Hello, For some time I have been unable to find a grandmother on a ship list who was married in Wisconsin by a Lutheran minister in Nov. 1892. I have usually considered she came over on her maiden name, however, this discussion makes me think she may have married in Germany prior to hubands trip over (civil ceremony) and came over under a married name. Future husband came over in 1887,destination in WI being where his parents resided. The Wisconsin birth (alive) of the first child was in 1894 that I am aware of. Adding to this confusion is that their first names are August and Augusta and their birth years are the same. Thank you all for clarifying the legality of german marriages. Jane On Jun 5, 2006, at 1:02 AM, GERMANY-PASSENGER-LISTS-D-request@rootsweb.com wrote: > > > In Germany the LEGAL marriage is performed at the Town Hall. After > that a > couple may or may not choose to have a church wedding. I know a German > minister who was legally married and several months later there was the > church wedding. That seemed a bit strange to me. In Germany a > clergyman > has no authority to legally marry a couple. > > - > > To add to the "confusion" on this ... it was ( is? ) the custom in > Germany that a couple coulf not get a "civil" marriage license / > certificate until they ( the man ) could prove financial > responsibility ... they might be able to have a "church wedding", but > would not be "legally" married as far as civil authority was > concerned.In Germany the LEGAL marriage is performed at the Town Hall. > After that a >> >> EKH >> >> >> >> >> > > ______________________________ > > > Greetings to all, > > In the USA marriage laws are not consistent between the states as far > as who > can marry (first cousins cannot in Wisconsin unless the woman is 55) > and how > young (a couple states allow 14 years). And there is more. > > 2) we have some people who request a church wedding because the judge > or the > justice of the peace is not available when and where they want to get > married and he / she sometimes charges more than the priest or pastor. > I have no > fee for members or non members of the church. > > > 4) Secularization of records and the Standesamt in Germany began around > 1874. That is when the marriages had to be done by the Registrar and > the church > ceremony became optional. > > 5) Best to all of you > Cliff Bischoff (Lutheran Clergyman) > >