Marriage Index Query - Why two Spouses?

[stevenp]

According to the Oct-Nov-Dec 1918 marriage index for Reading, Berkshire (Vol. 2c, page 1073), Eva K McColm married "Barlow or Preston". There are also corresponding entries for both Charles W Barlow and Charles W Preston. Why would there be two grooms surnames listed?

[Kelly]

Hi Stevenp,

One of my Great Aunts marriage record is listed with her having two surnames, in her case it was because her father died very young and when her mother re-married she grew up with her step fathers surname.

Charles may have been registered at birth with one of the surnames but later changed his surname to the other one.

Kelly.

[Christine in Herts]

Kelly's reply makes sense to me, too.

That situation is more common with women - an earlier marriage, for example, means they would be recorded with both maiden name and previous married name. This is true for my paternal grandmother. It also crops up where there's more than one interpretation of a name (e.g. double-barrelled) - but the names would need to be similar in some way, which those two names are not.

With a man, it suggests there's some kind of reason for him to have used two different surnames, and the scenario Kelly has suggested is certainly a likely possibility.

Christine

[stevenp]

Thanks Kelly and Christine.
Just to add to the mystery, I believe that this was Charles William Barlow's second marriage. The marriage index has him marrying Sophia Hopkins in Reading in 1908. The 1911 census shows he was living in Reading (working as a biscuit factory labourer) with Sophia, having been married for 3 years. Both were aged 30. In 1901, he was still living with his parents, Charles Barlow and Martha Dobson. There is no other mention of the Preston name on any of these records. The death index suggests that Sophia Barlow died in 1938, so one assumes that they were divorced before Charles married Eva McColm in 1918?? I know that the original birth certificate of Charles and Eva's eldest daughter has the father's name blacked out by a family member - I wonder why?

[Little Nell]

That sounds most intriguing! They might have been divorced - or Charles might have committed bigamy. Maybe he married as Charles Preston and was indexed under Barlow because that was the name of his father on the marriage cert? I'd be very tempted to get the marriage cert (which should state whether Charles was divorced or not, if he was being honest!) and also the birth cert to see which name was given in the father's column.

[Little Nell]

I'd also want to find Sophia Barlow in the 1911 census to see what she says about her marital state.

[Christine in Herts]

I'd also want to find Sophia Barlow in the 1911 census to see what she says about her marital state.

I think that Steven says in post #4 that they were together in 1911?

Christine

[Little Nell]

Yes he does Christine! My misreading!