According to the transcription of Phillimore - the only surviving record of this marriage - "Elizabeth BEELY (or BEEBY)" was married to William WELDON on 2 Feb 1674 in Hungerton. Robert was a tailor from nearby Syston.
Elizabeth and Robert had three children: Robert 1677, John 1679 and William (for whom no baptismal record has been identified.)
Elizabeth was widowed in 1708 and she died five years later in 1713 in Syston. During this period she was given a cottage in Syston and was taken care of by her son Robert as part of her late husband's will.
No baptisms of BEELYs have been found locally but there were BEEBYs baptized, so BEEBY was almost certainly the right surname. Beeby is a village 3 miles SE of Syston, so the surname may have come from the place or vice versa.
Based on her marriage date, her husband's age and children's baptismal dates, she was likely born 1647-1653.
Possible baptisms:
- Elizabeth BEEBY, the daughter of George and Elizabeth BEEBY was born 7 Mar 1653 in Hoby (5 miles NE of Syston and 7.5 miles N of Hungerton). Her father George died the following year which may have been a reason to relocate and/or remarry. This Elizabeth would have just turned 21 if she had married in 1674.
- Elizabeth BEEBY, the daughter of John BEEBY carpenter and his wife Ann, in Tilton on the Hill in 1641. This is likely too early, making her 34 when she first married, but the location is close to Hungerton and all of their known baptisms were within 5 years of their marriage consistent with an older mother. This Elizabeth would be 6 years older than her husband.
It is also possible that Elizabeth BEEBY was a widow when she married, however no suitable marriage of an Elizabeth to a BEEBY has been identified. George's widowed wife above would have been too old.
Available BEEBY wills from the 1670's to 1720's have been checked but no Elizabeth BEEBY/WELDON has been mentioned.
Other information:
The Elizabeth BEEBY, daughter of William and Joan BEEBY baptized 12 May 1648/9, in Hoby could not be be this Elizabeth BEEBY. The couple also baptized John in 1647, Elizabeth, Dorothy, William, Joan, John and Ann all between 1647 and 1663 in Hoby so no obvious connection to Hungerton. Also William's will of 1780 names almost all these children including his daughter "Elizabeth BEEBY" who would have been "Elizabeth WELDON" by 1780, so this cannot be the right baptism. Do not confuse Willian Joan of Hoby with the William BEEBY junior of Halstead and his wife Joan YATES who baptized Joan 1654 and Anne BEEBY 1657 in Tilton on the Hill (close to Hungerton). This was probably the same William of Halstead who, with wife Anne, baptized Richard 1634 and Mary 1637 in Tilton on the Hill.