Hi there all, in 1927 my grandparents were married at St. Mary's RC church in Maryborough. I have inherited a photocopy of their original marriage certificate from the time, however along with that came a "Consent Form". I can understand that such a form may have been required for couples marrying when under the age of 21, however for my grandparents this was not the case. My grandfather was 21 and his wife-to-be was 24. The consent form seems to be a declaration under oath that there is no impediment to their marriage. There are a number of dubious circumstances surrounding the marriage. Firstly, my grandfather was arrested and charged with sleeping with an underage (at the time 16 y.o.) girl. The alleged offence occurred abt AUG 1926. In DEC 1926 he was arrested. For some reason the prosecution case collapsed, along with his trial in MAR 1927. This I can verify through Trove newspaper and Qld Police Gazette sources. Family legend has it that the girl that he slept with went on to have his child, and in a paternity suite, she was awarded 18 years of maintenance. I have no ability to verify this - any hints welcomed. Secondly, around the time of his arrest in DEC 1926, he already sleeping with another woman who became my grandmother. By the time they officially married in APR 1927 in Maryborough, she was already 4-5 months pregnant with their first child. Does anyone have more information about these Consent Forms, and why they may have to been required to sign them, based on the circumstances already mentioned? There are obvious possibilities ... but I would welcome any opinions - esp. the legal necessities of such forms. Thanks ... -- Stephen Nicholson (Wollongong) [Below is the transcript of the form] -------------- Transcript of Consent Form: SCHEDULE C, 28 VICTORIA No. 15. Declaration before Surrogate, District Registrar, or Minister. I, Cecil Louis Meyers of Longreach being duly sworn, do on my oath declare ____ (empty)____ that I believe there is no impediment or lawful objection by reason of any kindred relationship or alliance, or any former marriage, or the want of consent of Parents or Guardians, or any other lawful cause, to my being married to ____ Mary Tyler of Alton Downs via Rockhampton daughter of William Tyler of Alton Downs. SIGNATURE OF MAN: Cecil Louis Meyers. And I, the said Mary Tyler of Alton Downs do on my oath declare _________ that I believe there is no impediment or lawful objection, by any such reason or lawful cause as aforesaid, to my being married to the said Cecil Louis Meyers. SIGNATURE OF WOMAN: Mary Tyler.

I think this is just a standard form in which the parties declare there is no impediment to their marriage. The modern form: http://online.justice.vic.gov.au/CA256902000FE154/Lookup/BDMApplication_Form s/$file/Notice_Form.pdf has a space for the details of divorces, deaths of other spouses etc to be documented in lieu of the older declaration of there being no impediment. Kerry -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Stephen Nicholson Sent: Tuesday, 21 February 2012 9:36 PM To: [email protected] Subject: [AUS-QLD] Marriage Consent forms 1927 Hi there all, in 1927 my grandparents were married at St. Mary's RC church in Maryborough. I have inherited a photocopy of their original marriage certificate from the time, however along with that came a "Consent Form". I can understand that such a form may have been required for couples marrying when under the age of 21, however for my grandparents this was not the case. My grandfather was 21 and his wife-to-be was 24. The consent form seems to be a declaration under oath that there is no impediment to their marriage. There are a number of dubious circumstances surrounding the marriage. Firstly, my grandfather was arrested and charged with sleeping with an underage (at the time 16 y.o.) girl. The alleged offence occurred abt AUG 1926. In DEC 1926 he was arrested. For some reason the prosecution case collapsed, along with his trial in MAR 1927. This I can verify through Trove newspaper and Qld Police Gazette sources. Family legend has it that the girl that he slept with went on to have his child, and in a paternity suite, she was awarded 18 years of maintenance. I have no ability to verify this - any hints welcomed. Secondly, around the time of his arrest in DEC 1926, he already sleeping with another woman who became my grandmother. By the time they officially married in APR 1927 in Maryborough, she was already 4-5 months pregnant with their first child. Does anyone have more information about these Consent Forms, and why they may have to been required to sign them, based on the circumstances already mentioned? There are obvious possibilities ... but I would welcome any opinions - esp. the legal necessities of such forms. Thanks ... -- Stephen Nicholson (Wollongong) [Below is the transcript of the form] -------------- Transcript of Consent Form: SCHEDULE C, 28 VICTORIA No. 15. Declaration before Surrogate, District Registrar, or Minister. I, Cecil Louis Meyers of Longreach being duly sworn, do on my oath declare ____ (empty)____ that I believe there is no impediment or lawful objection by reason of any kindred relationship or alliance, or any former marriage, or the want of consent of Parents or Guardians, or any other lawful cause, to my being married to ____ Mary Tyler of Alton Downs via Rockhampton daughter of William Tyler of Alton Downs. SIGNATURE OF MAN: Cecil Louis Meyers. And I, the said Mary Tyler of Alton Downs do on my oath declare _________ that I believe there is no impediment or lawful objection, by any such reason or lawful cause as aforesaid, to my being married to the said Cecil Louis Meyers. SIGNATURE OF WOMAN: Mary Tyler. Please remember to snip most of the earlier message before you post any reply...... Thank you! ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message