Beards Of Essex

Another gem from the British Newspaper Archive is the following, which is a cautionary tale of several dimensions…

So who was the runaway groom? Its hard to be 100% sure, but there were only two registered male Beards married in that quarter of 1843, and it just so happens that one was a farmer of 193 acres – Jonathan (aka John) Beard of Brazils Farm, Woodham Ferrers.

A little earlier in the year there is another article about the disappearance of the same person, with an added level of speculation:

The bride in question was Elizabeth Catherine King of Stebbing. Who the other woman in London was we cannot say. And what Elizabeth said when Jonathan finally came home – and indeed for the rest of their marriage – is anyones guess! But they had six children together over the next 11 years, so perhaps it all worked out. Elizabeth died in 1854, possibly following the birth of their last child. Jonathan himself lived until 1894.

Jonathans line had lived in Woodham Ferrers since at least the 1770s and possibly as much as a hundred years earlier, and includes the grandly named Marlborough Beard. That family tree will appear here in future.