Genealogy Chat

I have been trying for some time to find the marriage cert for my grandmother without any success. My mum once said they eloped to Gretna Green, although I haven't followed that up. When I asked one of my cousins if she thought maybe they had never been married, she said she was sure they had as she was told that my grandma waited till he was dead before marrying again.


I decided to try and find her second marriage although I don't really need it, to see if there was any info on there about whether she was divorced or what. So now I've found it and have sent for a copy, but the entry says her maiden name. So my question is, if she had been married before wouldn't it be usual to use her married name? Or would it not matter?


Sorry to be a bit long winded!!

Thanks

Sandie

Was the marriage when they showed spouse's surname in the indexes? If you look under his name, it should have both of hers listed with it (if she was married before).

Janice

It should be under her married name, it all depends on what she told the registrar at the time.

Unless she had legally changed her name back then she would still be officially known by her married surname but that doesn't mean that she used it.

Glen

Hi Janice and Glen

I looked under husbands name because of easier spelling, and her name showed two names but they were just two different spellings of her maiden name.

I suppose she could have just used her maiden name, but you have to tell the registrar that you've been married before, don't you? Therefore it should be mentioned on the cert. somewhere?

Thanks both

There was a thread on here the other day about Gretna marriages. There may be something of interest in it.

Have you checked out those two surnames? Her first married name could be same/similar to her maiden name. It does happen sometimes.

Good luck.
Janice

The rego entry should give the names the couple were known by at the time they got married - they usually show other names that they had used, but don't always. Note that to legally change your name, all you had to do was start using your new name.

Thanks everyone, I'l wait and see what's on the cert when I get it.

I know the two spellings in the listing are her maiden name as I have other documents with both those spellings on them and her married name was totally different.


Hopefully it will say something, otherwise I will be annoyed that I'll probably never know otherwise!!

I've got the same situation as Joan, my great grandmother married twice, giving just her maiden name both times.

I haven't found the death of her first husband yet, so the second marriage may have been bigamous.

I've never been able to find a marriage for the first one, which is why I thought I would look for the second, and see if there was some confirmation there that she had been married before. Otherwise my mum and her brothers and sisters will be b*you know what's. :o)

Have just received grandma's "second" marriage cert and she is down on it as being a Spinster. Do you you think that it's pretty much certain then that she wasn't married to my grandfather? There wouldn't be much point in lying about that would there? If anything you'd want people to think you had been married....after all she was 55 and had 5 children!! :o)