Genealogy Chat

become legal? In other words, when were Roman Catholic Priests allowed to perform a civilly-acceptable marriage? I have a marriage in 1859, register office. It is JUST possible that one or both of the parties were RC. Marjorie

Somebody who actually knows something on the subject will hopefully come in and correct me, but I get the impression that the religion would still have been pretty new in 1859. (I know we were all catholics once, but new to the Victorians) I think the churches were then called missions (In Croydon, we had a Spanish priest who couldn't speak a word of English!) It might have been possible easily to marry in a RC church in areas of strong catholicism, but in others there may not have been a place of worship close at hand.

Thankyou all for your replies. It seems unlikely, to me, that a couple would marry in a RC Church, then nip round the corner and marry in a C of E Church, however, my co-researcher into this family is convinced that one partner was Catholic (absolutely no reason for this supposition, other than no baptism found). Marjorie

I'm not sure if this helps but a couple could get married more than once on the same day for instance if one was Catholic etc. I have this particular instance in my tree. I wonder if you got twice the wedding cake? My C of E church that I attend is High Church of England which basically means in modern terms it is more Catholic than a Catholic church - My mum's friends had a bit of shock whne the came to my son's baptism and they are Roman Catholic! We have all the smells and bells and the service is basically identical to a Catholic one - Victorian influence. I don't know if the type of C of E Church would have a bearing of the marriage that you have in your tree. Pippa

Here is a summary about Catholic records from the BBC website which may help. I have a lot of Catholics in my tree and it was quite common for them to get married in their local Parish Church but to also have the wedding 'officially' recorded in the local registry or Anglican church. Also in a mixed marriage banns were read and sometimes ceremonies held at both churches. Also, take the IGI with a big pinch of salt. A few of my Catholics are on it but not always with very reliable information. Louise --- While a few of the oldest parish registers date from a time when England was a Catholic country ruled by Mary Tudor, after the accession of her Protestant sister Elizabeth in 1558 Catholics became an increasingly persecuted minority. Most Catholics in Britain now are descended from nineteenth-century immigrants. Those of the preceding three centuries generally held private baptisms and marriages but Anglican burials. It was considered too dangerous to keep registers, most of which do not begin until the early 1800s. Although Catholics could worship in their own churches from 1791, under Hardwicke's Marriage Act of 1754 they still had to go to an Anglican church to get married until the Catholic Emancipation Act was passed in 1829. At the start of civil registration, Catholic authorities were unwilling to surrender their records. Nevertheless, the northern records were deposited and may be seen at the Public Record Office, and many others have since been passed to local archives. The Public Record Office has an online leaflet called Catholic Recusants. Go to the Catholic History website for links to the Catholic Record Society, The Catholic Family History Society and other relevant organisations.

Just to say thanks to Louise for putting that on. I had a catholic query tonight and was stuck. The info was really helpful, thanks

Thankyou for that information, Louise. As is the way with these things, I found that information, word for word, today at the library! LOL! But thankyou for bothering to post, much appreciated. Marjorie

Typical!!! Never mind, at least it was helpful to Sid so I am still pleased I posted. Louise

Civil registration was introduced in 1837. This meant you could be married in a register office, or C of E church. If you married elsewhere - ie a synagogue or Roman Catholic church, you still had to be formally registered. As far as I am aware, C of E priests are automatically granted registrar status, but Catholic and other religious denominations have to apply to the civil registrar of the district to ensure the legal formalities are correct. nell