Author Topic: Is this marriage legal?  (Read 1815 times)

Offline Lydart

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Re: Is this marriage legal?
« Reply #9 on: Sunday 27 September 15 19:36 BST (UK) »
Assuming neither of the couple being married was trying to undergo bigamy, or declared their age to be more than it was (i.e. under whatever the legal date for a marriage was at that time) then I would assume that they were marrying in good faith that everything was as it should be, and that therefore in the sight of God, the marriage would be legal.

I know of several cases when the local vicar doesn't do a wedding when he might be expected to .... holiday of the local vicar ?   Illness ?  Family connection ?   One of the couple coming from and having close family ties with another parish, and so that vicar did the ceremony ?   

A lay minister cannot perform a wedding, which is a legal ceremony, whether in church or registry office or nowadays in a licensed venue such as a hotel ... so the celebrant has to be a registrar.   A funeral can be done by anyone, and baptisms are sometimes done by lay people such as a nurse in an emergency.  Funerals and baptisms are not legal ceremonies.
Dorset/Wilts/Hants: Trowbridge Williams Sturney/Sturmey Prince Foyle/Foil Hoare Vincent Fripp/Frypp Triggle/Trygel Adams Hibige/Hibditch Riggs White Angel Cake 
C'wall/Devon/France/CANADA (Barkerville, B.C.): Pomeroy/Pomerai/Pomroy
Som'set: Clark(e) Fry
Durham: Law(e)
London: Hanham Poplett
Lancs/Cheshire/CANADA (Kelowna, B.C. & Sask): Stubbs Walmesley

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Census information Crown Copyright from www.nationalarchives.gov.uk

Offline arthurk

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Re: Is this marriage legal?
« Reply #10 on: Sunday 27 September 15 19:40 BST (UK) »
How would I go about checking the newspaper records? I think that's a good idea Arthur, as it would be something unusual.

The major resource for old newspapers is the British Newspaper Archive, but FindMyPast is part of the same company and has more or less the same content.

To find what's available, plus details of other websites, have a look at Richard Heaton's online guide at http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~dutillieul/BritishandIrishNews.html  There appear to be a number of titles covering Sheffield and surroundings for the year in question.

Arthur