In a message dated 30/03/2004 01:09:49 GMT Daylight Time, rowell_genealogy@hotmail.com writes: Was there common law marriages back then? In England and Wales there is no such thing as "common law marriage" (in spite of what you sometimes see in the media), whereby unmarried persons who live together and behave as if they were married are treated as man and wife. It has not been possible to enter into an informal marriage in England and Wales since the passage of Lord Hardwicke's Act in 1753. Regards Stan Mapstone