RootsChat.Com

Beginners => Family History Beginners Board => Topic started by: ambers on Sunday 30 July 06 00:05 BST (UK)

Title: Do you record re-marriages?
Post by: ambers on Sunday 30 July 06 00:05 BST (UK)
If your grand parents have re-married, do you record the details of that marriage if they do not have children together.

Sorry if it's a silly question but I just don't know what is the done thing. ???

Ambers

Title: Re: Do you record re-marriages?
Post by: jericho on Sunday 30 July 06 03:52 BST (UK)
I have several couples in my tree who have  remarried, both with and with out having children, and I always record both marriages, especially if  they are a direct line, I think  its a personal preference for each person whether they record them or not.





jericho
Title: Re: Do you record re-marriages?
Post by: Valda on Sunday 30 July 06 06:30 BST (UK)
Marriage along with birth and death are the three 'events'. Many marriages do not lead to children whether they are first or subsequent marriages. Each time a person marries technically in law people become related. If your grandparents remarried you gained step grandparents and step uncles and aunts. You may not choose to put everyone in, but if you are recording the lives of your ancestors and not just lists of names presumably you don't want to leave blank a large chunk of your grandparents' lives - their life with their second marriage partner?

Regards

Valda
Title: Re: Do you record re-marriages?
Post by: ambers on Sunday 30 July 06 14:21 BST (UK)
Valda and Jericho thanks for your replies.

What threw me was the professional charts with only one box for grandparents, so how would I account for a change of name on death  if the re-marriage wasn't noted.
Some of my rellies were babies when their mum died, so the second marriage is a very important part of their lives.

My home drawn tree has everyone listed, brothers, sisters, and who they married.... well it will have when I find them :D

Regards Ambers
Title: Re: Do you record re-marriages?
Post by: kerryb on Sunday 30 July 06 14:27 BST (UK)
Ambers

I always put them in, re-marriages became quite important in my search.  The family always believed that my great grandfather had been born to his father's second marriage.  However when I first started doing the family tree, it became quite obvious early on he was born to the first wife. 

He appears to be the only child to the first wife as well.  Also there is another story that his mother died in childbirth.  So far I have not managed to find another child though.  Roll on 2011 so I can see the next census!!!

Kerry
Title: Re: Do you record re-marriages?
Post by: Sisterjane on Sunday 30 July 06 16:04 BST (UK)
Valda, Heres another silly question.....
What do you write in the " events " on a family tree programme. I have put cencus and other bits of info in the " general notes " but never put anything in "events"

Joe
Title: Re: Do you record re-marriages?
Post by: Nick Carver on Sunday 30 July 06 19:24 BST (UK)
Without recording remarriages, it is impossible to trace the deaths of female ancestors as they have an annoying habit of changing their names when they tie the knot.
Title: Re: Do you record re-marriages?
Post by: ambers on Sunday 30 July 06 19:47 BST (UK)
Hi Kerry,

That was an important find, how sad it would have been for his real mum :'( if you hadn't spotted it.

Same problem here with my G grandmother, my grandfather just made the census at seven months.
His father wasn't on the 1901 census but his mother is listed as married not widowed....waiting for certificates to get his dads name now

She re-married within six years, I know of another child whom so far I haven't been able to trace, so yes, second marriages are just as important .

As you say... roll on 2011.

Ambers
Title: Re: Do you record re-marriages?
Post by: ambers on Sunday 30 July 06 19:55 BST (UK)
Hi Nick,

That's why I placed the query, as I couldn't see how the information would tie up on a ladies death.

Still there is hope, some of my frinds are now including there maiden name with their married name...now that's what I call a helpful rellie ;)

Ambers
Title: Re: Do you record re-marriages?
Post by: Nick Carver on Sunday 30 July 06 21:38 BST (UK)
My experience of this is finding my gg grandmother marrying the lodger some years after the death of her husband. The census showed her age as declining by 25 years over the decade between censuses, doubtless to minimise the effect of the 25 years she had spent on this earth before the birth of her second husband. I'd love to find a photograph
Title: Re: Do you record re-marriages?
Post by: ambers on Sunday 30 July 06 21:53 BST (UK)
Hi Nick,

Be grateful, if she could lie and get away with it, she must have looked young for her age...and hopefully it will run in the family ;D

Regards Amber

Title: Re: Do you record re-marriages?
Post by: Captain (aka Graham in Reading) on Sunday 30 July 06 22:19 BST (UK)
I'd say recording 2nd, 3rd, all known marriages is essential.  Even non-marriages.   ??? What?  Well I have one of my G-grandfathers who never married my g-grandmother, although they had one child - my grandmother.  ??? What's unusual about that?  Well because we think he was still married at the time, to someone else and had three children with HER.
All that info is essential to putting his life together.
Title: Re: Do you record re-marriages?
Post by: ambers on Monday 31 July 06 00:22 BST (UK)
Thank you all for your views, and sharing thebackground of your own families with regard to including re-marriages ....and some cases of none marriage included :-\

I really wanted a complete picture of my ancestors, not just a skeleton with lists of names and dates.

Hopefully I will find a skeleton in the cupboard at some time when I have gained more experience. We are all looking a little too perfect at the moment,  now that's not right because I must follow someone  ::) ;D ::)

Ambers
Title: Re: Do you record re-marriages?
Post by: trish251 on Monday 31 July 06 02:42 BST (UK)
Hi Ambers

What threw me was the professional charts with only one box for grandparents, so how would I account for a change of name on death  if the re-marriage wasn't noted.

Perhaps these charts relate to the concept of tracing a single persons' ancestors backwards. Despite multiple marriages etc, we all have only one biological mother and father. Thus said - and as mentioned by others - all of the extra relationships are critical to get the complete picture - and to get it right  ;D

Trish
Title: Re: Do you record re-marriages?
Post by: ambers on Monday 31 July 06 03:05 BST (UK)
Hi Trish,

Of course when it's your tree, you only have to list your parents......I didn't think of it from that point of view.

I guess I am a sharer by nature, and always go for the bigger picture...well that's my excuse  anyway ;D

Ambers
Title: Re: Do you record re-marriages?
Post by: lizdb on Wednesday 02 August 06 16:32 BST (UK)
I'll say what I always say to these sorts of questions -

Always record everything!!

You never know when a seemingly insignificant piece of info will suddenly become the final link in piecing something together in the future.

Just think when you are struggling with the 2011 census and you finally find a possible Fred Smith lodging with Bill Jones who he describes as a stepbrother. Is he yours?? You deliberate long and hard. But.....yes! you had made a note that Fred's mum in her twilight years remarried to a Mr Jones.
Title: Re: Do you record re-marriages?
Post by: ambers on Wednesday 02 August 06 20:04 BST (UK)
Lizdb...

Funny you should mention the name Jones...I received a birth certificate to-day with---Formerly Jones as the mother, his father is noted as deceased on his marriage certificate.

As a newbie I am really stuck with tracing his parents,  the 1871 Census  has him as a Lodger, the 1861 with his Grandmother, he wasn't born for the 1851

Now where do I post asking for help...HERE  for BEGINNERS or Carmarthenshire.  ??? ???

Ambers
Title: Re: Do you record re-marriages?
Post by: lizdb on Thursday 03 August 06 11:30 BST (UK)
Tell us more and we'll see what we can do!

Tell us all you DO know, so we dont duplicate -
full name, exact wording on his birth cert for mum and dad, exact wording on marriage cert etc, details of what censuses you have checked and what you found etc.
Title: Re: Do you record re-marriages?
Post by: ambers on Thursday 03 August 06 13:03 BST (UK)
Lizdb,

Thank you so much :D :D...I will start a new thread with all the information.

Ambers