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How soon could a Regency widow remarry? Was there actually any legal enforcement of the yearlong mourning period, and/or would a churchman refuse to perform the ceremony? That is, if she's willing to brave the resulting scandal, is there anything else to stop her? |
The short answer is No.
In the late 18th and early 19th century there was no law that said a widow could not marry within a year or two of her husband's death. Society felt that it was proper for her to wait at least a year-- though some preferred she wait two years to remarry, and others felt it wrong for her to ever remarry.
Some felt a widow should never remarry. If the widow had any property from the first husband, his heirs preferred that she not take that to a second marriage in another family.
Complications could arise when a young widow married within a year of her husband's death and she was or became pregnant. A child born within ten months of the first husband's death could be considered his. This was the main reason why people were against widows remarrying too soon after the first husband's death.
Clergymen could counsel against a marriage before the year was out but would not usually refuse to conduct the ceremony.
| If I am wondering a lot about the education system. Were children home school'd? If so, were outside teachers hired to teach in the home? Any other information on education would be fantastic? |
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Boys of the upper classes and the upper gentry were usually taught at home until they were ten or so and then they were sent to school. . The Austen boys were taught at home until they went either to University or the navy.
Girls had governesses. Special tutors were hired when needed.
They did have seminaries for girls but it was much less common to send girls to school than it was to send boys. Still, there were many so called schools for girls. No school was inspected nor were there qualifications for the teachers or certificates.
There is actually more information about schools in the USA than schools in England, because the English left schooling very much up to the parent.
Poor children went to a dame school or the penny school. They paid a penny for each class they took. there were many charities that started schools.The Sunday School movement was started more to teach reading than to teach the Bible. In deed, the schools were set up so that Protestant children could read the scripture for themselves. They were not always taught to write.
Scotland had parish schools and compulsory education long before England considered the matter.
There are books about the more famous schools and the two universities
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Was it legal for an Earl to have a fox hunting party on his own estate in June? |
Most sources say that fox hunting usually was a late autumn and winter sport.While they might go cubbing in September and October to train dogs, most hunts started in November and went until April.
Foxes were considered vermin and weren't covered by game laws. There was more social pressure concerning the right time to hunt foxes then there was legal pressure.
| If a couple produce an illegitimate child and then marry 10 years later, can that child be legitimized to inherit his father's title? If so, how would that be accomplished? Also, I have heard differing views on the legality of a widow marrying her late husband's brother. Was this legal in 1800-1830 or was it considered incest? |
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This was not possible in England. It was possible in Scotland, if the child were born in Scotland and the parents later married there. Some sources say, it was only possible if the couple were free to marry at the time: that is neither was married to anyone else.
A widow could marry her brother in law if a clergyman could be found to conduct the service. However, this marriage could be challenged as illegal and void at any time and the children of the marriage made illegitimate. Most clergymen called it incest and refused to conduct the marriage ceremony between two people related in that way. This was made completely illegal and all such marriages void in 1835. At that time, all such existing marriages were declared valid but all such marriages from that day, completely null and void.
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