Relatives who marry someone with the same last name?

[dd660]

Hi Folks,
I have been researching my Italian heritage from Avella, Avellino for awhile, specifically D'Avanzo. Ran across a close relative who married a woman with the same last name. Thought it was an error until I received a copy of the marriage doc. In my French-Canadian research it was acceptable for 3rd cousins to marry but no closer and the priests read aloud the baan in church for at least a few times and kept a close on who was marrying whom. Is it the same in Southern Italy in the late 1800's/early 1900's?

An Italian research friend also indicated sometimes dispensations were made for certain situations. What might those be?

Thx DD

[VotM]

First cousin marriages were not entirely unheard of in Sicily. I found these more frequently in the late 1800's/early 1900's than at any other time. At that time the banns were published twice. There were no remarks regarding special dispensations in the civil marriage records.

[dd660]

Thanks! The marriage was 1902. Do the banns have any special remarks such as 1st cousin or anything similar? It was suggested I try and find the 1st baan to see what it might contain.
Thx DD

[VotM]

If the Allegati bundle for the marriage is available, it may contain the two publication notices -- in which case, you might be able to see what the first publication contains. The Allegati bundle will have the same number as the marriage number for the given year.

[paola52]

Hi
If the surname was a very common one, maybe they were only remotely related or not related at all
Paola

[Italysearcher]

The older parish records often gave the degree of consangunity. Allegati were civil documents. Not sure if they would contain this information. You need to remember that in small towns where the surnames were common many people married someone with the same surname with no relationship for 3 generations or more. Watch also for similar spellings of the same surname.

[VotM]

Good point regarding the civil publication notices in the Allegati.

As you note, a common surname does not always imply a close relationship. But the late 1800s and early 1900s seemed be a period where one could more easily find marriages at the first cousin level, at least in some Sicilian towns.

[DCPandaFan]

Yes, first-cousin marriages AND marriages between people with the same surname and not unheard of in the Italian towns I've been looking at. I was told that in my father's town the priest would try to dissuade such marriages, but did not forbid them entirely.