Time for Speculation ?

[margaretmarch]

Perhaps she was brought up by the Mackenzie family and assumed their name but then later needed to be able to show she had her own family name.
Margaret

[AlanC]

Yes Kyle, I come across that situation frequently but in this instance it wasnt the Bride's fault. The entry was written by the Curate.

[kylejustin]

i read the situation similar to when bride's sign their names with their married name instead of their maiden one on the registers. i suppose her name was written as mckenzie by mistake, and when they checked it years later, they corrected it.

[Olde Crone Holden]

Alms houses have been in existence since the eleventh century and insurance since about 1650!

Most of the industrious working class paid into some kind of insurance, be it a burial club or a local work-based insurance club and there were thousands upon thousands of these insurance clubs. Remember there was no state help other than poor relief.

OC

[AlanC]

Hi OC, My perception of Legalities c1870 does not stretch to Insurances, Alms Houses etc but it is safe to assume proof of Marriage was required for a good reason. I dont know the answer.
Hello Janet, A perfectly good explanation but I've just looked at the entry again. The groom was a Mariner and the Spinster bride was illiterate 'X' and as often happens with sailors, they were married by licence in Liverpool.

[Janet in Yorkshire]

Or a bequest, perhaps to the wife, who needed proof of name change?

Jay

[Olde Crone Holden]

Presumably the couple required proof of their marriage for some reason, most probably for an insurance of some sort after all that time - a burial club would be my guess, or maybe for entry into an alms house etc, or for public relief.

OC

[AlanC]

I am transcribing a marriage that occurred in 1825. The groom shows as a John McKenzie whilst the Bride is entered as Ann McKenzie. There is a 'border' note which states that the brides name should read 'Newton' and altered in accordance with George III regs., signed and dated by The Curate, 29th March 1870, some 45 years later. I just wondered what event happened to prompt the alteration given that the Passport Office was closed and Insurance offices likewise.