Genealogy Chat

I have a feeling that in the UK (or it might have been only England) you could remarry after being apart for a certain number of years; 5 or maybe 7.

When people were separated because of transportation they were allowed to remarry for this reason.

Ozi.

I suppose there could have been an annulment, although if she was living with him on the 1881 census, I wouldn't have thought an annulment was likely and a divorce at that time even more unlikely.

As I said - bigamy was more widespread than you would expect - and I suppose she thought there wasn't much chance of being found out if she was on the other side of the world!!

Kath. x

On a similar subject - I have an ancestor who married in Wales in 1881, was living apart from her husband at the time of the census three months later and emigrated to Australia two years later, with her sister and brother in law, but without her husband who never left Wales.

12 years later she married in Australia, stating on the marriage certificate that she was a spinster. Her first husband continued to describe himself as married on subsequent census', although he never married again.

Am I right in thinking that she probably never got divorced or that the first marraige wasn't annulled? I assume it would have been unusual for a wife to obtain a divorce or an annullment in Wales in 1881.

Lynn

It should in theory say "previous marriage disolved", but it all depends on what the groom told the registrar.

Depending on the timeframe and how wealthy the person was, it is unlikely that an ordinary working class person would have been divorced in the early 1900's as divorce was just too expensive and difficult to get. Lots of people either lived together as man and wife and said they were a married couple or married bigamously.

Kath. x

Thanks everyone

Just as well to keep reminding people who are starting out on this family history trail not to take everything you see on an "official" and "legal" certificate as gospel truth!

Mike

I have a marriage certificate for a divorced person where it says for condition of marriage " previous marriage dissolved"
carol

I don't know what time frame you mean but there was a stigma attached to divorce so he could easily have 'forgotten' to mention it.

Ozi.

Hi Mike,

I even has some who have put widow down on their secong marriage certificate who were infact still married and husband's alive and well!!! I think they put what they wanted to be.

Best Wishes

Jane

Thanks Bernie

I have just checked on some second marriages in 1907 and 1868 and all the chaps were widowers and the ladies were widows! Mind you, some of them had knocked a few years off their ages and we know folks were not always accurate in information about fathers,occupations,place of birth etc!

Mike

I don't know about that, but one of mine was a widower - and on 2nd marriage he described himself as a bachelor.Maybe if you're not married then that's what you think you are.
B

Can I please ask if anyone would know if a divorced man was legally a" bachelor" at a subsequent marriage and described as such on the certificate.

thanks

Mike