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Married Twice in Two Years...to the Same Person

Mary Eleanor Phelan was the first-born child of our Irish ancestors Jeremiah Phelan and Mary Wilson. When I first started researching the Phelans, I found on Ancestry a marriage record between a John Browne and a Mary Ann Phelan in 1885, and while the different middle name was a bit odd, I thought it had to be the right record based on the date. Now that I am going over my research again, I am verifying information where there is any doubt around a life event (ie. birth, death or marriage), by purchasing the appropriate certificate from the Victorian BDM website. So in this case I decided to order the 'historical image' download of John and Mary's marriage certificate. Due to a technical problem with the website at that time I was unable to receive the download, and in the meantime I stumbled upon a second index entry for a marriage between a John Browne and a Mary Phelan (no erroneous middle name) that occurred just a year later in 1886. I now felt I had probably found the right record so I ordered that one too, figuring I had wasted my money on the initial purchase.

Once the website's problems had been fixed and I received my two image downloads, I was most surprised to discover that BOTH records applied to the Mary and John in question! Why would they have had two weddings and two marriage certificates in the space of less than two years (20 January 1885 and 18 October 1886)?! The answer I suspect lies in the fact that in 1884 an unmarried Mary had already given birth to the couple's first child, John Francis Browne. Given the era, and the fact that Mary was from good Irish Catholic stock, there was likely pressure on John to make an 'honest woman' of Mary! This would explain why the first wedding took place at the Office of the Registrar of Marriages in 'West Hotham' (now West Melbourne, which is where John and Mary were residing).

Twenty-one months later the second wedding was held at St Mary's Catholic Church in Victoria St, West Melbourne (this big church still stands today on the hill just past the Queen Vic Market). While we can't be sure of the reason, perhaps it was Mary or the family's desire not to be denied a traditional church wedding? The reason they waited almost two years? Almost certainly because the couple welcomed a second child, a daughter Elsie, born during 1886. But as to why a second certificate was issued, that is a good question. I admit I don't know the legalities surrounding this, but it would seem wrong for this to occur? Perhaps someone can tell us. However they managed it, perhaps the family wanted to be able to produce a certificate that shows a church wedding, rather than one that implies a 'shotgun' registry wedding and the perceived shame that would have come with that?

Oh, and back to the issue of the wrong middle name of 'Ann' on the original certificate. Looking at the image (see below), where the bride's name should be entered, was written 'Mary Ann Wilson' which is actually Mary's mother's full name. This had to be amended with a note in the margin stating that name should not have appeared there. Above 'Mary Ann Wilson' had been added the name 'Mary Ann Phelan', it was either a slip in haste, or an assumption that the Ann was correct instead of the actual middle name of Eleanor. It is interesting to note though that on the second certificate Mary's name is simply recorded as 'Mary Phelan'. Perhaps she didn't like her middle name after all!


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