Genealogy Chat

I am a bit confused on when it was made legal to marry the sister of your deceased wife. I think I read somewhere that until 1907 this was illegal. However, my grandad's sister married a George Miles (shown as Myles in most records I've found) in 1901. Later that year she died in childbirth. In 1904 George married Sarah's sister Hannah Maria (shown as Anna Maria in the marriage index). Everyone in the family was aware of it, as were it seems just about everyone else in the small Welsh mining village where they and the family lived. No one seemed to frown on it.

Stupid question I guess but was the law the same in Wales? Is the fact that they were Baptists any relevance. Or did they marry illegally?! Would the vicar/registrar not have to refuse to allow the marriage. Their marriage was in the Pontypool registration district but all the other records (his first marriage, most of the family births and deaths) were registered in Bedwellty which is Ebbw Vale, which is where the village they lived in was. Maybe they married in Pontypool so people wouldn't know they were 'related' by marriage already?

It's not vital to my research but just niggles at me! Any advice gratefully received, if for no other reason to stop me wondering!

Thanks

Ceinwen

Ann

My Grandmother was Eliza Miles until she married my grandad Bertie Pitts. George was her uncle. Her father was Thomas Miles and she had several brothers. Most of them seemed to end up living, working and dying in Cwm, Ebbw Vale. Don't know if there's any connection to your husband's family?

In Great Britain, the Marriage Act of 1835 made marriages between widows or widowers and their siblings in-law absolutely illegal.
In 1907, Parliament passed the Deceased Wife's Sister's Marriage Act, which repealed the section of the 1835 Marriage Act outlawing these particular marriages. According to Section 3 of the Act, the first wife has to have actually died in order to make the marriage legal; a man still could not marry the sister of a woman he had divorced. Section 5 of the Act makes it clear that half-sisters are included in the definition of "sister." The Act also allows Anglican clergy to refuse to conduct marriages that were illegal prior to 1907, exempting them from any liability for their refusal.

It would appear that the marriage was actually illegal, but it was common in small towns/villages for these type of marriages to take place.

Thanks for the clarification Keith. I thought as much.

I don't think that anyone frowned on it in the family, especially by my grandad as Auntie Ri (Hannah Maria) was apparently his favourite sister. He met my Nan when he was visiting Ri and she was there at the same time visiting her uncle George!

As Annie said, there were few Anglican churches in that area so maybe as she says Non conformist ministers were more lenient and turned a blind eye. Especially if they married in their local Baptist chapel - Ri's father Alfred and most of his sons were the deacons there!!

I think you can marry the brother/sister of your divorced spouse now - I know of two people who have married their husband's brothers.
Liz

Despite Canon Law outlawing such marriages it was very common, and was not frowned on at all in many communities. After all it was a practical solution when a mother died leaving a young family.

Henry VIII set the precendent, did he not?