Presumed dead

[inquisitivelamb]

My g-grandmother remarried 7 years after returning to England from America without her husband. Would she have had to go through a legal process to declare her first husband died and would there be an official record separate to the 'normal' death records?

[lancs-lassie]

My gg grandmother went to America without her husband, married a chap there when her husband in England was very much alive!
I doubt very much that there was a divorce...... 😮
Lancs-lassie

[Erato]

Maybe she presented a US death certificate as evidence.

[inquisitivelamb]

Family folklore has it that she was unaware of her husbands death until after her return to England. However, the fact that, in an era when such things were frowned upon, she was expecting her second child to another man before she remarried leads me to think that disputes that she was ever informed of a death.

[Erato]

Without any names or time frame or specific locality in the United States, it's hard to speculate on what might have occurred.

[Ruskie]

Do you know where they were living in America?
Have you searched for his death there?
You don’t mention any dates ...
Do you know when she returned to England?
Do you know when she married?
Do you know when the child was born?
A time line might help clarify.

There are any number of scenarios that could have occurred .... she visited England, her husband died in America while she was there, she stayed, years later met someone, they married.

I presume you suspect there is more to the story than that? (Eg .... she left him, ran off to England, started a new relationship, waited the seven years claiming she had not heard from her husband, presumed he was dead, then married the second chap). First husband may or may not have died.

I don’t think that you can assume that because she was pregnant prior to her second marriage, that she was not informed of the death of the first husband.

To start with, I would be looking for a death in America. If that fails, check England. Family stories sometimes stretch the truth a bit. You need to track down some documentation if possible.

Do you have her marriage certificate? Does she say she is a widow?

It might depend on dates as to whether or not she would need to prove his death before remarriage. I don’t know that any proof would be required - they would probably just take her word for it. That is my assumption - I am sure that someone will be able to give you the facts once we have some dates.

[inquisitivelamb]

G-grandma married in1898 and had a son in 1899. They and their son are recorded on the 1900 US census living in Dunbar, Fayette, Pennsylvania. She (minus hubby) and their son were back in England by July 1901 where the birth of their daughter (my grandmother) was registered. She remarried in 1908 having had a third child and expecting a fourth, both to her second husband. It is because of the seven-year wait that I suspect she had no evidence of her first husband's death. 

If other people's research is correct g-grandma's first husband re-married in 1904 in Bonanza, Sebastian, Arkansas.

[Erato]

Have you found the husband on the 1910 census?

[Ruskie]

G-grandma married in1898 and had a son in 1899. They and their son are recorded on the 1900 US census living in Dunbar, Fayette, Pennsylvania. She (minus hubby) and their son were back in England by July 1901 where the birth of their daughter (my grandmother) was registered. She remarried in 1908 having had a third child and expecting a fourth, both to her second husband. It is because of the seven-year wait that I suspect she had no evidence of her first husband's death. 

If other people's research is correct g-grandma's first husband re-married in 1904 in Bonanza, Sebastian, Arkansas.

I see. So a few extra children in the picture. 

Do you have the birth certificates of all of the children born in England? Are the fathers named?

If a woman is married it is assumed that the husband is the father of a baby unless another man admits responsibility.

The seven year wait before remarriage does seem significant. Makes me wonder if he was still alive, which she may or may not have known. Could be they separated and lost touch, or he just left her.