Mystery solved! The Marriage of Marcus Morreau and Alice Weinmann

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A few weeks ago I wrote about the mystery of the marriage of Marcus Morreau and Alice Weinmann—when and where had they met? When and where had they married? We may never know the answer to the first set of questions, but I now have the answer to the second set. I received two days ago a certified copy of their marriage certificate.

This is not a copy of an original certificate, but rather a transcription of the facts in the original record created and certified by the General Register Office of England on September 6, 2019. Nevertheless, it is considered proof of the facts related to the marriage.

Marcus Morreau and Alice Weinmann were married on May 24, 1899, at the British Consulate in Calais, France. Marcus was 39 and a merchant and gave his residence at the time of marriage as the Hotel Terminus in Calais. Alice was 18 and living at 23 Rue St. Denis in Calais. I was not surprised to read that Marcus was a naturalized British subject, but I was surprised to read that Alice was as well, but I then learned that because her father Joseph Weinmann was a naturalized citizen, his children were as well.

The other interesting information on this record are the names of the witnesses, Philippe Weinmann (brother of Joseph Weinmann1) and Isidor Aschaffenburg. Isidor Aschaffenburg was married to Bertha/Barbara Morreau, Marcus Morreau’s sister. They were still residents of Germany in 1899. I wrote about Bertha/Barbara and Isidor here.

And so finally we have more of the answers. But there are always more questions. How had a 39 year old man living in England met an 18 year old woman living in France? Was he in fact living in Calais for some period of time at the hotel, or was he just staying there while the wedding was taking place? Unfortunately I don’t think I will be able to find answers to all those questions.

  1. Philippe Weinmann birth record, Stadt Frankfurt, Page Number: 690;691,
    Custodian: Evangelisches Kirchenbuchamt Hannover, Frankfurt, Author: Evangelische Kirche Frankfurt (Main), Ancestry.com. Rhineland, Prussia, Lutheran Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1533-1950 ↩

38 thoughts on “Mystery solved! The Marriage of Marcus Morreau and Alice Weinmann”

  1. Pingback: A Brickwall: When and Where did Alice Weinmann Marry Marcus Morreau? | Brotmanblog: A Family Journey

  3. At 18, she’s described as a “spinster” !! And, aren’t you curious what this means: “rites and ceremonies by civil contract by notice” ? I understand they had a civil ceremony, but “by notice” ?

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  4. It seems to be the fate of someone doing genealogy research that for every question answered more puzzles need to be solved. Congratulations on getting the certified copy of Marcus and Alice’s marriage certificate, Amy!

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  7. What I was curious about was how it happens that his brother and brother-in-law were both in Calais for the wedding. Surely a trip from Germany to Calais was not something they would do at the drop of a hat in that period? (and can you please include Google as one of the log-in options?)

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    • I guess it wasn’t a sudden event but one that gave family members time to travel to be there. Philippe also was living in Germany, I believe.

      I don’t know how to include Google as a sign-in option. I’d be glad to do it, but I don’t see on WordPress that that is an option. Obviously on Blogger it is since that’s a Google product.

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  8. Hi Amy, I enjoyed this mystery, and the GRO finally sent you their marriage certificate! Maybe they married in Calais because Alice was born in Calais, and it was a romantic gesture? The bachelors and spinsters phrase is still used in the UK today. The “banns” are only read at church weddings, it’s a notice of marriage -to- be in a religious building. The banns are read out on three consecutive Sundays to give members of the congregation time to object to the marriage.

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    • Thanks, Shirley, for that information about banns. It seems that England also has a civil notice requirement, but I don’t know if that existed in 1899. There’s no similar requirement in the US. You need a license, but that’s about it, at least as far as I know. It varies probably from location to location.

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  12. Hi Amy
    Just a thought about how Marcus Morreau might have come to meet Alice Weinmann. Alice was sister to my grandmother Estelle Wihl nee Weinmann. Sometime in the 1970’s when I was looking through Street/Trade Directories in Manchester Central Library andl Records Office, for my great grandfather Gustav Wihl, I came across an entry for Marcus Morreau.
    Marcus Morreau appeared in the Directories 1894-1896 as a Merchant working for E.Wihl & Co. Edward Wihl was my great grandfather’s older brother. Gustav and Edward Wihl had emigrated to Manchester, England, in 1862, and set up in business. The Directories also showed a Morreau Spiegelberg & Company 1897-1899 at 51 Portland Street; 1900-1914 at 4 Beavor Street, Whitworth Street; and 1915- at 121 Princes Street.
    I have not checked this out but my father thought the Weinmanns had lived in Manchester for a while before moving back to France and Calais. I wonder if that was when Marcus got aquainted with Alice? Of course it could be the other way around and that is how my grandfather, Joseph, met Estelle, as they married in 1905.

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    • Hi Chris! When I met with Mark Morreau last year, he told me that you and he had also been working on the Morreau/Weinman family tree. Your theories make sense to me! I wish we could prove on of them. Thank you so much for reaching out and commenting. Hope all is well with you. Amy

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      • Amy, Chris, picking up on this sometime later. Joseph Weinmann, Alice’s father, is listed somewhere as having worked for Morreau, Spiegelberg and Thompson, so I assume that Joseph facilitated the introduction: nothing like marrying your daughter off to the boss!

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  13. Hi Amy
    A further thought about how Marcus Morreau might have met Alice Weinmann. Alice’s mother, Helene Rothschil, born 1860, had a brother Oscar. Oscar, born 1865/6 in Alzey, Rhein-Hessen, (according to his naturalization papers Home Office file at Kew) married Edward Wihl’s daughter, Thekla Wihl, born 1875. The marriage in Manchester in 1898 was the year before Marcus and Alice were married.

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  14. Hi – I was walking around Manchester this week and spotted something around Marcus Morreau I think you would like to see – if you email me back – I will send you the photograph of the building he used to use for his company, along with the company crest. I was looking up the names and found your blog and background on Markus/ Marcus Morreau.

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