Marriage annullments

[ladybee]

Is there anywhere that I can get a record of a possible annulment of a marriage?

A relative was married in 1918 but the new husband disappeared and was never spoken about in the family.

It only came to light about three years ago when I started researching my fathers side of the family.

I placed some messages on the internet and had a reply from a lady in Canada who was interested in my relative. 

I then spoke to my mother (she is 98) and she told me what she knew. The marriage and the husbands name, which coincided with the name of the lady in Canada.  She was as amazed as I was when she knew that they had married and that I had a copy of their marriage certificate.

I am still wondering if the marriage was annuled or if he just left never to be heard of again, until now.

Any help would be much appreciated

[bearkat]

I think marriage annulments were and are still rare.

If someone disappeared they could be declared "missing presumed dead" after 7 years.

But I think many people just put the first marriage behind them and remarried.

[stanmapstone]

A marriage annulment is a declaration by a court that a marriage was never legally valid. In all cases of nullity except nonconsummation, a decree of annulment will only be granted within three years  after the celebration of the marriage.
The main grounds for nullity are close relationships, lack of consent, and nonconsummation, not disappearance of one of the partners.
Apparently the defence against a charge of bigamy is that the accused's spouse has been absent for at least seven years, and is therefore presumed by the accused to be dead,
Section 22 of the 1828 Act and Section 57 of the 1861 Act states:
".......Provided, that nothing in this section contained shall extend to any second marriage contracted elsewhere than in England and Ireland by any other than a subject of Her Majesty, or to any person marrying a second time whose husband or wife shall have been continually absent from such person for the space of seven years then last past, and shall not have been known by such person to be living within that time,"



Stan

[ladybee]

I can now understand why the lady in question did not marry again until 1927 some 9 years later.

The subject was kept VERY quiet with-in the family and it was not until three or four years ago that I knew anything about the first marriage.

My question now is - Do I dig any deeper?

Thank you both for your findings they are much appreciated

[MrsLizzy]

A decree of nullity is issued in the same way as a divorce, with a decree nisi and later a decree absolute.  If you search the Central Register of Decree Absolutes you may find a record of it.  Of course it may turn out to have been a common or garden divorce, with the family calling it annulment by way of damage limitation.

[meles]

My question now is - Do I dig any deeper?

Yes!

meles

[ladybee]

I am ready to polish the spade ready to dig deeper!!!

Unfortunately, my mother is the only family member left that I can ask, and she is, as she puts it 'Only an In-law' and was not given all the facts.  Also her memory is not as good as it used to be.

The subject was taboo and it is only our assumption that the marriage was annulled.

I will take a look at the suggested registers and see what I can find.

Thank you all for your ideas hey are again very much appreciated.

Off to get the polish out!!  Will report if I find anything

Lady Bee

[Subaru]

I had my first marriage annulled, after my divorce, five or six years after I was married.  I can't remember the exact circumstances in which I was allowed an annulment (best forgotten now) but it wasn't through non-consummation.

I know it's rare nowadays to have a marriage annulled, I was determined that I wanted a fresh start, and I wished the marriage had never happened in the first place.  I wasn't in a relationship with anybody then, I just wanted the event wiped away in my life altogether.

I did marry again two years later, for the second time in a catholic church to my husband, 17 years ago.  I rarely think about the first marriage, I was 18, only married 11 months, and treated very badly, that could have contributed to it. 

I needed permission from the bishop of our area, and had to go through a lengthy interview, and lots of letters and phone calls.  But it was the best thing I ever did.

[MrsLizzy]

I also had my first marriage annulled in about 1995.  I had married in 1991 but it was a disastrous mistake.  He was Russian and only married me so that he could stay in this country.