Marrying Cousins

[Siely]

Can I ask about cousins getting married ? When did it stop being okay ?

[bearkat]

It is still legal for cousins to marry in the UK.

It may not be the best idea genetically though.

[jim1]

It hasn't stopped being ok.

[CaroleW]

According to this it's ok

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N512-GXN

[Siely]

Thank you all.  I was told (wrongly judging by your answers) that there were attempts to ban it because of inherited poor health and anatomical problems, obviously this was wrong.

In the US (according to Wikipedia - Cousin Marriage) some states allow it and some don't.

[GrahamSimons]

There have been attempts, with mixed results, to discourage it particularly in communities which are small or where there is such a tradition.

[Siely]

My grandfather told me that his grandfather may have married a cousin and he said there was a stigma about it. I'm trying to research this.

He was adamant that there is  a still a social stigma about it that was used by people with superior attitudes.

Although marrying cousins is legal (see earlier contributions)  it doesn't necessarily stop the social stigma

e.g. The working canal barge community or "bargees" with a history of intermarriages between the same group of families for decades.

After the industrial revolution and its advances in technology the mobility and opportunity of working people increased but they often found themselves in city "slum" areas with little social contact outside of it.

I raised the subject for two reasons because of the reality of social stigma and the modern DNA and health movement.

[AntonyMMM]

there is  a still a social stigma about it that was used by people with superior attitudes.

I wonder if anyone ever said that about Queen Victoria marrying her 1st cousin, Albert !

[RW1]

I have several instances of siblings marrying siblings, which is fine genetically for their children.

But would those cousins be allowed to marry? They share only four grandparents (like brother snd sister).