[email protected] wrote: >> Is there consensus on how to record plural "wives" and their children? >> Call them wives, or "partners" or ...? > Why do you put "wives" in quotes? > Are you talking about women not legally married to the fathers of > their children? > > Jurisdiction and culture also play a role so there is no "one size > fits all" solution. Yes, I am referring particularly to "wives" in polygamous breakaway sects from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day-Saints (LDS, Mormons). Neither the official LDS nor the various US states where these breakaway sects flourish recognize such polygamous marriages, but the states intervene only when the girls are too young to give consent (legally) to sexual intercourse; to the best of my knowledge that is 16, but it may vary from state to state. (I recall that when Jerry Lee Lewis toured Britain in the 1950s there was an uproar because he was accompanied by his 13-yr.-old wife, who also happened to be his cousin -- legal in their state of residence, whichever that was.) Perce

"Percival P. Cassidy" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected] > [email protected] wrote: > > Yes, I am referring particularly to "wives" in polygamous breakaway sects > from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day-Saints (LDS, Mormons). > Neither the official LDS nor the various US states where these breakaway > sects flourish recognize such polygamous marriages, but the states > intervene only when the girls are too young to give consent (legally) to > sexual intercourse; to the best of my knowledge that is 16, but it may > vary from state to state. (I recall that when Jerry Lee Lewis toured > Britain in the 1950s there was an uproar because he was accompanied by his > 13-yr.-old wife, who also happened to be his cousin -- legal in their > state of residence, whichever that was.) > > Perce It would have been helpful if you'd been specific in the first place - this is a woldwide group and laws are different in different countries, as Steve has already pointed out. If it was legal and the women considered themselves wives, then I call them wives - it's not for me to judge them. Most software allows the listing of a succession of wives without the inclusion of dates of death, divorces, etc. BTW the uproar was because of her age, 16 being the UK minimum for marriage, or even sex. Cousin marriages are perfectly legal. Lesley Robertson