I would be very grateful if anyone can shed light on this puzzle, which has been driving me a bit crazy since I first learned of it.
My four greats grandfather, Charles Henry Hughes, was borough treasurer, a solicitor, a J.P. and generally a pillar of middle-class community in Carmarthen. He had five children with Ann Jones. He accepted responsibility for the children, and gave them his surname. He lived with them after the presumed death of their mother. He made arrangements for them to have money from his estate after his death (1879), and left them the property he was living in.
His parents were married, and his father was mayor of Carmarthen on a number of occasions and so they were a respectable family and so I looked for explanations for him not marrying his partner, such as a pre-existing marriage or some other reason. I can find none, although Charles Hughes is a common name in Wales.
What became even more strange, was that I discovered his brother, David Walter Hughes (1813-1850) did exactly the same. He didn't marry his partner, but took responsibility for his children and made arrangements for both partner and children to be looked after financially after his death.
His sister, Sophia Hughes (1807-1878) did marry, to Lewis Morris, but their son, Lewis Morris, who was a barrister and a poet, had to be made to marry his partner, with whom he lived before marriage.
It seems that Charles and David's other brother John may also have had a relationship with one of his nurses, and again, did not marry her.
If it was just my 4 greats grandfather, I would assume there must have been an obstacle to the marriage which could not be overcome. However, the fact that both his brothers and his nephew also avoided or resisted marriage makes me feel sure there must have been a reason - maybe a religion or political movement or philosophical movement which resisted state-sanctioned marriage for some reason.
I have asked this question of historians specializing in Carmarthenshire and no one has been able to come up with any sort of explanation. If anyone has any ideas, or suggestions for how I might research this, I'd be very glad to hear them.
