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Evening all
I have rellies that got married in a Parish Church by Licence. Also rellies that got married in a Registry Office by Licence. Also some got married in the Parish Church after Banns,
Can some one tell me what the difference is between a Marriage Licence in the Church and the Registry Office.
Thanks
Tetley
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I think banns meant that a notice was put up in the parish church on three successive Sundays saying that a couple wanted to marry so that - if anyone objected - they could say so, whereas licences meant you could marry quickly or without needing to have your parents' permission, or in a parish that neither of the couple belonged to.
Apparently some people used to do it as a kind of status symbol too, because the license cost money.
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Hi Kate
Thankyou for replying.
I was just a little puzzled that my gran married by licence in her parish church when her parents and grand parents married at the same church after banns.
Regards
Tetley
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There may have been a reason why they wanted to marry quickly.
Kath. x
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Banns had to be read on 3 successive Sundays, from the pulpit ..... and in both churches if the bride and groom were from different parishes.
from www.ancestrymagazine.com
Take marriage banns as an example. The purpose of advance announce ment of marriage intentions was to prevent illegal or bigamous marriages by giving the community an opportunity to come forth with information about any circumstances that would prevent a lawful marriage. Most jurisdictions required or encouraged these announcements, and they were usually made shortly before the wedding was to take place. In most cases the wedding followed soon after, but there were always people who changed their minds at the last minute or about whom some irregularity came to light as a result of the announcement. The most serious obstacle, of course, would be discovery of a living spouse, but there were also other circumstances that could prevent a lawful marriage-such as lack of parental consent for underage parties or lack of the master’s consent for an apprentice, indentured servant, or slave. If you find a christening record during the following year that names the same parties as parents, and with no notation indicating that the birth was illegitimate, you have a strong case for the marriage having taken place, probably soon after the date of the banns but at least by the date of the birth. If the birth is specified as legitimate, as is usual in French and German baptismal records, you have even stronger evidence that the marriage took place.
The alternative to announcements of banns in most jurisdictions was a marriage by license; the license authorized the marriage to take place without the advance announcement of intentions. In England, where marriage was regulated by the established church, licenses were issued by diocesan bishops. In the American colonies and early states, they were usually issued by local officials in the name of the governor, but laws and requirements varied from one jurisdiction to another, as do the surviving records. To use them effectively, you need to learn the requirements and procedures in effect at the time in question.
A fee was charged for marriage licenses. The bridegroom also had to sign a bond-a solemn promise to pay the state some specified sum of money, but with the condition that the obligation was void if no obstacle stood in the way of a lawful marriage. To secure the obligation, another person had to sign as surety, guaranteeing payment of the obligation if necessary.
Members of the upper classes often preferred marriage by license, considering it more prestigious. Marriage by license indicated that they could afford the fee and enabled them to avoid being lumped with common folk in the weekly announcements of intended marriages. When people of modest means married by license, time was often a factor. Banns were usually required to be announced at several successive Sabbath-day services, which presented problems in rural churches served by itinerant clergy who did not visit them on a weekly basis.
A marriage license is addressed to the officer who is to officiate at the marriage, and authorizes performance of the marriage ceremony. Today, the license is combined with a certificate and return of marriage, which has to be signed by the parties, the witnesses, and the officiating officer and returned for entry into the vital statistics registers. Early licenses, if they survive at all, are most likely to be found among personal papers of clergy members or miscellaneous church records. Like the license application and the bond, the licenses were prepared in advance of the event. When a license is found among records of a church or minister, however, it is more likely that a ceremony took place than for a license found elsewhere
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I have relatives that were married by " License with Consent of Friends" in the Church of Ireland1834 in Tralee.
By what we can ascertain she was very young, possible only 12 at the time.
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Welcome to the boards Susan.
You have added to a very old thread so some of the previous posters may not see your post.
It was legal for girls to marry at 12 and boys at 14 right up until 1927, although it didn't happen very often.
Kath. x
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Thanks Kath. Its like a jigsaw puzzle. :-)
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