Hello...Another question has popped up. I suspect two of my Oliver ancestors in County Durham might have had what I would call a "common law" relationship. Were there any laws or rules about this in England? Was such a relationship "recognized" at some point? Did the "wife" or the "children" of the relationship have the right to take the "husband's" surname after a certain number of years? I hope someone out there will share what facts they have about this issue. It might help quite a few people. Thank you in advance. Donna Oakley Davidson
Common Law marriage has not been recognised legally since 1753. But for practical reasons, it happened quite a lot - especially when divorce was expensive, so not available to ordinary people. Women just took the name of the man who fathered their children - sometimes there was a marriage later, sometimes not. See http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Common-law%20marriage "The term "common law marriage" is frequently used in England and Wales ..... such a "marriage" is not recognised in law, and it does not confer any rights or obligations on the parties. . Genuine (that is, legal) common-law marriage was abolished under the Marriage Act 1753 In England and Wales, the Marriage Act 1753, also called Lord Hardwicke's Marriage Act, required a formal ceremony of marriage. It stated that if both parties to a marriage were not at least 21 years old, then consent to the marriage had to be given by the parents." Anne On 31 May 2004, at 16:03, Donna L. Davidson wrote: > Hello...Another question has popped up. I suspect two of my Oliver > ancestors in County Durham might have had what I would call a "common > law" relationship. Were there any laws or rules about this in England? > Was such a relationship "recognized" at some point? Did the "wife" or > the "children" of the relationship have the right to take the > "husband's" surname after a certain number of years? I hope someone > out > there will share what facts they have about this issue. It might help > quite a few people. > Thank you in advance. > > Donna Oakley Davidson > > > ==== ENG-DURHAM Mailing List ==== > I.G.I. Family Search > http://www.familysearch.org/ > Public Record Office U.K > http://www.pro.gov.uk >