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  • Buying a wife

    Was it ever legal in this country to buy a wife? This isn't part of my research, but I was reading through the Sevenoaks Petty Sessions transcripts, which are absolutely fascinating and one of the entries that caught my eye was that in 1818 Richard Wellfare had bought his wife from John Jenkins, to whom she was married about 10 or 12 years ago. This seemed to be acceptable to the officials there.

    The amount of detail in these are incredible, and I've finally found my OH's ggggGrandmothers maiden name as she is mentioned in them. If anyone wants to have a look, they are here http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb....ettlement.html
    Linda


    My avatar is my Grandmother Carolina Meulenhoff 1896 - 1955

  • #2
    All sounds a bit extraordinary! Why was there a court case?
    Margaret

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    • #3
      It was Settlement Orders, they were being removed from Sevenoaks to Shoreham, but it gives practically the whole history of the families. One other thing I found strange is that they would remove the parents to one town, and in some cases the children to other towns - in one case a baby of a few months. I wonder if the people involved really carried out the orders.
      Linda


      My avatar is my Grandmother Carolina Meulenhoff 1896 - 1955

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      • #4
        How fascinating. I must have a good read of some of the records when I get time.

        As you say it may be they never carried out some of the moves but perhaps asked for money from the other parish instead. I doubt they would have sent children separate to parents as they would definitely have need parish relief without their families!
        Margaret

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        • #5
          I'm not sure that it was actually legal, but wasn't there something similar in one of Thomas Hardy's books?

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          • #6
            Yes, here it is, Wikipedia to the rescue:

            Although the custom had no basis in law and frequently resulted in prosecution, particularly from the mid-19th century onwards, the attitude of the authorities was equivocal. At least one early 19th-century magistrate is on record as stating that he did not believe he had the right to prevent wife sales, and there were cases of local Poor Law Commissioners forcing husbands to sell their wives, rather than having to maintain the family in workhouses.

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            • #7
              Well, what do you know... As I say the amount of information in these records is amazing, some of it going back a couple of generations. Just goes to show Big Brother is nothing new.
              Linda


              My avatar is my Grandmother Carolina Meulenhoff 1896 - 1955

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              • #8
                You may be interested in a newspaper report from 1823 about a man selling his wife. It's on my site (I'm not trying to promote my own site - I genuinely think you may find it relevant).
                Phil
                historyhouse.co.uk
                Essex - family and local history.

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