Could cousins marry in 19th century Rheinland?
After 30 years of searching for my German great-grandfather's home village in Germany, I finally located the village. Part of the reason that the search took me so long is that I was searching for the common surname of Becker.
I have been going through civil registration records for the area near the village of Fischenich, just south of Coeln (Cologne), with records from Hürth. I am finding so many Becker individuals marrying or a Becker is marrying someone whose mother is a Becker and they are often from the same small village. My family were catholic and I thought there might have been church, if not civil, prohibitions for marrying cousins at that time.
Can anyone let me know what the customs/laws were in the 18th and 19th centuries were?
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I don't know about German law at the time, but I can something about Catholic canon law. Before 1917, third cousins and more distant relatives could marry without any special permission. Closer relatives needed a dispensation. I've seen many instances of 1st and 2nd cousins marrying in the Catholic Church (the record sometimes notes that dispensation was granted and the relationship), and I don't think it was difficult to get a dispensation.
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Hello @BetteB,
Here is the link to an article from the Catholic Encyclopedia website about the concept of consanguinty: https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04264a.htm
In particular see the section entitled "Dispensation from the impediement" and the "Genealogical table" at the end of the article. I would also suggest you search for the word "cousin" throughout the article as well.
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Thank you for the article link. There is a lot to absorb there but I did find specific reference to Germany that gave me the likely answer to my question.
I love this group and the wonderful responses to questions asked here!!!
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