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Was it legal for a man to marry his brother's widow in 1851?

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  • Was it legal for a man to marry his brother's widow in 1851?

    My ggg grandfather Edward Anderton married a Mary Ann Anderson in 1851, she was listed as a widow. Further investigation suggests that she was actually Mary Ann Anderton, the widow of John Anderton, Edward's brother. Would this have been legal?
    See Help!! I ordered a cert to help me & now I am totally confused!! - Page 5 - Family Tree Forum for the full story
    Lynn

  • #2
    No, but it was a very frequent occurance! lol

    A man may not marry his:
    1 Grandmother
    2 Grandfather's wife
    3 Wife's grandmother
    4 Father's sister
    5 Mother's sister
    6 Father's brother's wife
    7 Mother's brother's wife
    8 Wife's father's sister
    9 Wife's mother's sister
    10 Mother
    11 Step-mother
    12 Wife's mother
    13 Daughter
    14 Wife's daughter
    15 Son's wife
    16 Sister
    17 Wife's sister
    18 Brother's wife <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
    19 Son's daughter
    20 Daughter's daughter
    21 Son's son's wife
    22 Daughter's son's wife
    23 Wife's son's daughter
    24 Wife's daughter's daughter
    25 Brother's daughter
    26 Sister's daughter
    27 Brother's son's wife
    28 Sister's son's wife
    29 Wife's brother's daughter
    30 Wife's sister's daughter

    1907 Marriage Act – Number 17 removed, provided the wife had died, ie a man could marry his deceased wife’s sister

    1921 Marriage Act – Number 18 removed

    1931 Marriage Act – Numbers 6 & 7, 8 & 9, 27 & 28, 29 & 30 removed from the list


    There's an equivalent list for women.
    Last edited by Merry Monty Montgomery; 26-04-09, 10:21.

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    • #3
      I haven't read The Full Story (!) but an indicator might be that they didn't marry in their local church. My family had a habit of going to London when they wanted to marry illegally! lol

      Comment


      • #4
        I also have a similar case but I can't find the actual marriage of the man to his sister-in-law. He was a well known shopkeeper and her family were local professionals so expect they told people they had married elsewhere and then just lived together as man and wife, I don't expect that many people knew the law and would have assumed it was OK.

        When I was looking into this I found that until 1835 a man could legally marry his deceased wife’s sister but then the Government brought the civil law into line with Church law, so that it was illegal to marry thus between 1835 and 1907.

        Ice

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        • #5
          Mine had a habit of marrying in the Register Office when they were committing border-line incest, lol.

          The law may have stopped one or two timid souls but it never stopped any of mine. It has always seemed to me an immensly practical solution to a tricky problem - at least a sister would be kind to her dead sister's children, and the widower knew what he was getting!

          OC

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          • #6
            1921 Marriage Act – Number 18 removed

            So, does that mean it was illegal in 1851????
            Jeanette
            Don't interpret this smile as happiness; it's insanity! :D

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            • #7
              This would probably explain a lot. They married in Hull, when they were living in Barton, although Mary Ann lived in Hull with her late husband. She gave her name as Anderson rather than Anderton & her maiden name changed from Laceby to Mapplethorpe, although her father's first name & occupation remained the same.

              I will really have to get to Lincoln RO to check this out more.
              Lynn

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              • #8
                Jeannette

                Yes, it was illegal in 1851. Don't worry about it though, thousands of people ignored it.

                OC

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                • #9
                  Thanks OC

                  Looks like Lynn has got herself a right old muddle to sort out then :D
                  Jeanette
                  Don't interpret this smile as happiness; it's insanity! :D

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                  • #10
                    I have a death registration of "Mary Elizabeth STRATFORD", which goes with a burial of "Mary Elizabeth Stratford properly called GARDNER". She was the younger sister of Hannah GARDNER who was the first (?only actual) wife of John STRATFORD (m 3 Jun 1844), and who died in 1849 (bur 21 Jan 1894), aged 27. John and Hannah had two (as far as I know) children: George bap 25 Dec 1844, bur 22 Aug 1845 (age 9 mo), and Mary bap 23 Apr 1849, bur 2 May 1849 (age 1 mo). John and Elizabeth went on to have at least five children (all using his surname), of whom three married and had families.

                    at least a sister would be kind to her dead sister's children, and the widower knew what he was getting
                    Sadly it doesn't always work out that way...
                    My father & his elder brother were deserted by their father as small children (spring 1916).
                    Their mother married seven years later (1923q4) to a man they clearly respected and held in affection.
                    Their mother died 12 Jun 1927.
                    Their stepfather married their mother's spinster elder sister - their favourite aunt - 1930q2.
                    She subsequently became the "stepmother from hell" - evidenced by highly uncharacteristic behaviour towards her by the two brothers who were normally very loving, caring and considerate (as you would hope of clergymen). Also evidenced by oddly uncaring behaviour by her towards them: disposing of precious, irreplaceable, personal effects, without reference to them, whilst they were away at Uni.

                    But I concede that OC's suggestion should normally be valid.

                    Christine
                    Researching: BENNETT (Leics/Birmingham-ish) - incl. Leonard BENNETT in Detroit & Florida ; WARR/WOR, STRATFORD & GARDNER/GARNAR (Oxon); CHRISTMAS, RUSSELL, PAFOOT/PAFFORD (Hants); BIGWOOD, HAYLER/HAILOR (Sussex); LANCASTER (Beds, Berks, Wilts) - plus - COCKS (Spitalfields, Liverpool, Plymouth); RUSE/ROWSE, TREMEER, WADLIN(G)/WADLETON (Devonport, E Cornwall); GOULD (S Devon); CHAPMAN, HALL/HOLE, HORN (N Devon); BARRON, SCANTLEBURY (Mevagissey)...

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                    • #11
                      Christine

                      that is a very sad story, but I wonder if her nastiness was mis-placed?

                      When I married for the second time, my husband announced with great intensity that he would never love me as much as he had loved (first wife) but that he was sure we could make a go of things.

                      It didn't make me nasty towards his children, who I brought up, but it didn't half make me nasty towards him!

                      Perhaps she realised, like I did, that she had been brought in as a cheap housekeeper and felt cheated, but didn't dare vent her spite on him, so vented on the children instead.

                      How sad for all concerned really. She could have been a much-loved stepmother.

                      OC

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                      • #12
                        You could be right, OC. All the people directly involved are dead - or don't have much memory left. It was the stepfather's second and third marriages. His daughters from the first marriage couldn't leave fast enough after the third, I'm told.

                        Maybe her younger sister was held up as a model to her - which would certainly not be a morale-boosting thing to experience.

                        Your own difficult (note English understatement, here!) experience gives you a possible insight into the situation which I hadn't thought of.

                        Christine
                        Researching: BENNETT (Leics/Birmingham-ish) - incl. Leonard BENNETT in Detroit & Florida ; WARR/WOR, STRATFORD & GARDNER/GARNAR (Oxon); CHRISTMAS, RUSSELL, PAFOOT/PAFFORD (Hants); BIGWOOD, HAYLER/HAILOR (Sussex); LANCASTER (Beds, Berks, Wilts) - plus - COCKS (Spitalfields, Liverpool, Plymouth); RUSE/ROWSE, TREMEER, WADLIN(G)/WADLETON (Devonport, E Cornwall); GOULD (S Devon); CHAPMAN, HALL/HOLE, HORN (N Devon); BARRON, SCANTLEBURY (Mevagissey)...

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                        • #13
                          Redacted

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                          • #14
                            I am happy to say that grans two sisters both married the same man, one after the other I hasten to add,he had already been married and had a number of children, he and they became much loved members of the extended family and two of the girls my most favourite aunties. A lovely man, just sitting here thinking about him and I'm starting to grin.

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                            • #15
                              I am glad that my theory on this seems to be correct, although I would like to know what happened to Edward's first wife.Although Mary Ann, left Edward & shacked up with another man, she at least had the decency to wait for him to die before remarrying
                              Lynn

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