In the discussion of "artificially incestuous" marriages, all might remember that from the time of the divorce of his sister-in-law, Catherine of Aragon, by Henry VIII, the law was quite strict, in VA particularly (not GA).

A person could not marry a sister- or brother-in-law (or other kin within that range of affinity - uncles, nieces, etc.).  Still, though the Baptists and Presbyterians were said to widely adhere to that common law rule, some communities, especially on the western frontier, often ignored the prohibitions.

Those regions did so, in part, because at the edge of civilization there was a need by widows and widowers to have a helpmate, as well as assistance in rearing kids. Then too, there was a scarcity of eligible brides (and grooms also, at times).

The view/belief that such marriages were incestuous and the ban against such should be reaffirmed by the Legislature led to the Acts of 1792.  Those acts made such marriages crimes. Still, the law was but seldom enforced, even though confirmed by that legislature several times.

Finally, in 1848 - 56 years after making such marriages criminal - the act was repealed.

There is a rather complete discussion of that and associated problems of divorce in Buckley, etc., "The Great Catastrophe Of My Life; Divorce in the Old Dominion" (U.N.Car. Press, Chapel Hill & London, 2002), pp. 110 ff.



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