father deceased on marriage certificate?

[teresasmith]

If bride or groom's dad was deceased at the time of marriage, was there any obligation to put deceased after his name? Could he have died and the word 'deceased' not be included on the certificate?
I have a bride's dad whom I thought died in 1838 not being shown as deceased in 1843 on his daughter's marriage certificate.
Thanks in advance for your thoughts and comments.

[MarieC]

Teresa

Yes, it certainly happened (unfortunately!) that deceased fathers weren't always shown as such.  I have gggrandparents who married in 1838, and only one father is shown as deceased, but I have found that they both were!  It's a real nuisance, this, because if you knew for sure that they always got this right, it would narrow the range of years you have to search for a death!!

Good luck,

MarieC

[downside]

Hi teresasmith

A marriage certificate is not literal truth, in terms of parents of the groom/bride.

I have an example of a groom who stated his father was Thomas Ansell but Thomas Ansell died 8 years before the groom was born.  The age of the groom/bride can also be unreliable.  The only reliable information is that two people got married in a certain location on a specific date.

downside

[Little Nell]

This is one of those frequently asked questions.  It is supposed to be there if the father was dead but it will only be there if the priest/registrar remembered to

a) ask if the father was dead or not and
b) if he remembered to write down the answer.

And there again the couple might have lied - no proof was called for. 

Nell

[teresasmith]

Thanks for the replies, they confirm what I thought!
Thanks again for your help and good luck with your research.