Marrying your brother's widow?

Dennis · Post by **Dennis** » Fri Mar 13, 2009 5:45 am

Hi.

I've got a fellow on the tree who married the widow of his younger brother, about a year after the young fellow died. There were no children and the elder brother had never married. I've heard 'whisperings' that this was not uncommon back in the day, or is somebody having me on?

dennis

WilmaM · Post by **WilmaM** » Fri Mar 13, 2009 12:16 pm

No Dennis, you aren't been taken in, it wasn't until the 1900's that Laws were passed about those situations:

Deceased Wife's Sister's Marriage Act 1907
Deceased Brother's Widow's Marriage Act 1921

JustJean · Post by **JustJean** » Fri Mar 13, 2009 12:26 pm

Hi Dennis

Depending on time frame that might have been an illegal marriage.... Marriage to your deceased wife's sister law was passed in 1907 but I think it was 1921 before marriage to your deceased brother's widow was permitted. I've found at least one marriage on the books prior to 1907 where they did manage to run off to Edinburgh and marry but are found on later vital records as sister in law and brother in law. Didn't stop them but made their lives a hassle...as most laws tend to do

Best wishes
Jean

sheilajim · Post by **sheilajim** » Fri Mar 13, 2009 10:03 pm

HI Dennis

I have something of the same situation in one set of my GGrandparents, where my GGrandfather married his wife's niece.

I really don't understand why they would make a law against such things as marrying your wife's sister, etc. There is no genetic relation between such couples. It is much better than marrying your cousin. There seems to have been a lot of cousins marrying each other in England, especially among the well-to-do. I suppose that they thought that they should keep the money in the family.

Regards

Gordyw · Post by **Gordyw** » Sat Mar 14, 2009 5:03 pm

Hi Dennis,similar thing happened in our family,my maternal gmother died in childbirth to my mums youngest brother.My grandfather then married her sister.Its stuff like this that can really complicate things when researching family trees but intrigueing none the less. Gordon

Angusfifer · Post by **Angusfifer** » Mon Mar 16, 2009 1:10 pm

How about this one (from my family).

Younger sibling marries woman in Roman Catholic Church. Marriage ends in divorce. Marriage presumably consumated as evidenced by one daughter with father named on Birth Certificate.

Older sibling marries same woman, again in Roman Catholic Church.

Cannae get my head round it at all. I suppose the priest who officiated during the second marriage was not put in the picture about the previous marriage...

Thrall · Post by **Thrall** » Thu Mar 19, 2009 6:58 pm

Hi all, lets not forget "Levirate marriage" which, according to various religious laws mainly in the Near East, obliged a widow to marry her dead husband´s brother.

I suppose if one was getting at bit doddery but not had any luck with the fairer sex, it could be a windfall particularly if the deceased brother was much younger....

See here for some details: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Levirate

Guid hunting,

Thrall