Seeking information about bigamous army marriages

[ladynicotine]

Hello

Many thanks to you all - I really appreciate the time people have taken over this for me.

I realise that "invalided" would mean discharged from service, but the fact that the record I saw had the marriage crossed out made me wonder if it was a misspelling of "invalidated".  Even if he was no longer serving in the Army, his marriage would still be legal.

My William King was born in Wiltshire in 1851 to Charles King & Mary nee Fallon.  I don't have all the information to hand, but I believe that he served in the same regiment as his father - the 38th Regiment of Foot.  In 1874 he was married, in Dover, to Mary Jermy (spelt Germey on the registration, spellings of the family name are many & various!) from Salhouse in Norfolk.  By the 1911 Census he was listed, in Dover, as an Army Pensioner & he died in 1919, Mary having predeceased him.

Many thanks to JenB for providing me with the GRO reference.  I think I shall apply for the certificate.  I am almost entirely certain that the King/Cresswell marriage is not my William but it would be interesting to check.

Lady N

[rosie99]

20 January 1874 -Charlton in Dover
William James King-24-Private 38th Foot-father Charles King-Prison Officer, Birmingham
Mary Germey 18 father George Germey-labourer

[MaxD]

My feeling is that we can now dismiss the Royal Marine with wife Sarah and a multitude of children as we now have a 38th Foot soldier and later army pensioner.  I can find no pension record that fits.  his record in the muster books of the regiment would record his presence.  They are at the National Archives.  There are rather a lot of them covering the years he was with them (guessing he started at about 1865 and we know he was invalided 1877).  WO 12/5240 covers 1876-1877 should have a record of him  Perhaps you could get someone to look if you can't visit Kew yourself.

Outline history of the regiment here https://web.archive.org/web/20060616103256/http://regiments.org/deploy/uk/reg-inf/038-1.htm

maxD

[rosie99]

In 1891 and after William gives his place of birth as Winchester, Hampshire   
RG12 /743 f43 p25

What document gives place of birth as Wiltshire 

[Christine53]

There is a service record on FindMyPast :

William King
b 1850 Winchester , Hampshire
South Staffordshire Regiment 38th & 80th Foot
Attested 2 Sep 1864
Number : 926

On image 5 , Military History Sheet , it says :" Next of Kin Wife Sarah with S Stafford"
then further down the same page it says :" To Whom Married : Mary Germay Dover Charlton 20 Jan 1874 "

Edit : I believe the OP knows it is Winchester - it's in her Ancestry tree . 

[rosie99]

My William King was born in Wiltshire in 1851 to Charles King & Mary nee Fallon. 

A typo then 

[MaxD]

Well done Christine53  I had dismissed the Hampshire man to chase a Wiltshire William!!

The record is surely of the man the the OP first wrote about that has, it seems, two wives.  I note he re-enlisted in the local militia artillery in 1891.  That record also says his wife is Mary at 17 Upper New St Dover.

Could it be that wife Sarah (presumably married before 1874) died between marriage and 1874 or is that too simple?  (I haven't tried to find this William on relevant censuses, my head hurts!).

maxD

[rosie99]

(I haven't tried to find this William on relevant censuses, my head hurts!).

 

In 1891 and after William gives his place of birth as Winchester, Hampshire   
RG12 /743 f43 p25

I have yet to look for him before his marriage
ADDED He states he is a bachelor when he married Mary

Rosie

[Christine53]

The service record :

1864-1880 England
1880-1882 Malta
1882-1883 Egypt
1883-1884 Malta
1884-1885 Egypt
6 - 27 Oct 1885 Home

So not on 1881 census.

In addition he attested 8 May 1891 in the Kent Artillery , next of kin wife Mary , address Dover - nothing to help there. Edit : sorry that's already been covered.