Hello Jane, yes you're thinking is right! In that space of time (I know it from Wuerttemberg and Bavaria) it wasn't allowed to marry anyone if you're not able to support a family. The municipality wanted to take the poorness as low as they can by this rules. Because the municipality must support all the poor families which lived in the poorhouses. It was very expensive when poor people married together and they became a lot of poor children and so on and on. So they can't get the permission, if they ony were servants, farm labourers, maiden, farmgirl etc. Many of this persons emigrated to america, if they could collect enough money for the travelling from their relations. Sorry for my bad english, but I hope you'll understand the meaning! regards from germany Manuela (Siewert) http://mitglied.lycos.de/manuseefried ++Was he too poor to get married, not able to work, or what. > I would appreciate some ideas. > > Thanks, > Jane