Genealogy Chat

I have a couple, one in 1887, children born later. 1871 AFTER the children had all been born. A baptism in one church and the marriage, in a different church, 1889, a couple of weeks later. I don't know what the cost would be then..perhaps they had better things to spend money on?......Like food! So much for "people living in sin" as they say! Jo.

Can I say that the people I believe to be the parents of my great grandfather's first wife were married in the Leeds Registered Building in 1841. So far as I know the facility to have a civil marriage came into existence on the same date as civil registration, i.e. 1st July 1837. Maybe it was rare, or even frowned upon, but there is no need to assume pregnancy as a reason. In those days some Church marriages took place with pregnant women, or sometimes after the first child was born. Atheism was not illegal, but the restriction of marriages to the Church of England (and Quakers and Jews) meant that some Roman Catholics or Nonconformists might prefer a civil wedding and a separate non-statutory religious ceremony to having to darken the doors of the Established Church. Stan Driver

As far as I know there is'nt a separate register for reg office marriages, they do appear on UkBMD though and 1837online as I've just ordered a reg office marriage cert from 1858. George

Thank you all for your comments. This also could explain why I can't find a Gt Granda's marraige in the parish register's as he married a widow lady with 5 children. Is there a separate register? and where would I find it. Ann,Darlington Have looked on FreeBMD and LDS

Hi, From July 1837 couples no longer had to wed in the "established church". My non-conformists married in Register Offices from then on. It was possible to marry in a non-con chapel/church if a registrar was present. Hope this helps, Gwynne

Thank you Paul, for putting it a bit more subtley than I did Straight to the jugular, thats me.

I have a Registry Office wedding in Londonderry dated 1895. It was somtimes used when the bride was "with child", or one of the parties was a minor and the local minister would not marry them. Maybe even a combination, who knows? Paul

I have a couple of register office weddings going back to 1901 and 1922 Both were when the bride was preggers I know that, because the child was born 3 months later.

Can anyone tell me in 1849 would it be usual for a couple to mary in the Registry Office? I have just recieved a marraige certificate back and it looks like they were married at the Registry Office. Ann,Darlington