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Marriage Licences
| Profile | Posted by | Options | Post Date |
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Luciacw | Report | 20 Jan 2005 17:24 |
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Hello, How can I find out more about marriage licences? I have just received my great grandparent's marriage certificate which states that they were married by licence. I'm assuming this was because my great grandmother was 17 when she married in 1917. How could I find out more about this? Thank you, Lucia :-) |
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Guinevere | Report | 20 Jan 2005 18:10 |
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Hi, The "normal" way of marriage was that the bride and groom had the Banns read in their home parishes for the three weeks prior to their marriage. A liicence meant that the marriage could take place straight away. Often this is what happened when the bride was pregnant - less time between marriage and "premature" birth. It also sometimes happened when the bride and groom eloped but both would have to be of full age or claim to be. Occasionally better off families married by licence so the hoy poloy didn't know what was happening. Also if the couple were away from home it was easier to marry by licence. Gwynne |
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Researching: |
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Wendy | Report | 20 Jan 2005 18:34 |
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Was the groom away in the war? Needed permission to marry quickly while on leave? Or of course, she was pregnant like my grandmother who married by licence in 1915. |
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Luciacw | Report | 20 Jan 2005 23:05 |
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well I'm not sure if she was pregnant or not, but her husband Albert was a Private in Royal Scots regiment. Is there any way I can obtain a copy of the actual documents? Thank you Lucia :-) |
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Phoenix | Report | 20 Jan 2005 23:13 |
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Marriage licence allegations usually end up in the Diocesan Records Office, which is usually the same as the County Records Office. What they contain seems to vary hugely, depending on time and diocese. Earlier ones have often been indexed. There are very good series for Devon, Hants, Wilts but they all tend to end in 1837. The only info you might get on top of what is on the marriage certificate is the name of the bondsman, the date of the licence and the amount of the bond. (Basically, the bondsman was pledging his good name to say that the couple could wed. A bit like standing bail today). B |
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