Mysterious Marriage

[Simma]

Can anyone give me there opinion on the following situation?

A couple marry in 1897 in York. It is the second marriage for both of them. They have no connection to York other than the fact that the groom's sister and brother-in-law (both witnesses at the wedding live there). They both live in Barnsley but the bride is originally from Scotland.

The groom is aged 43 and listed on the certificate as a widower, though I have been unable to locate the death of his wife in death registers.

The bride is 29 and listed as a spinster, though she has been married before and has two children from her first marriage. There appears to be no record of the death of her first husband. She uses her original, birth surname on the certificate rather than the surname of her first husband.

I have too questions:
(a) Does this sound like something dodgy is going on?
AND
(b) Is it usual for a woman to use her maiden surname on official documentation if she is a widow, or would she have retained the surname of her dead husband?

I had heard that it was common practice in Scotland for wives not to change their surnames on marriage.

Any thoughts greatly appreciated?

[acorngen]

It sounds to me like there is something amiss.  I do wonder if in fact the registrar as gotten the widow and spinster part the wrong way around.  At the date you are talking about I would have found it strange for an English woman to have kept her maiden name when marrying although it isn't unheard of.  I dont suppose you would like to share names with us which may help give you a better opinion than what I have now and also maybe help us to look at other sources for confirmation etc

Rob

[louisa maud]

Hi Simma
I have a similar situation, when checking on certs for the second marriage I found the lady in question and it was a bigamous marriage,  her first husband was still alive,  I purchase both certs so I know a marriage took place on both occasions.

I also have a couple who married in London after living in Essex, I discovered it was an illegal marriage, he had married his late wife's sister, it wasn't found out till they returned to Essex to have a child baptized, the incumbent wrote on the baptism record that this marriage was illegal, they had obviously run away to get married but were found out on their return..

Single surnames on re-marriage, I have a relative who married just 2 years ago having been divorced, she used her single name on remarriage, I didn't say a word for fear of putting a spanner in the works as it were but I would have thought she would have had to use her married name. Scotland is something a little different, even on a gravestone they use their single surname

Happy hunting

Louisa Maud

[acorngen]

Louisa,

A woman only takes her hubby's name as a couertesy and doesn't actually have to.  Her married name is the name she is known by should she take her hubbies but her maiden name is still her legal surname hence why you get asked on official documents for the maiden name.  Thereore she did nothing wrong by marrying under her maiden name and not her married name

Rob

[trish251]

You mention that the bride is originally from Scotland. My understanding (and findings for my own families confirm) that Scottish women commonly did not take their husband's name when married, so a second marriage using the maiden name would be quite common. Census records and wills that I have from the 19th century in Scotland often use the womens' birth names.

Trish