Was it frowned upon for cousins to marry in 1830? Vaughan (General)

by sellwood, Tuesday, February 24, 2009, 16:38 (5824 days ago) @ stephenmiller

Hello,
Basically, it was illegal, both in the eyes of the Church, and until the 20th century, by Civil Authorities. However, many Incumbents, even when they knew that there was a relatonship, closed their eyes. Often you will find such marriages - and there were hundreds of them - took place outside both the bride and groom's parishes. It became more prevalent in the later 19th century when couples did not need to marry in church.

In the eyes of the Roman Catholic church (and until comparatively recently, the Church of England) it is still illegal to marry an inlaw or a cousin. This has to do with the fact that it is seen that when a couple marry, their families are joined as one, and therefore the perception is that it is incestuous to marry a sister/brother-in-law/cousin. It has nothing to do with the possible dangers of inbreeding of bloodlines although 20th century people have thrown this into the argument. It is a theological point. The rules today are still laid out in the Book of Common Prayer and are a bit laxer than they were latterly.

Yours
Sellwood