The New International Encyclopædia/Deceased Wife’s Sister

​DECEASED WIFE’S SISTER. By the law of England the marriage of a widower with the sister of his deceased wife is null and void. The origin of this law may be traced to the interpretation of the early Church upon the old Mosaic law as to marriages, contained in Lev. xviii. Formerly the ecclesiastical court had power to declare such marriages void during the lifetime of both parties, thus rendering their children illegitimate; but until so declared they remained voidable. This led to great confusion, and in 1835 Parliament passed a statute, 5 & 6 Will. IV., c. 54, known as Lord Lyndhurst’s Act, which provided that all such marriages should be null and void. Since that time there has been great opposition to this law, and bills have been introduced into practically every Parliament, including the session of 1901, but have always been defeated. Relationship by affinity is not considered a bar to marriage in the United States, although the English law in this regard obtained in a few States until recent years. It has been abolished in the various countries of Europe and in most of the English colonies. See Affinity; Consanguinity; Marriage.

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