Genealogy Chat

I have come across a couple who married in the last quarter of 1937 in London and again in the last quarter of 1941 in Birmingham.

The names are quite unique so I am certain the same couple is involved.

In 1939 (I have edited this from 1941) the groom is on the electoral roll in Birmingham as is his mother but the bride is not there.

The question is are there any other reasons why this would have happened other than they married, divorced and remarried? Was four years sufficient time to marry and get a divorce and remarry?

The bride was a very distant relation so I am not getting certificates to find out more.

Was he a soldier ?

I don't know. He was 16 in 1911 and down as a student.

She was slighly older than him so they were in their early forties when they first married.

Had either one of them been married previously? Just wondering if there might have been a problem with the first marriage for some reason, spouse assumed deceased but wasn't, that sort of thing?
Have you checked to see if anyone else has them in their tree, you never know, they might know something.
Jan

There are a couple of trees on Ancestry but they don't shown anything new. I could try contacting them.

There isn't a marriage in England and Wales for either party before 1937, and she uses her maiden name both times.

Basically I am just curious about the possible reasons for the situation rather than wanting to find out about this specific case.

If either were in the armed services in 1941 (which seems quite possible), then there was a requirement that the service person should obtain permission from their commanding officer. Failure to do so wouldn't invalidate the marr, but difficulties could be created abt getting the spouse eligioble for widows pensions, housing etc., so it wasn't uncommon for someone wed without permission to later obtain this somewhat
redundant permission and then remarry "with permission"
.

If they married in 1937 though was the hubby in the Forces then ?

Guess only a cert may give a clue as to why two marriages .

Wonder too why his wife wasn't with him on the electoral roll

"If you're interested in using modern electoral registers (often referred to as ... more details here, and none was taken in 1941 because of the second world war".............. ..etc

When and where did each of them die?

Sorry the Electoral Roll date should have been 1939 i.e.about halfway between the two marriages.

She died in 1971 and he died in 1977 both in the Bath district.

Kense,
Just a possibility....
I have a similar situation in my tree.
The couple in question changed their faith.
Their new church/denomiation did not recognise the original marriage and they were united agian under the forms of the new denomination.
It was an earlier time period, but I also noticed that all of their children were also re-baptised.

It also happens in the Jewish faith.
If a couple convert to Orthodox Judaism, they too are remarried.
I know a couple who converted to Orthodox and were remarried almost 20 years after their original Jewish wedding.

Edit:
I also have an Australian couple in my tree who married twice but their story was found in the Ozzie newspapers.
The wife was declared a widow some years after her husband disappeared at sea.
She remarried, but almost 30years later, her 1st husband resurfaced.
A divorce was granted, but as her 2nd marriage wasn't legal, they were married again

Thenthey may have married quickly the first time round with very few relatives and no big ceremony.

Then later decided to do the 'big thing' and do it all again with family and friends around.

The only way to be somewhere close to knowing is to buy both certificates. In this instamce if it was me I would be gagging to know and would not hesitate to spend the money. But me I am of an enquiring nature, oh alright I am a nosey so and so!!

Good Luck and if you do find out, do please come back to this thread and put us (me me me) out of our misery :-D :-D :-D

I found a newspaper report for the wedding of my 3xg grandparents which stated that the couple had been previously married in the Catholic church.
Perhaps yours was a "mixed" marriage too KenSE.& one or the other partner was getting hassle from their "side" to do things properly.

Thank you all for your suggestions. Should I find out more I will let you know.
Ken

Surely though you can only marry once legally ? Even if another marriage is done in another faith then it would be a church/ synagogue marriage but not recorded again for a legal marriage.

We married in the Catholic Church in 1957 when the priests at that time were not recognised as a legally able to marry you .

We married in the church according to the catholic rites but then in the vestry we were married by the local registrar and then we signed the marriage cert book she bought with her .
If we hadn't informed the registrar and booked them to attend the church we wouldn't have been legally married and no marriage cert or record would be issued

a cousin of mine divorced her husband and then they rekindled their relationship and married again a few years later

We had a chap at work who divorced after the kids had grown up and married a younger model.

After another ten years he divorced No: two and remarried No: one.

Anyone watch the program Judge Judy on TV? She married her second hubby once in 1977 and again in 1991 after divorcing him in 1990.....!

And then there was Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton.

OK DC, curiosity has got the better of me and I have ordered both certificates. Whether they will clear up the mystery remains to be seen.