Divorce Petition wording 1887

[Sabretoothtiger]

Question about the wording on a divorce petition

My GG grandparents were married in London in 1876.  They already had a son born around 18 months earlier - on his birth certificate both parents are named - although the mother uses her maiden name.  The marriage appears to take place when GG Grandmother was pregnant with her second child.

In 1887 my GG grandfather petitioned for divorce on the grounds of GG Grandmothers adultery (London  - High Court of Justice).  In the petition it is said that they have one son "as issue of the marriage". 

My question is this - is this normal wording to mean that one son was born in lawful wedlock and the other ignored because he was not - or could it indicate that the elder son was in fact not GG grandfather's son.

Thanks!

[avm228]

It just means that only one was born within wedlock.  The other would not, at that time, have been recognised as a child of the marriage.

So far as English law is concerned, not until the Legitimacy Act of 1926 did the subsequent marriage of parents legitimate children born to them before the marriage.

Anna