Genealogy Chat

Hi everyone! I was just wondering what the proceedure is when a woman re-marries after being widowed. A relly of mine was widowed somewhere between the 1871 census and the 1881 census, (I can't find her husband's death,) and I was wondering, if she married again afterwards, would she have used her maiden name or her 1st husband's surname before taking her new married surname? Hope this makes sense! LOL! Hope someone has an answer too! ~Ingrid.

Hi Ingrid, I have has widows marrying and they usually re-marry under their married name. For an example if a lady was born Joan Jones - then married a Smith as a widow she would be Joan Smith. A long comes the new dashing Mr Brown they marry as a Smith and Brown. One the marriage cert it will prpbably give her name as Joan Smith formerly Jones. Hope this makes sense too. Gaynor

Thanks very much for that... I can search for a possible 2nd marriage now, which I think is likely because I think her husband died young. He was born in 1841 and was deceased by 1881, possibly he died in 1873 since he disappears from the Electorial Rolls book around then. Wish I could find his death certificate... what kind of info do death certs have on them, (apart from the fact they died that is?!) ~Ingrid.

Ingrid, Gaynor is correct - my grandmother remarried (albeit in the 1900's) but her marriage cert has her named by her married name, then underneath 'formerly' + maiden name. Try FreeBMD for the death search, but try with just surname and all districts to start - I found too much info gives less worse results sometimes. Good luck! Anita

Ingrid Info on death cert: Name of dead person date and place of death occupation (in the case of women it sometimes gives "wife of" and husband's name and occupation cause of death (often surprisingly vague) signature, description and residence of informant (can be useful in verifying family relationships - informant is often spouse or child of dead person) When registered Signature of registrar. Death cert can also tell you if there was an inquest. Helen

Very interesting! Lots of info on those then... I wish I could get hold of the death certificate of my G/G Grandfather James Wilson. He died young I think. I managed to find his birth certificate (16th July 1841 in 14 George Street, Birkenhead, England,) but his death cert has so far eluded me. I know he was alive in 1871 because he appears on the census, but he's dead by the 1881 census as his wife Eliza is listed as a widow. He disappears from the Electorial Roll in 1874 so I'm thinking he died in '73? Even my own local registry can't find it and I narrowed it down to 3 years! I haven't exhausted all possibilites yet though... Incidently, I couldn't find his marriage to Eliza Radford either, but when I was plugging away on the LDS site, I put in a real scattergun search for it and up comes this tidbit; Marriage: **JAMES WILSON & **ELIZA RADFORD 08 JUN 1862 - Saint Nicholas, Liverpool, Lancashire, England Source Information: Batch No: M005995 Dates: 1861 - 1864 Source Call No: 0093853 Type: Film 6902852 If they *are* my rellies, James would have been 21 and Eliza would have been just 17. But James was born in Birkenhead, Cheshire as was Eliza, so what the hell could they have been doing marrying over there? Elopement perhaps? ~Ingrid.

Ingrid Liverpool and Birkenhead are not that far from each other and maybe James was working in Liverpool? Lynne

James' Dad on the 1841 census was a "cart owner" (later also called "cart proprieter,") and it seems to have been a family affair as his sons were "carters" so I think the idea that he went across the water looking for work when he could just get a job from dear old Dad, is unlikely... Not as likely as that they *had* to get married perhaps... according to dates gathered from census records, Eliza had their first child in 1863... maybe they wed because she was pregnant? It'd certainly explain why they skipped across the River Mersey to get hitched when there were perfectly good churches in Birkenhead! ~Ingrid.

It depends where Eliza came from - marriages usually take place in the bride's home parish.

According to all the censuses, she was born in Birkenhead, and that's also what it states on Eliza's birth certificate too. Her Mum was also from the area, (Moreton,) her Dad though, was from Staffordshire. So why Liverpool? Very mysterious! ~Ingrid