When doing genealogy research, we often hear how family relationships were figured out by looking at marriage dispensations. These dispensations were very common in the Catholic Church so I thought it might be of some help to blog about how dispensations work.
Since cousins marrying one another raises some moral, as well as genetic issues, the Catholic Church installed a system to regulate such unions. Official Church permission was required to marry a blood relative. This permission was given in the form of granting dispentations for varying degrees of consanguinity of blood relationship. No distinction was made between half-siblings and those who shared both parents.
There are four basic degrees of consanguinity:
First degree: siblings, who share the same parents Second degree: first cousins, who share the same grandparents Third degree: second cousins, who share the same great grandparents Fourth degree: third cousins, who share the same great, great grandparents Therefore, if second cousins wished to marry one another, they would need to be granted a dispensation for a third (or third to third - 3/3) degree of consanguinity from the Church before the marriage could be solemnized.
Among the Acadians of southeastern New Brunswick, dispensations were not always that simple. A couple could be third cousins through their mothers, as well as their fathers, requiring a dispensation for a double, fourth degree of consanguinity. A relationship could also be uneven where as the groom's grandfather was the brother of the bride's great grandfather requiring a dispensation for a third to fourth degree of consanguinity, because they were second cousins, once removed.
Dispensations were not limited to blood relationships. There were also spiritual relationships. When a person married, that person became a spiritual member of the new spouse's family. A sister-in-law was, in a spiritual sense, a sister. This applied to brothers, cousins, etc. If a man wished to marry his late wife's first cousin, spiritually he would be marrying his own first cousin. This would require a dispensation for a second degree of affinity. Dispensations for affinity relationships were governed by the same guidelines as blood relationships of consanguinity.
Dispensations play a major role in New Brunswick-Acadian genealogy. With a lack of surviving, original records of the late eighteenth-century and a number of nineteenth-century marriage records in which the parents of the couple were not noted, dispensations are a valuable tool in the confirmation of ancestry and relationships. Dispensations are used by professional researchers in determining if indeed such and such ancestors were related to one another because of the dispensations being granted their children, etc.
Source: "Melanson ~ Melancon the Genealogy of an Acadian and Cajun Family" by Michael B. Melanson mbmelanson@aol.com
My sincere thanks to our cousin and my friend, Michael Melanson for allowing me to share this information with you from his book.
Michael is an excellent researcher and his book, chuck full of information, is still available for purchase. If interested just sent him a message at the above address.
5 comments:
Lucy you are amazing, thank you for all your time and effort. I love your blog. I always learn so much from you. I often shed a few tears as I learn what our ancestors endured. Thank you for keeping the flame alive. Sandy
Lucie I wonder whether you might be able to confirm the meaning of a consanguinity note on a marriage that is very important to me - that of my great grandparents Joseph Lagace and Elisabeth Doucet. I have made some breakthroughs on my Doucet line but would like more clarification. This is what it says on their marriage record:
"one impediment of consanguinity viz from the 3rd to the 3rd degree"
1) Does this mean they shared one set of great-grandparents?
2) Or are there other possible interpretations?
Evelyn in Montreal
Hi Evelyn,
It means that they were second cousins with the same great grandparents.
I also checked with Dennis Boudreau and he said:
"One impediment means there is only one dispensation. 3-3 = second cousins, so only look for one relationship among their grandparents: bro/bro, sis/sis, or bro/sis or sis/bro. If it were more then it would be doubled or tripled"
I hope this answers your question.
Lucie
1. You meant great-grandparents, correct?
2. To be sure I've understood correctly, when I look at all the great-grandparents of both spouses, then two of those great-grandparents are siblings?
Evelyn
Yes, the great grandparents.
It means that one couple is the same on both sides
of the family. In other words two brothers might have married into the same family so that you would see their parents are in both lineages.
I don't know if this is clear but if not, come back.
Lucie
Post a Comment