I have come across two brothers who seem to have had common law wives, since all my efforts to find a marriage record for them in Cornwall have found none, and they were well into Cornwall all their lives, so that a Devon marriage seems unlikely. On 4 Nov 1844, Robert Edwards' wife Cassandra Mark was buried at Luxulyan. Her sister Christiana who had witnessed their marriage in 1836 apparently became Robert's wife, since his wife is shown as Christiana in the 1851, 1861 and 1871 censuses. I have not been able to find any baptisms for any of Robert's children by either Cassandra or Christiana -- except the first of all his children, Mary (Luxulyan, 1837). And I have not been able to find any church marriage record of Robert and Christiana, who must have married in 1845 - probably at either Luxulyan or Colan. So it appears Robert and Christiana entered into a common law marriage in 1845. Robert's older brother Benedict Edwards' wife Elizabeth Harris was buried 7 Dec 1862 at St Blazey. From the 1871 census onward, the censuses show him with wife Maria, who was apparently Maria Roach, widow of William Collins at Tywardreath. I have searched the parish marriage registers of St Blazey, Par, Luxulyan, and Tywardreath for the marriage of Benedict Edwards in the 1862-1871 period and also searched for a marriage at Cornwall OPC, but there seems to never have been a church marriage. So it also appears that Benedict Edwards and Maria (Roach) Collins entered into a common law marriage in the 1862-1871 period. These cases are unique among all the families I have researched. So it appears that common law marriage was not at all common and in fact was rare. I'd like to hear from others about these marriages, in case there is something I am missing here.

Hi Wesley, The marriage of Robert EDWARDS and Christiana MARK was legal, not common law. It's on FreeBMD registered in the March quarter of 1847, registration district of Bodmin, Vol.9, page 63. If you order the certificate you'll learn if it was a church wedding or a civil one at the registrar's office. Joanne Toronto, Canada ----- Original Message ----- From: "Wesley Johnston" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Monday, January 28, 2013 9:59 PM Subject: [CORNISH-GEN] Common law marriages? >I have come across two brothers who seem to have had common law wives, >since all my efforts to find a marriage record for them in Cornwall have >found none, and they were well into Cornwall all their lives, so that a >Devon marriage seems unlikely. > > On 4 Nov 1844, Robert Edwards' wife Cassandra Mark was buried at Luxulyan. > Her sister Christiana who had witnessed their marriage in 1836 apparently > became Robert's wife, since his wife is shown as Christiana in the 1851, > 1861 and 1871 censuses. I have not been able to find any baptisms for any > of Robert's children by either Cassandra or Christiana -- except the first > of all his children, Mary (Luxulyan, 1837). And I have not been able to > find any church marriage record of Robert and Christiana, who must have > married in 1845 - probably at either Luxulyan or Colan. So it appears > Robert and Christiana entered into a common law marriage in 1845. > > Robert's older brother Benedict Edwards' wife Elizabeth Harris was buried > 7 Dec 1862 at St Blazey. From the 1871 census onward, the censuses show > him with wife Maria, who was apparently Maria Roach, widow of William > Collins at Tywardreath. I have searched the parish marriage registers of > St Blazey, Par, Luxulyan, and Tywardreath for the marriage of Benedict > Edwards in the 1862-1871 period and also searched for a marriage at > Cornwall OPC, but there seems to never have been a church marriage. So it > also appears that Benedict Edwards and Maria (Roach) Collins entered into > a common law marriage in the 1862-1871 period. > > These cases are unique among all the families I have researched. So it > appears that common law marriage was not at all common and in fact was > rare. I'd like to hear from others about these marriages, in case there is > something I am missing here. > ------------------------------- > Listmom: [email protected] or [email protected] > > Visit the OPC (Online Parish Clerk) web page for transcription information > http://www.cornwall-opc.org/ > ------------------------------- > 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 >