Hello I have been researching a Jones family in Hampshire and have been given the following information of a marriage between an Edward Douglass and Emma Jones on Sept 16, 1852. The marriage appears to have taken place at the St Thomas The Apostle Church :- page 13 no 26 Sept 16 1852 Edward Rob. DOUGLASS, 26, bachelor, Gunner's Mat. HMS Sphynx & Emma West JONES, 18, spinster, Hardway, after banns, fathers Edward Ross DOUGLASS (deceased) Warrant Officer & James West JONES (deceased) ?? , in the presence of William GREENFIELD & Maria Martha THURDELL.   My query is that I can't find this couple details on the Marriage Index for the September Quarter ( or the December one for that matter) so I am wondering if it is possible for a couple to get married in Church but not get their marriage registered?

Re   <<My query is that I can't find this couple details on the Marriage Index for the September Quarter ( or the December one for that matter) so I am wondering if it is possible for a couple to get married in Church but not get their marriage registered?>> Indeed it is. I have "A Comedy of Errors" and "A comedy of Errors part 2" or similar written on the problems with the English BDM registers and just how many events have NOT been registered, wrongly registered, registered twice, etc etc. Hundreds of thousands if not millions! A frequent problem in the early days at least is - the church "quarter" ended around the 25th Dec, 25th March (Lady's Day?) and so on but the official quarter end is the last day of the month. THAT simple thing led to many being missed towards the end of March, etc etc, or registered twice - and I think it seems to have taken decades to sort that one thing out. Add in missing records, transcription errors, bad handwriting, bits of paper lost in the clergy pockets, and so on and on - oh yes it is very possible to miss registrations of one kind or another - marriages especially from memory. If you can get to the local registry office instead of the main one, the GRO, then you will find some more that got missed between the tow, and then more between the parish churches and the local reg offices - and still there will be more just plain missed! And of course, common law marriages did occur for which there is no marriage record ever to be found because the marriage never took place. Get back as close to the site of the marriage as you can, have a look for banns, and anything else you can find. You may find that a page was missed with several marriages on it - leading to say five numbers not existing.. and you have to surmise then I suppose unless you get the original church records. Good luck Dawn (Melbourne Australia)

If you look at www.freebmd.org.uk - there is a listing Sept 1854 Alvertoke for Edward Robert Douglass and Emma West Jones Cheers, Rose