Hi there,
Thank you for your PM and the subsequent email with the attachment of the 1994 issued NSW BDM certificate. I can clearly see that WT Evans,
Registrar officiated at that marriage. I make that comment because of the horizontal line drawn through the words “Officiating Minister or” as per the attached snip.
The full line on a blank form reads:
By (or before) me …………………… Officiating Minister or Registrar.
The NSW BDM certificate is simply a summary of the information on the original register, HOWEVER, without current access to that register it will be difficult to determine what was actually recorded by W T Evans on HIS ledger/register when he conducted the civil marriage. I believe that the NSW BDM certificate is drawn from the SUMMARY return he submitted as part of his quarterly returns.
I do think that the Orange Family History Group may be a good place to make enquiries about that particular marriage ceremony. It could be among the earliest of the civil marriages conducted in the district. I notice he refrained from recording the bride’s birth surname. It OUGHT to be included it in the very section where WT Evans wrote the bride’s name. That is, he was required to record it as Catherine McKenna formerly ……….. However, he did NOT write it there. He did record that she was a Widow.
The term “Widow” had a broad meaning at that time. Prior to the introduction of NSW Divorce Laws in 1873 there were just TWO words available to be used. “Spinster” and “Widow”. Widow in that sense does NOT just mean a woman whose marriage ended when her husband died. I think this aspect could be significant in your particular search. It may go some way to explaining why the marriage was NOT conducted by a Minister of Religion, for there were certainly a number of denominations active in Orange in that era. It is possible that Catherine’s first marriage had INFORMALLY ended due to their separating, rather than the death of her first husband. It is possible that Catherine’s marriage to Joseph was only possible AFTER she had confirmed to W T Evans that she had been separated for at least seven years and that during that time she had NOT known her first husband to be alive. I think the likely reason for no religious ceremony (very very very rare for NO religious ceremony in that part of NSW at that time) was simply because at some time previous to their Sept 1868 marriage, the couple had perhaps sought a religious ceremony but had not been able to demonstrate the seven years separation or lack of knowledge as to the whereabouts of the first husband to the clergyman they approached. YES, this is pure speculation on my part. Sometimes raising this particular issue can cause controversy even today as it raises the topic of Bigamy… To help you overcome any adverse commentary about that, may I refer you to an online resource that I frequently post on various threads at RChat…. (Particularly the section Australia: bigamy and the presumption of death: a ‘people’s divorce.
http://www.aifs.gov.au/institute/seminars/finlay.html There are two sets of numbers at the left side of the document. One is “3001” which is the NSW BDM matching number. The next number is definitely hard to read. It OUGHT to be the line number in the original register, and as such it ought to help the locals find the elusive details, HOWEVER that depends on IF that original register is no longer accessible to the general public, then it will be a tad of a ‘dead end’ exercise to try to walk down that line of research.
So, perhaps your enquiry to the Orange Family History Group should also ask
a) If the early Court House records had been transcribed
b) If they are aware of other CIVIL only marriages conducted by W T Evans and if so, IF he actually recorded the elusive information when organising those civil marriages…. (He should have, BUT he would have been aware of the ongoing dispute between the Civil Administration and the Churches, and the reluctance of the Church authorities to provide those elusive details…….
c) If they have any information about either the bride and or the groom and their then ages, their parents etc.
Here’s two snips from the 1994 copy you sent me. I hope these help not just yourself, but other RChatters following this thread. Hopefully there’s others who have experienced similar ‘hurdles’, when searching for civil marriages conducted in NSW prior to the introduction of NSW Divorce in 1873. I am not sure I can help any further re the elusive missing details from the certificate.
Cheers, JM
Author
Topic: Myrangle NSW? (Read 6212 times)