Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1901-02-28
cOMMON.lAW MARRIAGES.
Plan in the New York Legislature
Abolishinu Them.

Fldn IN the rev YORK Legislature
Abolishing Them.
A bill has been introduced into the
legislature of New York abolishing
common-law marriages and providing
that the marriage contract must be
in writing. Strange as it may seem,
says the Baltimore Sun, there is OBJ
| lection to the passage of this bill upon
moral grounds. 1t passed the lower
house at the last meeting of the legis-
! lature, but was lost in the senate.
The law of New York recognizes what
are called 'common-law" marriages,
in which there need be no ceremony,
| no contract in writing, no witnesses,
and of which there is no record. Only
| the consent of the parties is necessary
| to make valid marriage. The trans
| fer of square yard of ground must
be made Iii writing, properly executed,
witnessed and recorded, a share o.
stock worth no more than a dollar
must be transferred in writing, and
here is the most important contract
man or woman can enter into atterd-
ed with no formality and in many
cases only to be proved by evidence
which is the merest hearsay or gossip.
In Eighty-eighth New York Reports
there is a case decided relating to a
woman who had for thirty-five years
supposed herself to be wife and
who, it was decided by the court, was
in fact unmarried. 1t was stated in
an argument on the pending bill in
New York that a wealthy bachelor
cannot die in that state that some
woman in black does not attend the
funeral, claiming to be the widow. In
one notable case in recent years there
were three such widows at the fu-
neral. There are thousands of men
and women in the state of New York
today, it IS said. who cannot tell GER
tainly whether they are married or
not. That contract which involves
not only the honor and happiness of
the man ana woman, but the descent
OF property to their children and their
right of inheritance, should have 40
safeguards around it is almost past
belief. The only objection urged 10
the proposed reform. so far as wehave
observed. is that to require a formal
contract in writing would place an
obstacle In the way of marriages,
which should be perfectly free and
untrammeled.
Perhaps the Maryland law Of mar
riages is one of the best A license
is required, which only costs dollar,
and the marriage ceremony must be
performed by an authorized minister,
according to the rites of some church
or according to the usage of the So
ciety of Friends. The minister who
performs the ceremony is required,
under penalty, to return the license
to the clerks office of the court from
which it was issued. with a certificate
that the wedding has taken place, and.
in addition, he may give certificate
to the parties. 1t is presumed that
the minister also keeps a minute of
the ceremony in the records of his
church. Thus a marriage is easily
proved by abundant documentary evil
dence.
Common-law marriages have been
recognized as valid in New York since
1909, when Chief Justice Kent decided
that no form of solemnization of mar
riage was necessary, and that the con-
sent of the parties, without any form,
was all that was required to consti-
tute valid marriage. Previously to
that time a license and an official
ceremony had been deemed essential.
nrpSQnt c
more loose and Objectionable than the
conditions relating to marriage which
prevailed in Scotland when Wilkie
Collins wrote his celebrated novel,
Miss or Mrs, by which he undertook
the work of reform. New York, is
not the only state in which marriage
legislation is being considered