Genealogy Chat

Ive a marriage cert in front of me for 1918 and it has condition for groom as bachelor and I know this man was married before . So I'm thinking perhaps bigamy .
Doesn't bachelor mean that the man has never been married before . How do you declare your status for another marriage when you have been divorced from the first , are you a bachelor again ?

An ancestor of mine was shown as a bachelor when he married for the second time instead of widower.

Chris

Thanks Chris perhaps I'm looking for a problem that just isn't there and this is normal phrasing. But having said that I know his first wife didn't die until the 1960s
I'm still after a bigamist !!!!!!!!!!
thankyou

Hi Hazel,

I am following a female who claimed she was a spinster.

There is only one birth for her, and father is the same name on both her marriage certs.

It might happen more often than we think it did.

Divorce was not a likely option unless you were wealthy back then.

Kind regards
Amanda

Thanks Amanda
Im pretty sure thats what has happened in with the man Im following too.
As you say divorce wasnt an easy option so people picked up their bits and just moved on to the next marriage partner. This one doesnt even try to cover his tracks by a name change .
Perhaps a secret uncovered after all these years .
Thankyou Hazel

Hazel - have you checked the Divorce index on the National Archives? My great grandparents divorced in 1907. When Great Granddad remarried in 1908 to a girl half his age he told the vicar he was a bachelor. I don't think the church would have married him otherwise.

Janet

Decided to peep at this thread and found that there is a divorce Index on National Archives, so now how and where do I contact or find this. Is it online??


OOOH this could be very interesting


Bridget

First google for National Archives and search CATALOGUE using ref no J77

This is where I found my gg grandparents divorce papers - cost me £17 but worth every penny

Janet

I didnt know that there is anything on divorces to be found either !!!!!! Thankyou loads Janet
As Bridget says OOH this could be very interesting

I'm glad I could be of a bit of help, Hazel.

I hope you find it. You can download the records instantly as soon as you pay but I was that nervous I ordered ours by post!

Janet

Hi Janet Im being really stupid and impatient and I cant find what Im looking for which is driving me crazy.
Would you be really kind and tell me step by step how to get into the records . I can see J77 in the NA but cant find any search box .
Please and a big thankyou x

Hazel - if you give me some names and dates I'll have a look for you.

If you want to look for yourself go to search 'Catalogue' and you'll get a short form to fill in. This is the link:

onlinhttp://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/search.aspe



Janet

Thanks Janet I will have another go as I will want to order . Might be back to you though ! Im being extremely stupid
Thanks

You're not stupid at all! Some of these sites are difficult to navigate. I would love to find more records on the NA but the divorces are the only ones I have the reference for apart from the Documentsonline (which seems to contain nothing of interest to me!)

By all means ask again if you need more help.

Janet

Hi Janet
I got there hooray ! N. Achives are tricky at times arent they .
No divorce for them though, which I would have liked to find as the woman went on and married again in 1921 im told and he didnt die until 1927 .
Its turning into a very strange story but Im very grateful to you for all you help.

More mysteries, then!

We have a bigamist, I think, but I haven't sent for the certificate yet as it isn't in our direct line. In fact, I think both the bride and groom were bigamists as they both married again; they have an unusual surname so I think I'm right.

Case of not being able to afford a divorce, then, don't you think?

Janet

Hi Hazel,

Have you been able to confirm he died in 1927 through the death records or just going on what you have been told. I've checked my marriage certificates and my gt gt grandmother who married four times in all stated she was a spinster for not just her first marriage but also the second and third even though she was a widow. Father is the same on all three certificates so I know it's definately the same person. I just have to buy the fourth now but I bet she is shown as a spinster.

Chris

Hi Chris and Janet
The man Donald is showing in the records as dying in 1927 but Ive just ordered the cert. just incase. Unlikely but !
His granddaughter by the first marriage says he just disappeared leaving a wife and three small daughters in 1914 . He shows up again in 1918 marrying my husband Grandmother and then leaving her with children in 1922 for someone else .
Some facts and some family stories so I have to get some more certs to confirm .
I'm I being really cruel to uncover their secrets after all these years ,I think not LOL its doing me the world of good .
Thanks to all and good luck with yours too