The Kennewick courier-reporter. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1914-1938, 1919-11-13
IN SMOCK
In England 1t Was Held That Act Re
lieved Husbands of Debts Con-
tracted by His Bride Before
Their Marriage.

"A Bangor lawyer attending court in
the. ancient town of Wiscasset. Lincoln
county, recently went rummaging in
the Colonial court records of the place,
and in the course of his reading came
across the official registration of a
'smock marriage" writes j.. T. Smyth
fron. Bangor, Me-. to the Boston Tran
script. Not knowing what smock
marriage was, the lawyer looked fur
ther, and got considerable light upon
4 custom that prevailed in England a
century or more ago and also to some
/ extent in the American colonies.
"Smock marriages were weddings
where the bride appeared dressed in
white sheet Or chemise. The reason
for such garb was the belief that IL
man married "a woman who was in
debt he could be held liable for her
Indebtedness If, he received with her
any of her property and also. that II
woman married q man who was In
debt, his creditors could not take her
property to satisfy their claims If he
had received nothing from her at mar
rage. In England, says an antiquari-
. : -. n NJ. +
an, there was at least one case where
bride was clothed in puris naturah-
bus while the ceremony was being per-
formed in the great church at Birming
ham The minister at first refused to
perform the ceremony, but, finding
nothing in the rubric that would ex-
cuse him. he finally married the pair.
To carry out the law fully as the
people understood 1t, the ceremony
should always have been performed ~
it was in the church at Birmingham, In
the case noted; but, modesty forbid
ding, various expedients were used to
accomplish the end without the I'M
pleasant features. Sometimes the
bride stood in d closet and put her
hand through d hole in the door; some
times She stood behind a cloth screen
and put her hand out at one side |;
again, she wound about her a white
sheet furnished by the bridegroom. and
sometimes she stood in her chemise or
smock Eventually, in Essex county.
AT least, all immodesty was avoided by
the groom furnishing all the clothes
worn by the bride, retaining the title
to the same In himself. This he did
in the presence of witnesses, that he
might be able to prove the fact in case
he was sued for any debts she might
have contracted. A marriage Of this
kind occurred at Bradford in 1873, and
the following is true copy of the rec
ord of the same:
~" Bradford. Dec. We "a, 1773- This
may certifie whoinsoeyer it may con- |
cerne that James Bailey OF Bradford, /
who was married to the widow Mary |
Bacon November % last past by me We
then declared that he took |
said person without anything Of estate
and that Lydia the wife OF Liazer Bur
bank and Mary the wife of Thomas
Stickney and Margaret the wife of Ca
leb Burbank all of Bradford were wit
aesses that the clothes she then had
On were his providing and bestowed
upon her.
"WILLIAM BLACH,
Minister of We Gospel
'Tt Is noted by the same writer that
n all cases of smock marriages that II
nave come to his notice the brides
nave been widows.
1t is thought that during the reign
If George III there were many smock 4
marriages in Maine, then a part of the
Of Massachusetts Bay, chief
y in the counties of Lincoln and York,
n III the territory which is now 80
Known. There Is nothing to show that
he practice outlived the Revolution.
n Maine, up to 1852. husband was II
bile for debts Of his wife contracted
'efore marriage. and no SUD- subter-
uge ais the smock marriage could re-
leve him. 49,