who is the daddy?

[anpefa1]

hello all,

here's a conundrum i have recently come across from the 1870's.

emily married faithfull and they had a family.
faithfull died and emily married his brother william and they added to the original family.

so william was emily's brother-in-law, husband, uncle to his nieces and nephews and father of his brothers childrens step brothers and sisters!

who said genealogy could be complicated?

tony

[MargP]

Hi Tony

I thought it was against the law for  women to marry there husbands brother, my aunt first husband died, and she got together with his brother, but had to wait some years, I think it was in the 1950's, before she could marry him after the law had changed.

Margp

[anpefa1]

hi margp

they married three years after the death according to the records.

census and bmd info indicate the same and of course she maintained her first husband's name given that she married his brother and his mother (emily's double mother-in-law) was living with them!

maybe desperate measures or the law was not so tight then.

tony

[PrueM]

Interesting circumstances! 

According to the page linked to below, it was not until 1907 that the restriction on marrying one's deceased husband's brother was removed - so it seems that her second marriage was not legal.  I'm sure someone like stanmapstone would be able to elaborate on this.

http://www.genetic-genealogy.co.uk/Toc115570145.html

[anpefa1]

hi pru,

emily was 31 with three children when her husband died (also early 30's) i suppose necessity is the mother of invention was applied.

tony

[PrueM]

Hi Tony

Yes, women (and men with families for that matter) did tend to get remarried ASAP after the death of a spouse.  I was just pointing out that the marriage was not legal at the time, so it would be interesting to know if, for example, they married in their home parish or one a bit further away (where the circumstances might not have been known).

[anpefa1]

hi pru

i'll check that out later, tune in for more spice!

tony

[cocksie]

http://www.genetic-genealogy.co.uk/Toc115570145.html

That's interesting.  I did not know that.  I have a number of male ancestors who, upon death of wife, went on to marry the dead wife's sister ....... particularly in the 1800s

cocksie

[derby girl]

It seems to me that it was often a matter of how vigilant (or sympathetic) the parish priest was.  My great grandparents couldn't marry because they were uncle and niece by marriage, but in a different village in Derbyshire a relative married his deceased wife's sister - with apparently no problems.
Regards
Derby Girl