Hi Jenny I have often seen mention of the leaving of clothes or a suitcase for three weeks in a Parish to qualify for "of this Parish" My question would be, how do they know? As the Vicar or Registrar was not looking for an excuse *not* to marry a couple, I would have thought the mere statement that they were of this Parish would be enough, I do not see either a Vicar or registrar going around knocking on doors to try and prove the couple were telling the truth, neither would know everyone on their patch In the same way, no proof of age was asked for neither was proof of the fathers name, occupation or if alive or dead As there is no record kept of the seemingly mythical suitcase I am more inclined to believe they simply made the statement and it was accepted Another reason they may have married so far from home, could be that they could not marry at a home Parish, either because they did not have both parents blessing or some other reason Nivard Ovington in Cornwall (UK) On 28/07/2012 18:34, Jenny De Angelis wrote: > My Grandparents married in Stratford East London, a short walk from where > the Olympics are being held at the moment, but they both lived in > Hartlepool County Durham in the North East of England. My grandfather was a > merchant seaman and must have been in the London Docks and grandma went down > to marry there. They gave an address in the Stratford area and said they > were both of that parish but maybe my grandfather had arrived the required 3 > weeks beforehand and took up lodgings there in order that they could marry > in the parish. Either that or my grandma moved down to Stratford to lodge > for that period of time until granddad returned from his voyage and they > could marry. > > I have also been told that all that would be required in order for someone > to say they were of the parish in which they wanted to marry, was to leave a > suitcase of clothes in a house in that parish for the required 3 weeks or > so, they didn't necessarily have to live there. > > Regards > Jenny DeAngelis

My parents married at St Pancras Parish Church, London in 1933 and the suitcase was no myth ! My father packed and delivered a suitcase to the future in-laws address for the appropriate three weeks, although whether that detail was ever checked I do not know. Both sets of parents had given their blessing and attended the service. This had been delayed by three years, because of the depression and the possibility of both being unemployed. Gee. -----Original Message----- From: Nivard Ovington Sent: Saturday, July 28, 2012 7:33 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [MDX] Qualifying for "Of this Parish" Hi Jenny I have often seen mention of the leaving of clothes or a suitcase for three weeks in a Parish to qualify for "of this Parish" My question would be, how do they know? As the Vicar or Registrar was not looking for an excuse *not* to marry a couple, I would have thought the mere statement that they were of this Parish would be enough, I do not see either a Vicar or registrar going around knocking on doors to try and prove the couple were telling the truth, neither would know everyone on their patch In the same way, no proof of age was asked for neither was proof of the fathers name, occupation or if alive or dead As there is no record kept of the seemingly mythical suitcase I am more inclined to believe they simply made the statement and it was accepted Another reason they may have married so far from home, could be that they could not marry at a home Parish, either because they did not have both parents blessing or some other reason Nivard Ovington in Cornwall (UK) On 28/07/2012 18:34, Jenny De Angelis wrote: > My Grandparents married in Stratford East London, a short walk from where > the Olympics are being held at the moment, but they both lived in > Hartlepool County Durham in the North East of England. My grandfather was > a > merchant seaman and must have been in the London Docks and grandma went > down > to marry there. They gave an address in the Stratford area and said they > were both of that parish but maybe my grandfather had arrived the required > 3 > weeks beforehand and took up lodgings there in order that they could marry > in the parish. Either that or my grandma moved down to Stratford to lodge > for that period of time until granddad returned from his voyage and they > could marry. > > I have also been told that all that would be required in order for someone > to say they were of the parish in which they wanted to marry, was to leave > a > suitcase of clothes in a house in that parish for the required 3 weeks or > so, they didn't necessarily have to live there. > > Regards > Jenny DeAngelis

Hello NIVARD, I know my father said he was living at his wifes home back in 1935she lived n hommerton while he lived in shoreditch but they both told me they done this because she wanted to marry in her parish and it saved them money in having the banns read in two parishes. thanks pete. ________________________________ From: Nivard Ovington <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Saturday, 28 July 2012, 19:33 Subject: Re: [MDX] Qualifying for "Of this Parish" Hi Jenny I have often seen mention of the leaving of clothes or a suitcase for three weeks in a Parish to qualify for "of this Parish" My question would be, how do they know? As the Vicar or Registrar was not looking for an excuse *not* to marry a couple, I would have thought the mere statement that they were of this Parish would be enough, I do not see either a Vicar or registrar going around knocking on doors to try and prove the couple were telling the truth, neither would know everyone on their patch In the same way, no proof of age was asked for neither was proof of the fathers name, occupation or if alive or dead As there is no record kept of the seemingly mythical suitcase I am more inclined to believe they simply made the statement and it was accepted Another reason they may have married so far from home, could be that they could not marry at a home Parish, either because they did not have both parents blessing or some other reason Nivard Ovington in Cornwall (UK) On 28/07/2012 18:34, Jenny De Angelis wrote: > My Grandparents married in Stratford East London, a short walk from where > the Olympics are being held at the moment,  but they both lived in > Hartlepool County Durham in the North East of England.  My grandfather was a > merchant seaman and must have been in the London Docks and grandma went down > to marry there.  They gave an address in the Stratford area and said they > were both of that parish but maybe my grandfather had arrived the required 3 > weeks beforehand and took up lodgings there in order that they could marry > in the parish.  Either that or my grandma moved down to Stratford to lodge > for that period of time until granddad returned from his voyage and they > could marry. > > I have also been told that all that would be required in order for someone > to say they were of the parish in which they wanted to marry, was to leave a > suitcase of clothes in a house in that parish for the required 3 weeks or > so, they didn't necessarily have to live there. > > Regards > Jenny DeAngelis ************************************** Send your List messages using **PLAIN TEXT** and always **TRIM AWAY** superfluous old messages in replies. **MEANINGFUL Subject Lines - who, what, where, when, with SURNAMES in CAPITAL letters** List Admin can be contacted at: [email protected] ------------------------------- 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