Widowed or What?

[apehangmom]

Okay .. I need a question answered. So these folks who had secret marriages.. what were there lives like.. I would suppose that its not like today where no one cares what you do .. But back then.. didnt you have to move to a differnt town as to aviod scandal? If you were secretly married and wanted to be with your spouse.. moving would answer your problems.
I guess its what ever fit into the society at the time. thanks chris

[PamG]

Don't forget it's not necessarily the husband that did the deserting. My great-grandfather apparently drank to excess. My great-grandmother kicked him out of the house and lived happily with her grown up children until she died. One of her children's marriage certificate shows that her husband was 'deceased', although he seems to have died over ten years later. I suspect having the neighbours think he was dead was preferable to the truth.

regards,

Pam