were based on research that limited possible candidates to Luxulyan, so that they were completely unaware of the 1702 Ann ROSEVEAR who was baptized in St. Blazey.

Until evidence is found that refutes this conclusion, I am concluding that the most likely couple were the 1703 Richard and the 1702 Elizabeth. I am leaving open the question of whether the 1702 Elizabeth was the child of the same John and Ann who had the 1694 Elizabeth, so that I am not including parents for her.