1870 Bigamy - why didn't they try to find a death cert for Hubby 1?

[Penelope]

Redacted

[Night Owl]

Well the marriage entry is interesting, if not confusing

On Free BMD the actual image (which is typewritten) shows 2 entries for Q/E Sep 1869 with the same ref as Mary Blyth - either Andras Haestram or Audeus Hagetnon. Yorkshire BMD has it down as Andras Haestrom.

Jackie

[Olde Crone Holden]

Penelope

I think they didn't bother because it was a Police Court and they possibly thought it was a vexatious claim. There was no proof it was the same woman, as the court found, so there was no further case to answer.

OC

[norwayjane]

From a norwegian point of view the most likely name is Andreas Hagstroem. Andrew being the english version of Andreas and Hagstroem(english version) or Hagstrom where the 'o' would have had a line through it.
Of course he may not have been scandinavian at all. Or he could have returned to Norway to find himself a 'proper' wife
Jane

[Mary from Italy]

It isn't up to the court to find the evidence, it's up to the prosecution, ie. the police, who should have prepared the case better.

[Olde Crone Holden]

From the wording of the newspaper report, it sounds as if it was the HUSBAND (Hagstrom) who was the prosecutor, not the police.

In other words, he brought the claim to the police court, who found no case to answer.

If they had thought he had a case, the matter would have been referred to a higher court, at which point evidence would have been gathered by the Crown.

OC

[Night Owl]

It looks as though he was Swedish. 1881 has an Andres Hagstrom (well that's what I think the image says) age 37 who is a tailor living in Kingston upon Hull. His wife is Marier aged 35 and from Norway. Ancestry has it transcribed as Andres Hagshom

RG11, piece 4766, folio 43, page 15

I presume Marier is a new wife. The Mary Blyth marriage didn't last long if they were married in July and by Christmas they were separated.

Jackie

[Little Nell]

it sounds like Andreas wanted rid of his wife and used the charge of her bigamously marrying to do so.

Didn't work!

The police may have felt that Andreas had made it up, but it does say that there was no proof that her real husband was still alive.

[Penelope]

Redacted

[Guy]

As others have written there was no evidence therefore the court came to the only verdict possible.
People even today seem to mis-understand what a birth marriage or death certificate actually proves.
None of the three certificates form proof of identity.
That is why UK certificates are readily available to anyone in the world who wishes to purchase whichever or how many they wish.

For a prosecution to proceed the prosecution would have to prove not only that a previous marriage had taken place but also that the accused was one of the parties named in the earlier marriage.
They would also have to prove that the earlier husband was alive when the second marriage took place.
They would also have to prove the earlier husband had had contact with his wife during the previous 7 years if he still resided in this country or (if he did have contact) that he was not overseas for the last seven years.

In the case mentioned the prosecution only proved that an earlier marriage took place, they still had a mountain of evidence to obtain and prove.
Cheers
Guy

[Penelope]

Redacted

[Olde Crone Holden]

Penelope

It really does appear to have been a vexatious claim - although it may have been a true claim!

A police court did not have the powers that a national court did, it was a sort of clearing house for crimes. It would deal with things like drunkenness and that sort of thing - straightforward and punishable by a fine or a few days in the clink. Anything remotely more serious would be passed either to the Magistrate's Court (if there was one) or onto the County Assizes.

Bigamy was a serious crime, so if they had thought there was any substance to his claim, they would have referred it upwards. Reading between the lines there is a certain amount of exasperation expressed in the lack of his evidence.

Hagstrom should have found witnesses to the earlier marriage and got them to appear at the Police Court. He didn't though, and one wonders why he didn't go back and do this after he was chucked out of court the first time!

As she was denying being the Mary Blyth who married Hemingway, I honestly don't know how you could prove it one way or the other now - signatures on the two MCs possibly, but probably not!

OC

[Penelope]

Redacted