Julianna Weber Micol: She's Our Third Great Grandmother & Third Great Grand Aunt

     When I discovered my second great grandparents marriage record it came with more surprises than usual.  The 1856 marriage record was within the Civil War Widow's Pension application documents for Amelia (Micol) Weber that I located at the National Archives a few years ago. (I wrote in this earlier post about Amelia's Pension Quest.)  Those pension records were so overflowing with amazing information that it took me a while to digest it all.   But as I sorted through and began to absorb the affidavits, personal letters, church and military records, I came across the translation from German of a church record from the Catholic Church in Vilbel.  There I found a good deal more about the couple's immediate family than I would have imagined.  Here's a short excerpt that includes those pieces:
Translation of Adam Weber and Amelia Micol's marriage record, from the records of the local Catholic Church in the Community of Vilbel:
"In the year one thousand eight hundred fifty six (12 May 1856) according to the authority of the local Catholic parish and in the parish of St. Johannes church in Bremen, and after receiving dispensation because of the second degree of blood relation, and after the official approval of the regional court with regard to the civil and clerical conditions of the union that there were no problems with proceeding with the marriage; and with the approval of both sets of parents, Adam Weber,  citizen and policeman in Bremen, the legitimate unmarried son of Adam Weber, citizen and sheep herder in Altenstadt, and his wife, Katharina, nee Gunsst, of the Catholic religion, and at the age of 36 ½ ; and Maria Amalia Micol, the legitimate unmarried daughter of the late local citizen and master tailor, Frederick Ludwig Micol and his wife, Julianae, nee Weber, of the Catholic religion, age 22 and 7 months."  (For those who can read and translate the script and the Latin, I am posting the actual church record on the right.)
     I reread and studied this information to be sure I was understanding it fully.  There were, of course, pieces to pull apart and analyze.  What is "dispensation because of the second degree of blood relation?" Why have official approval of the civil and clerical conditions of the union? There's some further information in the last line of this paragraph that sheds a little light on those issues.  When Amelia Micol's mother is listed, it states her name as Julianae, nee Weber.  Adding the dispensation and the maiden name together seemed to say that Adam Weber was already related to his wife's mother.  But I still wasn't sure that I knew the story.
     I did some online research to try to understand the meaning of and what was involved in the Catholic Church's dispensation for "second degree of blood relation" used in the 1856 marriage record. Here's information that most clearly explained this situation: (See note 2 below also.):
      Relationships, through either blood (consanguinity) or marriage (affinity) were recorded, and marriage dispensations were granted, by "degree". A first degree relationship would indicate siblings; a second degree relationship would indicate first cousins; third degree meant second cousins; and fourth degree indicated third cousins. Relationships more distant than third cousins (fourth degree) were not recorded in the marriage records.
     Researchers must remember that marriage dispensations of consanguinity/affinity were not granted as a matter of course. And, not all priests had the rights to grant marriage dispensations.  The power to grant a marriage dispensation was, to my understanding, held by the Diocese (ie: the Bishop or Arch-Bishop) and not by the individual priest. However, priests were sometimes extended the powers to grant dispensations to a particular degree without having to apply to the Diocese in every case. But, should the priest not have been granted those powers, or the dispensation in question was outside of the limits set for him, then an application to the Diocese would have to be made.
      Then, I also found Wikipedia background on consanguinity and affinity:  Consanguinity ("blood relation", from the Latin consanguinitas) is the property of being from the same kinship as another person. In that aspect, consanguinity is the quality of being descended from the same ancestor as another person.  In law and in cultural anthropology, affinity, as distinguished from consanguinity (blood relationship), is the kinship relationship that exists between two or more people as a result of somebody's marriage. It is the relationship which each party to a marriage has to the relations of the other partner to the marriage; but does not cover the marital relationship of the parties to the marriage themselves.
       I have concluded from the records and research that, thanks to her nephew, Adam Weber, and her daughter, Amelia Micol,  Julianna Weber Micol was both an aunt and a mother-in-law to Adam as of May 12, 1856.    Some day I'll have to investigate to see if there are any more church records with the diocese in Bremen about the dispensation.   Or, if the priest of the Catholic Church in Vilbel recorded any correspondence with the bishop of the diocese.
     This is yet another fascinating piece of the Weber Family History that I'm happy to pass along.  I can tell all my Weber cousins that  Julianna Weber Micol is our third great grandmother as well as our third great grand aunt.  And to the many children of all of my cousins: Did you know that you are BOTH a fourth great grandchild and a fourth great grand niece or nephew of Julianna (Weber) Micol?! 
     To see how my Roots Magic genealogy software would handle this dual relationship, I produced a relationship chart for my cousin, Joyce Holzer, who is celebrating a birthday this month.  Of course, the third great grandmother trumped the third great grand aunt when this kinship is calculated.  You can see the generations traced back on the chart at the left.  There's more to it though, isn't there?!    
     Happy Birthday Joyce!!!
     Thanks for visiting Indiana Ties.  Let me know if there is more you might have to add about this relationship with Julianna.  Especially if you are one of our Weber relatives!  I will be glad to share more information about our ancestors.

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Note 1:  The Weber/Micol marriage record at its original source:Family History Library, Salt Lake City, UT, microfilm #939213-4, Catholic Church of Vilbel (Friedberg District) (Vilbel, Hessen, Germany), Church Registers, 1655-1876, 1856 marriages,  No. 2, May 12, 1856, Adam Weber and Maria Amelia Micol.
Note 2:  For online information on consanguinity and affinity and marriage dispensations, I found this website helpful: http://www.islandregister.com/consanguinity.html 
Copyright 2014 © Nancy Niehaus Hurley