1939 register is my great grandmother a bigamist??

[LisaRobinson87]

I searched for my great grandmother basically to see if she was with her husband because he was in and out before he actually left for good. Her name was Louisa Gibson and his was Eric Fisher on the register it states Louisa Fisher then has Robertson in green ink above Fisher and has some sort of what i believe to be a ref for something at the side. I couldn't place the Robertson until i remembered that she lived with a man named Alexander Robertson for many years, so could this be because of that? It is understood in the the family she never got divorced from Eric because she wanted to punish him, but i also understand that she never married this Alexander either so why would it have Robertson on there??

[PaulineJ]

Well if she didn't marry a second man  while still legally married to another , then obviously she wasn't a bigamist...

[LisaRobinson87]

That's the thing I'm confused over why would they give his name on the register above hers if she wasn't married to him?  I have seen her on a electrical register but cant remember the year she is living with Alex then and she is down as Fisher then, it is possible i guess that she did it on the sneak but my nan was convinced she never got divorced from her dad and i can't find a marriage on tees valley index if she was a bigamist and found out would it appear?

[suzard]

do you have her death registration???
What name was that in?
Do you know when Alexander was born or when he died

Suz

[groom]

I can't see a marriage on Freebmd either. Maybe she was just using that name and was known as that so that is why it was added.

[LisaRobinson87]

Her death reg was in Fisher she died in a nursing home and i'm unsure who registered the death, i don't have any information on Alex my Aunt believes he died between 1976/1978 all i know is that apparently he was married with kids but left his wife for my great grandmother, my grandad said that she put him in a nursing home and never went back he was going back over he said so I'm assuming he probably had alzheimer's. I have found a possile dod and dob on ancestry 1897 - 1977

[Pinetree]

Hi Lisa,

I have come come across a similar thing on the 1939 register relating to 2 sisters.  They were both single in 1939 and their entries appear under their maiden names but these have been crossed out and their married names added above in capital letters.  One married in 1948 and the other in 1947.

After reading your post I had another look and realised the additional writing in the Address column may relate to when these changes were made, both have M (married?) KPC (the area was Keighley not sure what PC could be) and 5 numbers which may relate to the date the entry was altered i.e. 24448 (possibly 24 Apr 1948 and 23647 23 June 1947 (in this case I know the marriage took place on 17 June 1947).

It seems to me that unlike a census return that was just a snap shot in time, the 39 registers were ongoing records which were sometimes updated when a change in someone's status occurred.  Does anyone else know more about this?

If you look at the reference next to the change in your Gr Grandmother's entry does it give any clues as to when the authorities might have made the change - it may help to put a time frame on when she married or was presumed to be married to Mr Robertson.

Pinetree

[LisaRobinson87]

On the register it has her name Louisa Fisher - Fisher been her married name at the time.
Above that it has Robertson in green ink and then on the side in the same ink it has

CR 283
26 6 64
MID

I had to search using my Grt granddads name to find the record and when i've tried to find it by using hers it has Louisa Robertson (Fisher)

[Pinetree]

Hi Lisa,

I have done some searching and it appears the Register was kept up to date - some suggest until as late as 1991 so I think my theory about the marriages of my ladies is correct.

I think the change of surname for your Gr Grandmother was probably recorded in the Register on 26 June 1964 - no M though but I guess she was recorded as M (married) on the original entry anyway.  The key may be what CR 283 stands for and MID (Middlesborough maybe?).

I'll do a bit more digging and see if I can come up with anything else.

Pinetree