Was he a bigamist?

[vallee]

have a couple getting married in 1840 the girl is 17 he is 22
in 1849 she remarries using his surname and says she is a widow
in 1852 he remarries and says he is a Bachelor

So were they both bigamists or could the marriage have been annulled maybe because of her age ?

Thanks

[kiterunner]

I suppose it's possible they got a divorce? Though unlikely in those days, of course. Also, was she definitely still alive when he got married again?

[Merry]

I think you need to find out if they married by banns or licence if you are to understand whether the marriage could be have annulled if consent was not given for the marriage of a minor.

Hardwicke's Marriage Act of 1753 stated that those under the age of 21 had to have parental consent if they married by licence; marriages by banns, by contrast, were valid as long as the parent of the minor did not actually forbid the banns.

[Olde Crone]

I am fairly certain that the Church would not annul a marriage on grounds of age alone, especially if the marriage had been consummated, unless there were very strong grounds for doing so, e.g. the minor was an heiress, lol.

OC

[HarrysMum]

If there was a divorce, it would have probably made the newspapers. Did they have money?

[Phoenix]

Did all the events take place in a small village or were they in different places/large city?

Before 1858, you were far more likely to lie about your status simply because divorce was impossible. A vicar could sniff out a scandal in a village, but if he didn't know the couple's background, he wouldn't forbid the banns.

There is a very sad case in Portsmouth, where the bride is just about to sign the register when she says "I am married already, but he's gone back to his first wife, so that's alright, isn't it?" The vicar disagreed and the wedding was off.

[vallee]

Thanks for all your replies not been back on as have been busy finding out more about her
Dont know if she was still alive when he married again as cannot find her after 1851 yet ???
Found on Familysearch the second Marriage it says her Maiden Name then OR and her first Marriage Surname, seems the second Husband died in 1854 she then married again in 1855 and found her in the 1851 census with a Son aged 9 same surname as the first Husband ? having trouble finding her after 1851
Really must go to bed.
The first marriage took place in Westminster second in St Bartholomews the third in Lambeth

[HarrysMum]

Divorce was certainly possible pre 1858, but you did need money. The divorce of Agatha Ariel and Edward Clark was 1845 and covered by all the papers of the day.

[Merry]

Dont know if she was still alive when he married again as cannot find her after 1851 yet ???


But if her third marriage was in 1855 then you do know she was alive after 1851 and was alive when her first husband had his second marriage in 1852.

[JessBow]

How common were the names? are you sure they are the same people- do fathers names all tally?

[Shona]

Timeline

1840 First marriage - Westminster - she is 17 and he is 22.

c1842 Son born.

1849 She marries in St Bartholomew, describes herself as a widow. Gives married name and maiden name.

1851 She appears on the census records with Husband 2 and son from Marriage 1. Son has Husband 1's surname.

1852 Husband 1 marries, describes himself as a bachelor.

1854 Husband 2 dies.

1855 She marries Husband 3 in Lambeth.

Therefore both of them were bigamists, as both were alive when each married for a second time. As she says she is a widow, divorce seems unlikely.

Bigamy was referred to as 'poor man's divorce'. Sentences for those found guilty of bigamy were fairly light compared to other crimes - a quarter of convicted bigamists spent less than a month in prison with a minority sentenced to a year or more by the 1860s. Judicial stats record 5,327 bigamy trials between 1857 and 1904. It's estimated that bigamy cases brought to trial were a tiny minority of actual bigamist marriages.

Some suggestions:
1 Husband 1 should appear on London Electoral Registers (Ancestry). You could track where he lived from these records.
2 Where did the son go to school? You might be able to find him on London School Admissions and Discharges (Ancestry).
3 Have a look at Find My Past's criminal records in case either of them were charged with bigamy.
4 You could use the Electoral Rolls to find out where Husband 3 was living after 1855 to provide clues as to where she was may be.

[vallee]

oops what I meant was couldn't find her in any census after 1851 ,definitely the same family Jess thanks for looking.
Thanks Shona will have a look at those records.

[tenterfieldjulie]

Are records accessible for annulments? I wouldn't get too hung up on the fact that she says she is a widow. If there is a child, sometimes using the word widow would be used, rather than saying not validly married sacramentally, because among other things, the implication is that the child is illegitimate.

[Olde Crone]

Annulments are theoretically dealt with by the GRO by suppressing the issue of the marriage certificate but this is by no means set in stone. In the early years, the church dealt with annulments and often felt it was no business of the civil authorities, so sometimes the inf didn't get passed on.

If a marriage WAS annulled then both parties are of course entitled to regard themselves as legally single, but of course if a child was born then the woman would pretend to be a widow for decency's sake. (As Julie points out above, lol - sorreee!)

Useless piece of info coming up.......a child born of a bigamous marriage is not considered illegitimate if one of the parents did not realise they were entering a bigamous marriage.

OC

[vallee]

thanks everyone have decided not to pursue that matter now as it seems hopeless , but still would love to know where she was in 1861 ?

[Shona]

thanks everyone have decided not to pursue that matter now as it seems hopeless , but still would love to know where she was in 1861 ?if you want to PM the names, I'm happy to have a look for you.

[kiterunner]

Don't forget there are a lot of pieces missing from the 1861 census.

[vallee]

thanks very much Shona kind of you will pm you
Thanks Kite why is it I have so many that cannot be found in 1861 its so frustrating.

[vallee]

I also tried to find any of them in 1871 or after Census Death records remarriages etc no go there either ?