Usually around Valentine’s Day, thoughts drift to our ancestors’ romantic ties, but we all know that love is a complex emotion, one that’s not always all ‘chocolates and flowers’.
Whilst many of our ancestors did get married, not all marriages were as ‘traditional’ as they might appear on the surface, nor were they always successful! Our ancestors’ lived experiences were as varied as our own are today. Are we too accepting of apparently traditional relationships, seeing a long marriage, and taking it at face value? Are we paying enough attention to those ancestors who did not conform to tradition, or to our marginalised ancestors? Are we exploring their lives and seeking to understand their actions – even when doing so can sometimes be uncomfortable?
This Valentine’s Day, the Society of Genealogists seeks to explore marriage, love, and lust with a wide variety of talks – available to watch live or to catch up on in our new Gold Members video library.
For a truly original genealogy lesson, watch Janet Few (a passionate champion of forgotten ancestors), as she explores ‘Doxies, Dolly-mops and Dressmakers: The History of Prostitution, 1780-1930’ in a session that refuses to shy away from difficult truths. Similarly, Kevin Brown examines the impact of syphilis in his talk, ‘A Night with Venus, A Lifetime with Mercury’!
Of course, looking at less traditional subjects doesn’t mean that we should ignore the clues that marriage records provide us. If you’ve been struggling to find the marriage of an English or Welsh ancestor, you might want to consider looking in Scotland. Chris Paton explores Scottish marriage records and the many ‘irregular’ ways that you could be legally married in Scotland. Reviewing marriage records in-depth and understanding marital law, when and how it evolved, and the consequences of these changes can be extremely beneficial, revealing new hints or increasing understanding of our ancestors’ actions.
Julie Goucher will be helping us to go ‘Beyond the Marriage Certificate’, examining the legal age of marriage and the impact that this had on property and ownership. We examine the ‘Implications of Hardwicke’s Marriage Act in Genealogical Research’ with John Wintrip, and our resident genealogy expert Else Churchill will be tackling ‘Marriage Licences at the SoG and Elsewhere’ helping you get to grips with these often-underutilised records. Marriage Licenses can reveal clues about relationships not mentioned in parish records, and even provide details about couples that were all set to get married but never made it up the aisle. Check your marriage records to see whether your ancestors were married by banns or licence.
We are also considering those ancestors that sought to escape unhappy marriages. Renowned author and legal expert Rebecca Probert talks about ‘Divorce, Separation, and Void Marriages’, and following on the theme of marriage law, Mark Lewis brings us ‘Tying the Knot: The Lore of English Marriage’.
Even the SoG’s Book Club is taking on a Valentine’s theme this month as we explore ‘The Marriage Certificate: The Issue is a Mystery’ by Stephen Molyneux!
All these talks and more are included in the Society of Genealogists’ new Gold Membership for £15 a month.
