Genealogy Chat

On the marriage certificate I received today, it states that the couple were married at Cannon St Chapel, Preston, according to the Rites and Ceremonies of the Independents, by certificate. I take this to mean that they were not CofE, but can anyone shed any further light on this? Many thanks in advance, Kate

Under the main entry are the words "Married in the......................". For a C of E marriage it will say something on the lines of "Parish Church according to the rites and ceremonies of the Established Church". For other non-conformist churches it will say something like "The Baptist Church according to the rites and ceremonies of the Baptists" or "The Catholic Church according to the rites and ceremonies of the Roman Catholics. Quaker certificates say (after the place of the marriage) "according to the usages of the Society of Friends" and I believe that a Jewish marriage would state something on the same lines. However - the rites and ceremonies bit does not have to match the denomination of the church. It is quite possible to have something along the lines of "Married in the Baptist Church according to the rites and ceremonies of the Seventh Day Adventists". In other words it is quite possible for one religious denomination to borrow another denominations church for a wedding - quite often done for small religious groups who do not have a building which is registered for marriages. A marriage like this will be registered in the marriage register of the building where it took place - there will not be a marriage register for the actual denomination of the ceremony. It is also possible that it will simply state "Married in the Catholic Church of St Anthony" without the qualifying words stating whose rites and ceremonies were used. This would happen if the couple had given notice for a marriage - it was all fixed up with the proper minister and a registrar but on the day something went wrong such as the minister falling ill or getting held up in a snowstorm or something. If the registrar was present that registrar would do the ceremony as though in a register office with the legally binding declaration and contract and someone else could lead the congregation through hymns and prayers etc. but without the authorised minister it could not be "by the rites and ceremonies of". The last part of the line under the main entry reads "by...................after or by me. Filling the gap you might find (1) "by certificate" which would be found on a marriage entry in a register office marriage register or in a non-conformist marriage register. It shows that the couple waited 3 weeks between giving notice and getting married. (2) "by licence" which would be found in the same set of registers and would indicate that the couple may have married with less than three weeks between giving the notice and getting married (minimum of 1 clear working

Many thanks Helen, Kate

I am sure that Independent meant Congregational. I have that on one of mine, and the baptism records show Cong. Wendy