Banns Prior to Marriage

Bann are published prior to a wedding to determine if there is a civil or religious reason to prevent the marriage. In most cases, there are three banns and in most records I read, the wedding went through. There is an exampleI want to share of only two banns being published and a marriage happening within 30 days of the death of the groom’s first wife! In another fascinating example, the first bann was published--but 8 months later the widowed groom married someone else! The marriage records of my relatives often include the dates of the banns--announcements of the impeding marriage of two people. The purpose of banns is to determine if there are any civil or religious objections to a marriage in order to prevent marriages that would be invalid. The guidance from 1743 was for the priest to “take care to question both groom and bride separately to determine whether they consent voluntarily and freely to marry. He must also strive to determine whether there is any impediment and, if so, what the nature of the impediment is; whether one of the contracting parties has been engaged and given a solemn promise to another, and whether the sons and daughters contract with the consent of the parents. After the pastors have diligently explored these and other relevant matters, if they find anything in these questionings either lacking or potentially harmful, they must suspend the banns and refer the possible obstacles to their own bishop, who will judge the matter.” Pope Benedict XIV - 1743 https://www.papalencyclicals.net/ben14/b14nimia.htm If the bride and groom cleared this hurdle, the banns were published to give the public the chance to object. Concerns could be a current marriage, a pledge of celibacy, a close family relationship or lack of consent. Banns are no longer required in the Catholic church but may still be published and many parishes still do so. Here is an example of published banns that did NOT prevent marriage. Ignatius Kurkiewicz and Antonina Czarnopyś, (3rd great aunt and uncle) had a religious marital union on 12 November of 1876. “This marriage was preceded by three announcements of the banns published in the church on 22 October, 29 October and 12 November.” Usually there are three banns but the priest could determine if there was a good reason to have fewer. In this example, the couple seems to be in a big hurry but I don’t know the reason. Marianna Wiciejwska (5th great aunt) was 29 when the two banns were announced 6th April and 13 April 1823 for her marriage to Thomas Bogucki, 57. He was a butcher whose first wife Ewa died a few weeks earlier on 20 March. Her parents, Jakub & Agnes Wicijewski (my 5th great grandparents) were deceased and she worked as a maid--maybe for the butcher? There were no objections to the marriage so, “According to the sixth Napoleonic code they were both asked if it was their wish to be married to which they both replied separately that it was their wish. So in the name of truth Tomasz Bogucki , widower and Miss Maryanna Wiciejowska are married.” They were married on April 19. The huge age difference was not an obstacle and the priest allowed a pretty fast process. In one case, some unknown reason came up to prevent marriage. Blazej Wisniewski (4th great grandfather) was widowed when wife Agnieszka Szczernicka passed away on 20 May 1823 at age 49. Blazej,55 and Marianna Cyronskowna, 25 became “engaged” and the first wedding bann were published less than four months later on 7 Sept. He had been a foreman at the faience (pottery) factory until they ended production and was now working as a gravedigger. Her father was a deceased farmer and her mother was a laborer in Tomaszow. The reference to the bann read, “1823 , Sunday 7th September, I, the Parish priest of Tomaszów, clerk of the civil records in the Administrative district of Tomaszów, Tomaszów County , Province Lubelskie put on the main door of the community house at 12 o'clock midday and announced for the first time,” The marriage never happened. Instead, on 9 May 1824, Blazej married Anna Adamczyk, 41 after announcements on 25th April and 2nd May. She was from Wólka Łosiniecka, but was living in Tomaszów as a servant and her parents were both already dead. This marriage lasted five years until Blazej passed away. Besides the Catholic Church requirement of banns, they were also required by the Napoleionic Code in existance in Poland. US is based on England's common law, in comparison. The code reads, "Before the celebration of a marriage, the civil officer shall make two publications, with an interval of eight days between them, one being on a Sunday, before the gate of the town-hall. These publications, and the act which shall be drawn up relating to them, shall set forth the Christian names, surnames, professions, and domicils of the parties about to be married, the circumstance of their majority or minority, and the Christian names, surnames, professions, and domicils of their fathers and mothers. This act shall set forth, moreover, the days, places, and hours at which the publications shall have been made; it shall be inscribed on one single register, which shall be endorsed and marked as directed in article 41, and deposited at the end of every year among the rolls of the court of the circle.'