Family Historian User Group

the question arises from something we have found out about my wifes family, and were wondering if anyone had an answer. My wifes grandmother left her mother and grandfather when her mother was about 5 in 1927, In 1928 she had another child by an unknown father, not a clever thing to do in those days and appeared to disappear. My wifes grandfather then gets remarried in 1933 where he is described as a widower. How can he do this when he has no real way of knowing his original wife is dead?. He lives with his second wife until he dies in 1956. We have subsequently found that his original wife is well and living in Milton Keynes whilst all this is going on and actually gets remarried in 1977 at the age of 77 to the father of her child from 1928, on her marriage certificate she is described as having a dissolved marriage.
As all partys are now dead we will never know if they were telling fibs deliberately, Is there a way of us finding out how my wifes grandad got his wife decklared dead.

ID:5042

You might find this article of use:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_in_absentia

When your wife's grandfather remarried he wouldn't have had to prove he was a widower. I guess he would just keep his fingers crossed that no-one stood up in the wedding ceremony and claimed to be his wife or her relation.

Anne