divorces, prior marriages and half siblings

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BillieDeKid
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divorces, prior marriages and half siblings

Post by BillieDeKid »

Hope someone out there might know the answer to this.

If my great grandmother was married twice, or had a child out of wedlock with one man and then married a second man, will the records from LDS reflect that, or will there be some way for me to pick up on this on the microfilms?

I only know her first name but I know my grandfathers name, birthday etc. I'm hoping once I find his information it will lead me to her information.

I know he had some half siblings but this whole subject was taboo in our households.

Thanks
JohnArmellino
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Re: divorces, prior marriages and half siblings

Post by JohnArmellino »

In my experience, if a woman had a child out-of-wedlock, then the birth record would indicate that the father was unknown (padre ignoti or padre incerto) and the child would be given the surname of the mother. Occasionally, the father's name would appear on the record, the woman was not identified as his wife, but rather the child was stated to be the natural child of the couple, and the child would be given the surname of the father.

If a woman was married twice, then the records would state the names of the parents and identify the marriage relationship. The fact that a man or a woman was married before would not be considered. You can trace half-siblings easily through marriage (or multiple marriages), death (of a spouse), and birth records (of the children of each marriage).

In the case of a child born out-of-wedlock where the father is not named, you will occasionally find a record whereby the father will claim the child as his own - this type of record is usually found in the diversi records. You will also find this type of recognition of prior-born children in a marriage record - often at the bottom of the record on pre-printed forms.
John Armellino
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BillieDeKid
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Re: divorces, prior marriages and half siblings

Post by BillieDeKid »

Thank you John, now I know what I should be looking for.

Thanks so much for the help.

Elizabeth
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