?Death or Divorce

[Enigma]

Hit a brick wall, have searched for the death of Emma Heslop nee Wheatley, born abt 1865 Hill Top West Bromwich but after 1891 she dissapeared off the radar!! I have her marriage certificate for 1886 Parish Church Edgbaston to Alfred Raby Heslop & they are both on the 1891 census living in South Street Harborne with 3 young children, then by 1901 Alfred is a lodger with 2 children in ?Celland Grove, Heath Street South, Ladywood (the other child had died in 1891) on this census he stated he was married. I can find no evidence of Emma in 1901 but no evidence of her death. Alfred married again in 1916, I have searched through all the deaths up to then but can find no Emma Heslop ?did they divorce, is there any way to find this out?

[Geoffers]

Divorces can be seached on TNA's catalogue (http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/search.asp)

1. In word or phrase field, enter a surname
2. If you can tie dates down (but don't be too specific, they may not have divorced for a long time), then enter years here - but equally, you can leave this blank unless the name wa Smith
3. In the department or series code, enter - J77

(Do try variant spellings of the surname, e.g. RABEY, RABIE, but I hope you don't have to try RABIES!?)

Hit search.

No hits, no divorce for the time period in which you are interested.

Couples did split up and not bother with legal niceties, which led to bigamy.

[Enigma]

Many thanks for your reply but no luck, I think you may be right with your bigamy theory, I suppose we will never know. Alfred Raby Heslop was my husbands Grandfather, he had 3 children with the lady he eventually married, all born before the marriage, his 2nd wife died only about 10 months after he married her, so perhaps he decided it wouldn't really matter about being bigamous!!

[Colin Moretti]

... he had 3 children with the lady he eventually married, all born before the marriage ...
Some lady! |biggrin|

Colin

[Colin Moretti]

... his 2nd wife died only about 10 months after he married her, so perhaps he decided it wouldn't really matter about being bigamous!!Either they had no money for a divorce (most likely - bigamy is often referred to as the poor man's divorce) or perhaps he married her in expectation of some money on her death (would the cause of death been evident at the time of the marriage?). Or perhaps I'm too cynical.

Colin

[Enigma]

No you are no more cynical than me as I have thought the same!! more so since I have now got her death certificate, she had had a terminal illness for 2 years. Skeletons in cupboards etc, in fact since his first wife seems to have dissapeared of the radar I have told my husband she could be buried under the patio!! Oh stop thinking such evil thoughts!!