About a year ago I did some Irish research for a friend whose ancestors had left Co Cork for Massachusetts in the 19th century. The people who emigrated came from 2 different families. One woman had married in 1859 & had 5 children before her husband died in 1875. Another man married in 1874 & had 3 children (1 of whom died young) before his wife died in 1880. The family story is that the widowed woman had known the widower man before their marriages. Whether this is true or not, I do not know, but both families lived in nearby areas to each other in the parishes of Carrigtwohill & Midleton in E Cork, and both had married someone named Murphy. It seemed possible that the deceased spouses may have been siblings, but this has not yet been proven. At the end of 1881, both families sailed together to Boston - she with her 4 children (1 daughter having left earlier) & he with his 2 younger children. Exactly 28 days after docking in Boston, they married in a small town in Massachusetts. It would seem that both left Ireland in order to settle together in a new land, but the question is why didn't they marry first in Ireland - rather than waiting until they arrived in Massachusetts? If they had been married to siblings before, would this have made any difference to their ability to remarry in Ireland? I have looked through information on consanguinity, but do not find this situation among those described. (They were RC by the way.) Is there something that would have made it difficult for them to marry in Ireland but easier in Massachusetts? (It is possible that the man's father died early in 1881, but I don't see how this could have made a difference to their marriage plans.) Any ideas? [By the way, it would appear that someone on this list named "Joyce" has been hacked - as this am 2 messages arrived supposedly from her to SOG list & titled something about books - but on opening were about a company selling conveyer belts etc worldwide. I deleted both - but Joyce should check her security.] Thanks for any thoughts on the Irish question. Mary in London