At least some prosecutions for fornication were not legit: "Whereas Mary Gouldsmith was sumoned to this Court to answere the Crime of Fornicacon; and forasmuch as George Johnson and Mary Gouldsmith being called to answere,alledged that they were married according to their Custome and manner [Quaker Ceremony] and did acknowledge they ware not married according as the Law enjoynes...[each was fined 500 pounds of tobacco]."^5

Yes, this did happen on occasion.  I've also seen a few instances where a man and woman who were married in Virginia were accused and had to prove they were married according to the canons of the Church of England somewhere else.  What was the date on the George Johnson-Mary Goldsmith case?  I would be interested in who reported them, as well. Becky ________________________________ From: Glenn Major DVM <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Fri, August 20, 2010 6:23:15 PM Subject: Re: [LDR] Ann the fornicator At least some prosecutions for fornication were not legit:       "Whereas Mary Gouldsmith was sumoned to this Court to answere the       Crime of Fornicacon; and forasmuch as George Johnson and Mary       Gouldsmith being called to answere,alledged that they were married       according to their Custome and manner [Quaker Ceremony] and did       acknowledge they ware not married according as the Law       enjoynes...[each was fined 500 pounds of tobacco]."^5 *************************************** QUESTIONS about POSTING GUIDELINES, SUBSCRIBING or UNSUBSCRIBING? Visit The Lower DelMarVa Roots Mailing List FAQ: http://www.tyaskin.com/handley/ldrfaq.htm ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

Legit depends on where the record's from. This looks like a "legit" Virginia case to me. It even looks suspiciously like the prominent Quaker George Johnson who was impelled into Somerset along with the rest of the dissenters when VA began to punish them for their beliefs.. Torrence's long rundown on George, though, fails to mention such an (aborted) marriage, and has him marrying Katherine Butcher in England. Curious. It would be interesting to see if this case came from Northampton (e.g.) in the late 1650s, which Torrence's little admitted uncertainties on his movements might permit. John -----Original Message----- From: Glenn Major DVM <[email protected]> At least some prosecutions for fornication were not legit: "Whereas Mary Gouldsmith was sumoned to this Court to answere the Crime of Fornicacon; and forasmuch as George Johnson and Mary Gouldsmith being called to answere,alledged that they were married according to their Custome and manner [Quaker Ceremony] and did acknowledge they ware not married according as the Law enjoynes...[each was fined 500 pounds of tobacco]."^5