Search for my father's first marriage records

[Marianthompson47]

Hello

I have just spoken with a member of my family.

They explained that my father had been married before. Then married my mother in the 1940ies.

So I thought I would search for information on the General Registry Office.

Unfortunately, it only allows you to search births and deaths.
Furthermore, I obviously do not have a date of this first wedding.

I attempted to search but you can only order a marriage certificate and pay right there, without viewing it. Sort of pot luck!

Does anyone have any idea where else I could search??

Thank you!! 🙏

[rosie99]

Freebmd

Does the marriage certificate to your mother confirm that he was previously married -ie widowed or divorced

[Marianthompson47]

Thank you Rosie.

My father remarried (to my mother) in Belgium.

I am not sure the certificate mentions he was previously married but I will check. I have this certificate in French.

I have now checked the marriage certificate but it doesn't mention he was married before.

[HeatherLynne]

You can search for Marriages on the website FreeBMD  https://www.freebmd.org.uk/cgi/search.pl

Tick the marriages box and put in their surnames and you should get some results.  Obviously it depends on how unusual their names are as to whether you'll just get one result or multiple but it's worth a look.  If you get many results then it's possible to narrow the results by putting in likely areas where the marriage may have taken place and/or an idea of the period to be searched, perhaps in this case 1930 to 1950?

Hope that helps, FreeBMD is a very useful free resource for finding reference numbers to order Birth, Marriage and Death certificates.

Good luck with your research
Heather

[Marianthompson47]

Thank you Heather.

I obviously know my father's full name but haven't got a clue of his first wife's name (that is if he was previously married).

Also, it has given me 4 results which do NOT include his exact name.

So I am at a loss....
But thank you very much.

You can search for Marriages on the website FreeBMD  https://www.freebmd.org.uk/cgi/search.pl

Tick the marriages box and put in their surnames and you should get some results.  Obviously it depends on how unusual their names are as to whether you'll just get one result or multiple but it's worth a look.  If you get many results then it's possible to narrow the results by putting in likely areas where the marriage may have taken place and/or an idea of the period to be searched, perhaps in this case 1930 to 1950?

Hope that helps, FreeBMD is a very useful free resource for finding reference numbers to order Birth, Marriage and Death certificates.

Good luck with your research
Heather

[Little Nell]

If he married in Britain, then maybe look for a newspaper announcement in the area where he lived.

Or perhaps look at electoral rolls in that area to see if a wife is listed.  If nothing else, it might provide a first name for her.

Nell

[bearkat]

Does your father appear on the 1939 register, perhaps with a wife?

If not, you have 4 possible 'wives' to investigate on the 1939 register.  Do you know if he had any children with his first wife?

[Ladyhawk]

Does your father appear on the 1939 register, perhaps with a wife?

Do you know his exact date of birth?

Where and when did his parents marry?

If you don't want to post details of his name or his date of birth, his parents names etc... please feel free to send a personal message via Rootschat

If you've not used PM before this link explains how it works  https://www.rootschat.com/help/pms.php

[Marianthompson47]

Thank you.

Where would I find the 1939 register??

He was born in 1908 so would have been about 30 then.
I do not know her name but was to!d children were born from his first marriage

Does your father appear on the 1939 register, perhaps with a wife?

If not, you have 4 possible 'wives' to investigate on the 1939 register.  Do you know if he had any children with his first wife?