It was suprisingly common in the 19th century to find families which inter married. This was perhaps because it was a way to retain the family wealth within the same small group but I think mainly it was because in those days unmarried women wouldn't get much of a chance to mix with the opposite sex except where they were related. This meant that their opportunities for meeting a potential suitor were greater within their own close knit community, especially within their own extended families.
One such marriage was brought to my attention by a contact who told me her grandfather, Harry Dunlop Wareham, born in Perth, Scotland in 1875 and who died in Queensland, Australia in 1962, wrote in letters and a diary that he found it funny that he was called "Harry Wareham" and that he had a cousin called "Wareham Harry". I subsequently found three inter marriages over the generations between the Wareham and the Harry families which we know about ...... and there may be more.
One such marriage was brought to my attention by a contact who told me her grandfather, Harry Dunlop Wareham, born in Perth, Scotland in 1875 and who died in Queensland, Australia in 1962, wrote in letters and a diary that he found it funny that he was called "Harry Wareham" and that he had a cousin called "Wareham Harry". I subsequently found three inter marriages over the generations between the Wareham and the Harry families which we know about ...... and there may be more.
In 1875, one of the daughters of William of Ilfracombe (week 51), Margaret Jane Wareham, married Edward Wareham Harry, in Kingston, Surrey. He had been born in Swansea and she was a Londoner. He was a successful surveyor and they had six baby Harrys, born in such diversified towns as Harrogate and Cambridge (see his story Week 85).
Seven years later, Margaret's brother, George William Wareham, married one of Edward's sisters, Jessie Deveraux Harry. According to a contact, George had been educated at Eton and the Sorbonne in Paris. By May 1883, they had emigrated to Taranaki, New Zealand and their first child had been born.
You will notice that the first of these unions involved an Edward Wareham Harry. We initially wondered where he got his middle name from. Nothing has been completely proven yet, but there is evidence that William of Ilfracombe's aunt, Hannah Wareham, married a William Harry in 1811 and it was their grandson who had the name Wareham as his middle name.
Seven years later, Margaret's brother, George William Wareham, married one of Edward's sisters, Jessie Deveraux Harry. According to a contact, George had been educated at Eton and the Sorbonne in Paris. By May 1883, they had emigrated to Taranaki, New Zealand and their first child had been born.
You will notice that the first of these unions involved an Edward Wareham Harry. We initially wondered where he got his middle name from. Nothing has been completely proven yet, but there is evidence that William of Ilfracombe's aunt, Hannah Wareham, married a William Harry in 1811 and it was their grandson who had the name Wareham as his middle name.
These three marriages are the only ones I have so far traced to my tree but there could be more. For example, there is a marriage between Claud Thomas Frederick Harry and Ruby Isabel Wareham in 1940 but, although I have obtained the marriage certificate, I haven't yet been able to link either of them to my tree. You never know though, perhaps the inter marrying between the families continues ?
And finally, if having a Wareham Harry and a Harry Wareham in your family isn't enough, I wondered if anyone with a surname Harry had called their son "Harry" so that he would be Harry Harry. This may sound unlikely but there were in fact four Harry Harrys born between 1873 and 1875 !
And finally, if having a Wareham Harry and a Harry Wareham in your family isn't enough, I wondered if anyone with a surname Harry had called their son "Harry" so that he would be Harry Harry. This may sound unlikely but there were in fact four Harry Harrys born between 1873 and 1875 !