Annulment of a marriage - is there still a record?

[Aussiegirl]

Hi,

I've been trying to find a marriage record for my great-great grandparents. I haven't been able to find anything yet and thought it might be due to the marriage being annulled - can anyone tell me if there should be a record of the marriage and is there anywhere I could get a record of the annullment?|banghead|

Thanks!

[Alan Welsford]

If it's your great great grandparents marriage, then it is likely to be long enough ago that annulment or divorce is unlikely.

This guide may be of interest, if the date might have been before 1858.

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/RdLeaflet.asp?sLeafletID=260

Anyway, a divorce or annulment will not result in the removal of details of the marriage, either from the GRO indexes, (for marriages after mid 1837), or from the parish register of a church where the wedding took place.

What do you know about the wedding, (names of bride & groom, place, date), and what steps have you already tried to locate it, please ?

People on here often fancy a challenge, if you want to post what detail you do know.

A marriage may not have taken place where you assume it did, or when you assume it did, (it's often not until one or more children have been born, for example). I've even seen a case where a couple only married many years after all their children were born, because one party was already married, and had to wait for the death of their former spouse.

Alan

[Aussiegirl]

Thanks for the advice! I've posted some details about this under the Jewish thread, but basically I know that my great grandmother was born in 1889. Her name was Violet Eleanor Beverley. On her birth certificate her parents are listed as John Beverley (not his real name - he was Jewish - we think it is Jacob) and Eleanor Lee (Violet Eleanor Lee in the 1891 census).

Family stories are that his parents had the marriage annulled due to his marriage to Violet/Eleanor Lee, a dancer and not Jewish. We do know for sure that he was sent to Australia as a remittance man and the 1891 census lists him as "In Tasmania". In 1922 my great grandmother and grandfather moved to Australia to live with him, but it didn't work out.

So, I'm getting the feeling they may not have been married at all, especially as it seems an annullment probably wouldn't have been given if there was a child.

Any thoughts on where to from here? I may have found a birth certificate for Violet Eleanor Lee, but it is for Chester and I'm not sure in the 1800's she would have moved all the way from there to London - any ideas?

Your advice is really appreciated.

[Geoffers]

This it the other thread (http://www.british-genealogy.com/forums/showthread.php?t=25194) on this subject which contains further information.

In 1891, Violet was shown as 20 with a 2 year old daughter, this limits the time frame for a possible marriage. If she had married about 1887-1889, it would have to be with consent of a parent.

Violet was recorded as being born in St.George's East - so she doesn't appear to have been a recent immigrant.

It would not be surprising if this couple had not married - many lived together as husband and wife without actually going through the formalities.

Perhaps the story handed down through the generations has been changed in the telling? Maybe Violet's age acted against her? Perhaps she could not show proof of parental consent, the cleric/registrar who would have performed the ceremony would not proceed? If this was going to be a CofE wedding, perhaps banns were read and parent(s) objected?

Have you found William BEVERLEY (or whatever name he was using) in the 1881 census? If you cannot find him in 1881, perhaps he was a recent immigrant to the UK? Searching Naturalisation records 1881-1888 for any JACOB(S) on TNA's catalogue produces several pages of results (http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/searchresults.asp?fldResultMarker=61&fldSearchNumber=11203&SearchInit=1), none of which look especially promising.

As previously mentioned, looking for the certificate of her later marriage to Mr. WITCHER would produce some help. It would show her marital state and should hopefully record her father, which may then help in lookign for her in the 1881 census.