Not married but have children..
Hi, I would like to ask if it is possible to add a couple in family tree that were not married? I mean, is it okay to add them and their children? Actually, a member in our ward ask this question because some of her ancestor were not married but they have children, and I am not sure how to answer her.
Answers
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@Lemuel S. Laygui
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Lemuel
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Short Answer(s): 'Yes', to both, DEFINITELY
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There are countless "Couple" Relationships that appear/are recorded in "Family Tree" of "FamilySearch" where the "Couple", both, with or without, Children, that were NOT "Married" - that is quite common.
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That is life - you cannot 'whitewash' it.
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You can even "Seal" the "Couples", both, with or without, Children, that were NOT "Married", in certain instances; and, further, "Seal" any Children to those Parents, in ceratin instances.
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The ONLY proviso or caveat is that, for such "Couples" to be "Sealed", is that there WAS a "Relationship" between them (other than just producing a Child - 'one night stand') in the form of living together as a Couple (and, of Family, if Children are involved); and/or, in certain instances, usually, that of the Male, if the Couple did not live together; then, that there is 'evidence' of 'support' offered/paid to the Female (and, any Child/Children).
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Here are a few "Knowledge Articles" in "FamilySearch":
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Policy on sealing a deceased couple that were never married nor ever lived together
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Do common-law spouses have the same precedence as married spouses?
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I hope this helps.
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Brett
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Hi @Brett . , thank you again for your help, as always! I appreciate it much. I will share this to my ward. Thank you.
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😀
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But what do you enter in the marriage date when they were not married.
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I see that you haven't had a response in the last little while, so here's a bit more information :-)
When you look at the Family Members section of a person's details page, Parents are usually shown together in the same "Couple Relationship" box. Being together in the same box does NOT necessarily mean they were married, common-law, or even lived together. It just means that there was some parental relationship between the two of them relative to the children in the list below that box. The fact that they are both in the same box documents this fact. If they never had a "Couple" type relationship, they would normally not be put into the same box.
A Couple type relationship is determined by events in that couple's experience together. A marriage event is very common, of course. But just living together could ALSO be a legitimate event for a given couple. However, a Marriage is <u>only one of several types</u> of events that can legally change the Couple relationship.
Although there is a lot of work needed from FS in this area since there are still a lot of holes, if you examine the following image I think that you might find the answer to your question.
(Hint, Marriage dates are only entered into Marriage events for a given couple relationship)
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BTW. Could someone explain to me why I do not see a thumbnail for the image I've attached above? I only get a blue box with a "?" in it.
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