How common is bigamy?

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Profile	Posted by	Options	Post Date
Member Since: February 2004 Posts: 0 Send Message	Rachael	Report	22 Nov 2006 21:35
Member Since: February 2004 Posts: 0 Send Message	Was bigamy a common thing in the 19th century? I suspect I may have found a bigamous marriage but don't want to jump to any conclusions. Did it go on a lot, given that a divorce was so much more difficult to obtain? Thanks for your help :-)
Member Since: February 2004 Posts: 6,440 Send Message	An Olde Crone	Report	22 Nov 2006 22:10
	Rachel Yes, bigamy appears to be quite a common occurence in the 19th century. Divorce wasn't impossible, but it was expensive and often beyond the means of ordinary folk.And divorce by mutual agreement was not a legal option - one of you had to have done something wrong, which required proof. If the Judge thought that both partners had colluded in order to get a divorce, then the divorce would not be granted and one or both of you could go to prison! So it was often easier and cheaper just to move somewhere else and start again. OC
Member Since: September 2003 Posts: 2,953 Send Message	Lisa J in California	Report	23 Nov 2006 00:47
	I prefer to think of it as someone who has a bad memory. :) While helping others search for ancestors in North America, I've come across quite a few people who were married in the UK, and got 'married again' in the U.S. and Canada.