Did my great-grandparents ever marry?

[Mart 'n' Al]

My great-grandparents, George Leggett and Jane Adamson were together in North Yorkshire and later Hartlepool between 1892 and at least 1900. During that time they had six children and we have copies of the birth certificates of them all. We can find no record of a marriage. The first five children were recorded with George being the father. The sixth, rather oddly,  was registered under the name of Jane's late first husband who had died in 1891. I have two questions.

Firstly, is the non-marriage as unlikely as it seems to be to me?  Being unmarried, and having 6 children seems a little bit odd, but we do have doubts about whether George was still married to an earlier lady. Possibly he wasn't free to be married.

Secondly could somebody clarify the procedure for trying to order a possibly non-existent marriage certificate. I see on the GRO website I have to specify the year of the marriage and registration and I just want to check that there isn't an easier way of going through the process 10 or more times, for each possible year. Also, would I only be charged if a possible appropriate marriage was discovered?  I understand that there might have been a marriage between some other George Leggett and Jane Adamson, but this does seem quite unlikely. I realise I might end up with the wrong certificate, but I just don't want to be charged several times for a non certificate.

Martin

[JenB]

I am taking the liberty of linking to this thread, on which there is a lot more information about George and Jane. https://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=804649.msg6629807#msg6629807

On that thread opinion seems to have been that they didn't marry.

[Mart 'n' Al]

Jen, most of that is what I already know.  (It was actually me who wrote most of it.)

I am looking for fresh eyes, from newcomers, in the light of new developments and updated records, but thanks anyway.  Do you have any advice on what I asked about certificates?

Martin

[JenB]

Jen, most of that is what I already know.  (It was actually me who wrote most of it.)

Yes, I do realise that you already know all of this!

I felt that the link might be of benefit to others who wanted to know more about the family and save duplication of information.

[BenRalph]

 My great great great grandparents weren't married. She was a widow and he was sent to prison whilst she was pregnant with their first child. They had at least another 5 children and she was always listed with his surname from then on, other than when one of the children had her dead husband's surname but hey new partner's surname as his middle name, and her dead when she's listed as the widow of her dead husband.

Their daughter had about 6 kids between 1868 and 1877, all named her 'husband's' surname (other than one) and they then married in 1877.

So it did happen. Not often though. They're two that come to mind in my tree

[macwil]

. . .
Secondly could somebody clarify the procedure for trying to order a possibly non-existent marriage certificate. I see on the GRO website I have to specify the year of the marriage and registration and I just want to check that there isn't an easier way of going through the process 10 or more times, for each possible year. Also, would I only be charged if a possible appropriate marriage was discovered?  I understand that there might have been a marriage between some other George Leggett and Jane Adamson, but this does seem quite unlikely. I realise I might end up with the wrong certificate, but I just don't want to be charged several times for a non certificate.

Martin

Most of the answers to your queries will be found here Most customers want to know
Scroll down to:-
What records can be ordered and how much does it cost? Q6. although it may be advisable to read the whole section.
Yes! You will be charged for an unsuccessful search, they now retain £3.50, there is also a £3.00 fee for a search without a ref no. AND there is now a £4.00 fee if you apply by post or telephone!

Getting an unknown certificate is extremely expensive these days.

[CarolA3]

Here's what GRO say about ordering without their reference - the good news is that they'll search a year either side of your 'educated guess' date, so you get three goes for the price of one

[Mart 'n' Al]

Ben, Mac, Carol, thank you.  I didn't see the helpful hints at all.

Martin

[macwil]

Ben, Mac, Carol, thank you.  I didn't see the helpful hints at all.

Martin

It's the third option in the box to the right on the GRO home page. (Where it says 'Register/Login')
One does not need to Register nor Login to view it.