Marriage licence and consent for a minor

[arthurk]

My question relates to a Job Pritchard, born 1807, one of 6 illegitimate children. Some years earlier his mother (Jane) had married a John Pritchard and had a legitimate son, but after a gap of about 6 years, the 6 illegitimate children followed. I suspect that John Pritchard may have abandoned Jane soon after the birth of their legitimate son, and that Jane then moved in with the father of her illegitimate children, who she was not free to marry.

In 1826 Job married by licence, aged about 18, and with the licence was the following oath:
"Job Pritchard hath no Father living or Guardian of his person lawfully appointed or Mother living and unmarried or Guardian of his person appointed by the Court of Chancery and having authority to consent to his marriage."

My question is this - does this oath imply that both his mother and his natural father were then dead? Or is it that his father, not being married to his mother, had no authority to consent, and that his mother being still legally married to John Pritchard (unless he'd died by then), also had no authority to consent? I'm not familiar enough with the intricacies of who could and couldn't consent to a minor's marriage to work out the exact meaning.

I'm hoping to narrow down the time frame within which the parents died in order to help track down who the father was, as all research through the normal channels has so far drawn a blank.

Thanks for any help,
Arthur

[Guy Etchells]

No, it simply means that when he applied for a licence to marry he stated that he had no mother or father living and that the courts had not appointed a guardian for him.
It may be that his mother and father were both dead at the time but one cannot take that as fact, it was common to lie about such matters.
It could also be that he had left home previously and had no knowledge of his mum & dad.
Cheers
Guy

[arthurk]

Thanks, Guy. I take the point that it might mean anything, but do you (or anyone) know if the phrase "no Mother living and unmarried" was a standard one used in these oaths, and if so, does it mean that a mother could only give or withhold consent if she was unmarried (or widowed)? Or might the wording have been devised specially for Job's situation?

Also, did the natural father of an illegitimate child have the right or authority to give or withhold consent? And if the mother's husband was still alive (and could be located), even though he wasn't Job's father, would he have had any say in the matter?

Arthur

[Guy Etchells]

Standard phrase stemming from the requirements of Lord Hardwicke’s Marriage Act (26 George II., cap. 33).
The situation of an illegitimate child is that he/she is a child of nobody, therfore parents consent is not required but a guardians (if one has been appointed) consent may be required.
Cheers
Guy

[arthurk]

Thanks, Guy.

Arthur