family history query

margi_g · 12 June 2019 at 6:44PM

I am researching family history and wonder if anyone else has come across this .
I am trying to find a divorce petition or decree absolute for a relative.I am not finding anything. I have taken this query to the National Archive and they have looked into it and they cant come up with this information either.
The people concerned in this divorce died years ago but their children are still around. It looks like the woman didnt divorce her first husband .she married again and had other children .
Could there be any reason the National archive cant find the paperwork on this divorce?
They have told me is doesnt matter where in the country it took place they should be able to find.
Bit of a loss to know what to do to find out more.
Any help would be appreciated

[purplesignup][/purplesignup]

If you haven’t already, join the forum to reply.

seashore22 · 12 June 2019 at 6:59PM

When do you think the divorce would have happened?

What was the date of the first marriage and the second?

It would help to have a range to work from.

What information was on the marriage certificates?

Keep_pedalling · 12 June 2019 at 8:41PM

It’s always good to have a bit of colour in your family tree, I would record it as bigamy.

Grumpelstiltskin · 12 June 2019 at 8:47PM

Hoping this is England or Wales.

N A say this.

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/help-with-your-research/research-guides/divorce/

So after 1937 they are not likely to have any records.

Bear in mind it was only well into the 20th century that you had to provide proof of divorce on remarriage so earlier on the registrar accepted what people said, and they didn't always tell the truth.

bouicca21 · 13 June 2019 at 12:02AM

What date (approximately) was the supposed divorce? Are you looking for a case file or simply proof of a decree? What does the second marriage certificate say about the marital status of the wife?

TonyMMM · 13 June 2019 at 7:52AM

If the divorce was post 1937, then you will need to get a copy of the decree from the court service.

https://www.gov.uk/copy-decree-absolute-final-order

This can be expensive if you don't know when/where it took place.

The first place to look at is the certificate for the later marriage to see how they were described in the condition column e.g. spinster or "divorced, previously the wife of ..."

margi_g · 13 June 2019 at 8:06AM

the first marriage was 1947 the second 1958.I have the first marriage certificate,but only traced the second on local county council records. I think it should say "previous marriage dissolved" if the registrar has seen a decree absolute. But I doint know if they insisted on this
THis is affecting my cousins who are the children of the woman concerned in these marriages. More worryingly the first husband never remarried. I can find no marriage certificate from the date of the first and 1974 when he died.

margi_g · 13 June 2019 at 8:09AM

the National Archive checked this for me from 1950 to 1960 and can find no record. The woman concerned married again in 1958

trailingspouse · 13 June 2019 at 8:37AM

I'm sorry to hear it's affecting the children of this couple - how did they come to find out there was a problem?
The trouble with delving into our families' histories is that we are very likely to discover skeletons - and it's up to us as the ones doing the discovering to handle anything we find with tact and discretion.

If you can't find a divorce, having gone to the lengths that you've gone to, then the most obvious conclusion is that they didn't divorce and the woman re-married bigamously. If those are the facts, then what matters is how you handle it.

margi_g · 13 June 2019 at 8:50AM

This started out as a change of name for one of the children .He was adopted by the second husband and had a very unhappy childhood. He recently took a DNA test to prove the name on his birth certificate is genuine (there were doubts as to who his father was) It proved the first husband of this woman was his father and he has other cousins whom he has never met,Bonus really!.My cousin who is changing his name wanted to know why his parents divorced .inthat tie you had to have a valid reason for divorce so he wanted to know what it was .Baically, I think he wanted to know who was to blame and who divorced who.
If there was no proof of divorce it seems to lead to a bigamous marriage.It is best not to tell the third child ,from the second marriage, what we have discovered and leave it firmly in the past.Thanks for your input I appreciate you taking the time to reply

Grumpelstiltskin · 13 June 2019 at 8:58AM

As long as the second marriage took place in England or Wales you can obtain a PDF copy from the General Register Office for £7.

Look on here for starters.

https://www.freebmd.org.uk

To find the actual quarter, now if she was born Smith, first husband was Jones look under both surnames to see which surnames she used, check both surnames and if she declared both then chances are she declared first marriage, if she only called herself Smith then chances are she didn't.

https://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/certificates/default.asp

This is where you order the certificate.

family history query

Comments

Categories

Get our FREE Weekly email full of deals & guides - and it’s spam-free