VERSION|0.5.1|NAME|Norman|DATE|1380532467|CONTENT|Edwin
I don&#039;t think I mention a &quot;morning gift&quot; I believe the gift was pre rather than post. The marriage Act of 1753 enshrined the requirement for marriage in church (anglican) for the English. The nasty shock about what common law marriage actually was (or was not) appeared as widows from the first world war claimed their husbands pensions.

Apparently common law marriage has never been recognised, but was assumed to have some legal status. For most of history formal marriage has only applied where property or state alliance has been involved - so only the extremely upper classes. Nineteenth century Berks sounds pretty typical.|EMAIL|nrhansen@blueyonder.co.uk|IP-ADDRESS|217.206.16.3|MODERATIONFLAG|