Marriage, laws and traditions - Origins

http://www.genealogy.com/ftm/s/t/e/William-Lackey--Stephens/GENE20-0002.html- Some Descendants of the Fitz Stephen Family in England and New England by C. Ellis Sevens, LL.D., D.C.L. F.S.A. (Edinburgh) Knight of Portugal. New York - Privately Printed 1904.

Also included in this website information: Stevens - Stephens Genealogy and Family History” author: Clarence Perry Stevens. Contains the Stevens-Stephens family of North Carolina. Privately Published. 1968.

    In this book marriages are not confined solely to those still listed in church registers and county recorders offices. These are only some of the evidence in proving parents along with common law marriages etc… in the past there has been much confusion as to what constitutes marriage. Note also that official marriage registers are not proof beyond all doubt as to a child’s parents as several court cases show. A so-called illegitimate child is defined as “one born out of wedlock”; but wedlock is not so easy to define…. Different nations and even states have different definitions.

   Strange as it may seem, there are few modern books on marriage… One recent book by Dr. D.S. Bailey, an English clergyman, tells us 1. Marriage was originally a civil rather than a religious ceremony. In the early Christian church (and secular government) it consisted simply in an exchange of consent before witnesses after a contract and dowery (p. 84) and no permit or blessing from the clergy was used. (Vide Quaker marriages). It was a civil right of the people.

 Even after the Roman church became powerful enough and united with the state, to have a monopoly in most of Europe, no permit was required from the clergy before the 9th century (p. 74). About this time some of the clergy conceived the idea it would add to their power and wealth if they had authority over marriage. Naturally, if people had to get clerical permits for marriage they could also be forced to join the church and pay money to the bishops. By the 11th century a clerical permit (blessing) was rather well established (p. 117) which, of course, showed the church's authority in permitting anyone to marry. What right did they have to this authority? Why, none at all; they just usurped it. Then the tyranny over marriage began in earnest. In the 12th century any marriage between people more related than sixth cousins was prohibited (p. 143)... There we also other “impediments” such as a prohibition against marrying a deceased wife’s sister or the widow of a maternal uncle. These of course, were no blood relation, nor were those of “spiritual affinity”, added later (belonging to the same faith -denomination). This is a sample of the list too long to give here. Also by the 12th century the clergy were branding innocent children as illegitimate and began hunting witches… Thus they established a sort of taboo, which was to a certain extent has come down to the present time against the so-called illegitimate child. (the author tells of a boy who committed suicide because he persecuted by his school mates because he was illegitimate)

   Then in the 17th century religious liberty was established in England by the great Cromwell and his brave soldiers, including, our Capt. Nicholas Stevens and some of his kin. They were tired, as Milton said, of “the clergy meddling with marriage”, so they outlawed marriages “blessed” by the Roman clergy which, in effect, made such marriages illegitimate in England unless there was also a civil ceremony… This was a long step toward separation of church and state we are supposed to have in the U.S today. So if before 1800, no official marriage record is found or a birth is marked “base” or “spurious”, it may only mean that the persons did not belong to and use the official national church.

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