Cresswell Fletcher marriage 1856 or 1858?

[Rogtut]

I have a newspaper announcement from the Derbyshire Courier - Saturday 10 May 1856 as below:-

Thursday, the Ist inst,at St. Mary Nottingham, by the Rev. H. Hall, Mr. Joseph Cresswell, of Stanton-by Dale, to Sarah, eldest daughter of Mr. Joseph Fletcher, of Risley Park.

These details match exactly the information I have.

The problem is that the only BDM record I can find for the marriage is in 1858 Q1 Vol 7B P233.  Am I missing something obvious?

[Dizzifish]

Hello....

Marriage - NOTTINGHAM St Mary - 17 March 1858
Joseph CRESSWELL & Sarah FLETCHER

Source: Nottinghamshire FHS marriage index               

Checked your dates re Derbyshire Courier 10 May 1856 and that is correct.... I wonder what happened?

[Rogtut]

Thanks very much.  I guess the marriage was simply registered very late.  Does you source give names of fathers?

[arthurk]

Marriages are registered at the time they take place, so if it's a legal marriage, late registration isn't an option. This might mean one of the following happened:

The newspaper notice was sent in in advance, but unforeseen circumstances meant they didn't actually marry in 1856.

They went through a form of marriage in 1856 but for some reason it wasn't legal so it wasn't registered, and they had a further (legal) ceremony in 1858.

If the former, you might be able to track down something like a death in the family which would have led to the postponement. If the latter, the 1858 certificate might make some reference to the circumstances.

[Rogtut]

Marriages are registered at the time they take place, so if it's a legal marriage, late registration isn't an option.

Thanks for this.  I have a cousin who is a Catholic priest and he tells me that, for a church marriage, the officiating minister is responsible for marriage registration and that on occasion for various reasons this is overlooked.  My cousin has been in the position of being appointed to a new parish where his predecessor had suffered ill health and had let things slip.  Would the Registrar not accept this as a good reason for late registration?

It might also explain why a certicate cannot be traced for a marriage that we are sure has taken place.

[rosie99]

Perhaps it is worth trying to view the parish register for the 1856 date, clergy would often fill in forms prior to the service taking place so it may show in there but crossed out

[g eli]

A marriage was performed 17 March 1758 at St Mary's Nottingham, I can't see an earlier one.
Liz