Genealogy Chat

Am I right in saying that it was illegal to marry your dead brother's wife? The reason I am asking is that I have found this in my family, one of the brothers died (he was a coal miner) and then 6 years later she has married his brother and they had children Any help much appreciated Regards Sue

not sure might have been legal if the previous marriage hadn't been consumated (Henry VIII married his dead brothers wife - Catherine of Aragon on these grounds)

The marriage was definately consumated as they had children together before her first husband died.

I think it was about 1907 when it was legalised.

I can't see any legal reason why you can't marry your brother/sister in law ...as long as your first husband/wife is dead and that your brother/sister in law isn't married himself ! I know that COUSINS could legally marry after a certain date ... but couldn't tell you when. Dancer x

Thank you all for your help - much appreciated Regards Sue

Read all about it: Sister Act (1835-1907) Places: England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, Britain, Europe. The Deceased Wife’s Sister Act was introduced in 1835 to clarify a murky area of British marriage law. The Act ruled that all marriages with one’s deceased wife’s sister which had taken place before 31 August 1835 could not be retracted, but that all subsequent unions of this type were rendered invalid. (Previously these marriages were legal, but could be annulled at any time.) Thus a single day might be all that separated a respectable wife from a mere concubine, though in practice such marriages continued to be celebrated illegally and were frequently tolerated by society. At a time when death in childbirth was commonplace, many young widowers might find solace – and a kind stepmother for their children – in their sisters-in-law. which follow one such match. The Act has its roots in Biblical teaching against incest between ‘affines’, or in-laws. The Act was finally repealed in 1907. From: www.litencyc*.*com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=1430

I've got several cases of it inbetween 1835 and 1907 and I assume that if the vicar who married the couple didn't know the relationship it happened - I suppose they were theoretically unlawful:)

Thank you for that piece of Act very interesting. Might explain something. She originally married her first husband where she was born (Gloucestershire) and this is where he died, but when she married the second brother they went to his Parish (Lincolnshire), but did move back to the Gloucestershire Parish two years later as per the census information! Sneeky buggers :)

the Deceased Brother’s Widow’s Marriage Act, 1921. An Act to amend the Law relating to marriage with a deceased brother’s widow. [28th July 1921] BE it enacted by the King’s most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows :- 1.-(1) Section one of the Deceased Wife’s Sister's Marriage Act, 1907, shall be read and construed as after the words 'deceased wife’s sister,' where they occur in such section, there were inserted 'or between a man and his deceased brother’s widow.' (2) Section three of the said Act shall be read and construed as though - (a) in subsection (1) thereof, after the words 'wives sisters,' there were inserted the words 'or husbands’ brothers’ wives ‘‘ ; and (b) in subsection (2) thereof, at the end, there were inserted the words 'or the divorced wife of his brother, or the wife of his brother who has divorced his brother, during the lifetime of such brother.' (3) Section four of the said Act shall be read and construed as if at the end thereof there were inserted the words 'or his deceased brother’s widow.' (4) Section five of the said Act shall be read and construed as though at the end thereof there were inserted the words 'and the word ‘brother’ shall include a brother of the half blood.' The said Act as amended by this Act shall, so far as it relates to marriages between a man and his deceased brother's widow, have effect as though it had been passed at the date of the passing of this Act. 2. This Act may be cited as the Deceased Brother’s Widow's Marriage Act, 1921, and this Act and the Deceased Wife’s Sister’s Marriage Act, 1907, may be cited together as the Marriage (Prohibited Degrees of Relationship) Acts, 1907 and 1921.

My gran married two brothers.my grandad died(TB) and my gran was left with 5 children.A few years later she married his brother and had another 2 children. vicky

My gt grandmother married her Brother in Law - both were widowed and even more bizarre - both dead spouses had died on the same day!

Hi, Someone on my aunty's husband's family some way back married his sister-in-law.He was also a bigamist as well helen

nudged for info

thanks for the nudge! I think it is quite clear that a marriage to a sister in law would be considered illegal. Now I just have to find eveidence of it and I may have found my illusive John Thomas's parentage>>>>

Just to confuse matters slightly here (with apologies)... the law regarding a man not being able do marry his dead wife's sister did not aply in the Channel Isles (there are several cases of such marriages taking place when it was illegal to do so in England and Wales). Further to the 1907 Act is this: 'The Imperial Parliament finally passed the Deceased Wife's Sister's Marriage Act in 1907 after over a half-century of sometimes acrimonious debate; in 1921 this act was modified to allow marriage with a deceased brother's widow. In 1931 the Marriage (Prohibited Degrees of Relationship) Act legalised marriage between a man and deceased wife's aunts and nieces (& corresponding for a female); the Church of England came into line with civil law in 1940.' It was the dates that were confusing me somewhat - as I recall watching a Barbara Taylor Bradford movie late one night (I couldn't sleep! lol) where the couple in the film didn't legally marry until the 1940's as she was the sister of his dead wife.

This is interesting to read. Am I right in thinking that it is illegal to marry your father-in-law, or has that now changed too? I remember reading an article a couple of years ago about a woman who had divorced her husband but wasn't allowed to then marry his father. I don't know where the law stands on marrying your mother-in-law! Rachael :-)

you can marry your sister in law, at this present time my father married my aunt, she was the twin of my mam! my mam died in 1982, my father married the twin in 1986 linda x

I have a gggrandfather who married in the 1820's, was widowed and then married his late wife's sister. They were his second and third marriages - and for both he travelled from North Leicestershire to London to marry. One marriage was in StAnne's Soho, the other in St Leonards. Definitely him, his signature matches. Not only that but in both cases the couple married after banns and are 'of this parish' which none of them are!!

I have an Uncle marrying his niece in my family, surely that isn't legal. Not that it matters now really, they died long ago. June xx