G'day Dorothy, All Marriages after the 1st July 1837 are supposed to be registered with the Civil Authorities, hence the term Civil Marriage Registers and other related phrases. As Andy has said in relation to Kay's question about Holy Cross Church, the Catholics (and non-conformist churches) had to have an authorised person present to ensure that the marriage was considered legally legitimate, but the ceremony would still be by Banns etc according to the rites of that church according to Canon Law. The authorised person's presence was to ensure that the ceremony also complied with Civil Law. >From the 1750s to 1837, Hardwicke's Marriage Act meant that all marriages had to be in the Church of England, with the exception of the Quakers and the Jews, to ensure legal legitimacy. Failure by catholics and non-conformists to comply with this meant that their children were illegitimate in the eyes of the law and had no right of inheritance etc. The start of Civil Registration in 1837, also brought in the concept of Civil Marriages conducted by the Superintendent-Registrar of the Register Office. These marriages are "by Certificate". In England, a Marriage Licence is a Church Licence issued to avoid the procedure of having the Banns called in Church. The use of a Certificate in a Church ceremony, suggests to me two things. First, the couple had not lived in the parish long enough to conform to Canon Law for the purposes of marriage. And secondly, that it may have been a mixed marriage, ie a Catholic to a Protestant, which would in conformance with Canon Law. One variation of the name Burilin which you didn't canvass was "Berlin". There were a group of German Protestants in Ireland who are referred to as Palatines in that they were religious refugees from the Palatine in Germany. Have you checked the etymology of the name? Hope this helps David Armstrong Maylands, Western Australia ----- Original Message ----- From: D E Gaunt To: ENG-LIVERPOOL@rootsweb.com Sent: Wednesday, July 15, 2009 5:13 AM Subject: [ENG-LIV] BURILIN - many questions! HI List I'm new to this particular List and have searched the Archives for any help with this problem. No luck, so am asking if there is anyone with any suggestions. I am helping a friend research her husband's ancestor who emigrated from Ireland to Liverpool sometime before 1878. His name was John BURILIN and this is the name the family has used ever since, but it seems to have been a new version of another name. (Burlin? Burland? Barlan? Bryland? Etc etc) 23 year old John Berilin married Mary Ann DWYER at the Church of Our Lady of Mercy (marriage cert), in 1878. His father is John Berilin too. 'Our' John became Burilin in the 1881 Census and he gave his place of birth as Ireland. My problems: . I cannot find anything about this Church. I did find a mid-1850s picture of a convent of Our Lady of Mercy and wondered if it was likely that they were married in the Chapel of the convent? . Where could I find the records of such a marriage? I have looked in the Liverpool Record Office index and there's nothing there. Would it be appropriate to write to the diocese office ? (if there is such a thing - I have not done any Catholic (or Irish) research so am not sure of the procedure.) . The Marriage Certificate says 'Married by Certificate" I'm used to English and Scottish certs which say "By licence' or 'After banns' so I don't know what significance this has. . John is not on the 1871 Census and nor are there any others with the name, which suggests he went to Liverpool on his own. But how on earth do I find whereabouts in Ireland? . Mary Ann Dwyer's father came from Co Kilkenny. Did Irish people stick together with others from their home area? So many questions, but if someone could help with even one I'd be grateful! I just don't know where to go from here. Many thanks Dorothy New Zealand