Thanks again, Bonnie. I guess you are referring to Lord Hardwicke's Marriage Act of 1753, which I see required all marriages (bar Jewish and Quaker), to take place in a church or chapel of the Established church. "The fear of persecution meant that few Catholic registers were kept before the middle of the 18th century. Most Catholics opted for Anglican registration of vital events." (Oxford Companion to local and family history). Would it be right to assume that this situation eased for your husband's family after either 1829 or 1837; if not, do you know when, please? This might be relevant to a later marriage in the same Brooks family. Many thanks. I'm a bit at sea because my research was centred mainly on Scotland and the Presbyterians for about 50 years, so am truly grateful for help. Jill ----- Original Message ----- From: "Bonnie Ostler" <bjrgen@gmail.com> > No, it is Church of England parishes only but if a marriage was to be > legal in the eyes of the state they would have to be married in the Church > of England. My husband's Read family was Catholic but they were still > married in Church of England.

All of the Read marriages took place in Church of England right up to the 1890's although I know my husband's great grandfather attended Catholic services in a garrett in Norwich with his older sister when he was a child in the 1870's. There are some recusant Catholic records. My own Spauls appear in the 19th century Costessey Catholic baptism book. The main reasons I have found for a couple not to marry is because one party was already married or the bride was sister of deceased wife. There could also be strong family objections but most people I have traced were too poor to be disinherited. Bonnie On Mon, Jul 4, 2011 at 6:46 AM, Jill Bloom <jescot33@googlemail.com> wrote: > Thanks again, Bonnie. I guess you are referring to Lord Hardwicke's > Marriage Act of 1753, which I see required all marriages (bar Jewish and > Quaker), to take place in a church or chapel of the Established church. > "The fear of persecution meant that few Catholic registers were kept before > the middle of the 18th century. Most Catholics opted for Anglican > registration of vital events." (Oxford Companion to local and family > history). Would it be right to assume that this situation eased for your > husband's family after either 1829 or 1837; if not, do you know when, > please? This might be relevant to a later marriage in the same Brooks > family. > > Many thanks. I'm a bit at sea because my research was centred mainly on > Scotland and the Presbyterians for about 50 years, so am truly grateful for > help. > > Jill > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Bonnie Ostler" <bjrgen@gmail.com> > > > No, it is Church of England parishes only but if a marriage was to be > > legal in the eyes of the state they would have to be married in the > Church > > of England. My husband's Read family was Catholic but they were still > > married in Church of England. > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > NORFOLK-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message >