Marriage, proof when remarrying in 1920

[kd]

Question, if someone was widowed would they have to show proof when remarrying  in 1920
Thanks
kd

[stanmapstone]

No, they would not.

Stan

[stanmapstone]

There was no requirement to prove anything, that is the reason for banns in a church, and the marriage book in a Register Office so that the details are available to the public so that any objections to the legality of the proposed marriage can be made.  The system is 'informant' driven, that is the minister or registrar accept what they are told.

Stan

[kd]

Thank you

[ThrelfallYorky]

Would the same hold with divorce at that time?

[StanleysChesterton]

Even in 1920-1940s I've got bigamists in the tree that simply lied.  One definitely said she was a widow and the other one probably either said the same or claimed to be single.

Do they check nowadays?  We still manage to find bigamists in the newspapers from time to time....

[nanny jan]

Would the same hold with divorce at that time?

My 2xgt aunt remarried in 1905 and that certificate states "divorced wife of xxxx ".   Her divorce file makes interesting reading!   


Nanny Jan

[CarolA3]

Yes SC, they check very thoroughly these days.  For our marriage in England in 2009, we had to produce photo ID, proof of address, and proof of death or divorce of previous spouses.  It was nearly as hard as getting permanent resident visas for Australia!

Carol

[stanmapstone]

There is now also The Registration of Marriages Regulations 2015, which came into efect on Monday 2nd March 2015 which is designed to make it more difficult to contract a sham marriage and civil partnerships.
Downloadable as a pdf at http://www.rootschat.com/links/01g7l/

Stan