Marriage Customs and Child Legitimacy

[jcomello]

Could marriage to a second wife be allowable for the sake of legitimizing the birth of a child born out of wedlock? I do not think so, but I am unsure because of information that I have come across in my own research. I have a Great-great grandfather (born 1839 in Termini Imerese, Palermo, Sicily) who, according to allegati records, was married in 1859 and had children with his first wife 1859-1866. In 1867, there are a second set of allegati records, identifying him as well as his parents, but describing a marriage to a second wife. In these records it states that the child was born out of wedlock and the marriage was necessary to legitimize the birth of the child. After the second marriage, all children are from the second wife (1867-73). Thinking that his first wife must have died in 1866-67 and finding that there was a cholera epidemic in the area in 1867, I searched the death registries for those years but did not find a death record for her. I know that marriage to more than one woman cannot happen in the Catholic church but both of my GGGrandfather's marriages, 1859 and 1867 were civil. Was there some sort of civil allowance for this situation at the time? Thanks for any information any of you out there can provide.

Joe

[PippoM]

I'd say absolutely NOT.
Wasn't his first wife's death certificate included in the allegati of his second marriage? Was he said to be "vedovo" in his second marriage record?

[jcomello]

PippoM,

Thanks for your response. I agree with you. I will look for the term that you mention in the second set of allegati.

[jcomello]

Here are a couple links to the registration of the second marriage to Vincenza Catanzaro. I did not see the term "vedovo" or any reference to the first marriage. Can you?

Pages 1 and 2
https://antenati.cultura.gov.it/ark:/12 ... 06/LDEYaQG
https://antenati.cultura.gov.it/ark:/12 ... 06/wRON62Y

[PippoM]

He is said to be "libero", that might be translated to "free". So, that doesn't clear up our doubt: he might have been never married, or widower. Unfortunately, there are no Allegati, not Request for Banns records.

[PippoM]

I've found their Request for Banns:

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903 ... 37&lang=it

They both say they were not married before (see following image).
Are you sure Salvatore Comello of the two marriages is the same person?
Can you post his first marriage?

[jcomello]

I am not sure they are the same person. I have thought that they were because Salvadore's birth record is part of the allegati for both marriages however, I do have doubts. Below are links to documents covering the first marriage to Maria Teresa Cosentino. Interestingly, the allegati includes a note about the Administrative Council's consent for Salvadore to marry. He was 19 and considered a minor.

Atto di Solenne Promessa (#99): https://antenati.cultura.gov.it/ark:/12 ... 2d?lang=en
and https://antenati.cultura.gov.it/ark:/12 ... Mm?lang=en

Certificato di Affissione E di Non Opposizione (#99): https://antenati.cultura.gov.it/ark:/12 ... kn?lang=en

Allegati documents (#99) images 1236 to 1249: https://antenati.cultura.gov.it/ark:/12 ... gv?lang=en