The topic of civil marriage has been exhaustively covered previously but a
quick overview might help readers to sort among the most recent responses to
the issue for the kernel. Civil marriage was required by the Austrian
government. These marriages were to be performed by government approved
religious figures, including rabbis. However, for various reasons, in
Galicia, religious authorities were not always connected to the Hassidic
communities favored by the vast majority of the people and the Hasidic
leaders were strongly opposed to government interference with marriage.
This opposition had several components: 1) Jewish marriage is not a state
matter but a religious matter; 2) a couple of Austrian rulers in the early
19th century had limited civil Jewish marriage to the oldest son in a
family; and 3) there was a heavy tax on Jews who did marry under civil law.

The laws restricting Jewish civil marriage to the oldest son was repealed by
the time of Franz Josef but the pattern had been established: Jews married
religiously and mostly ignored civil marriage unless they were concerned
about the children inheriting the father's property or there was some other
compelling legal reason for seeking civil marriage. At the close of the
19th century and into the 20th century, as emigration was becoming more
common and the requirements of other countries were becoming more
restrictive, Jews began to have civil marriages to assist with this process.
Entrance into the US required more documentation, including proof of
marriage, for instance.

At this same time, Austria cracked down on those who refused to comply with
civil marriage requirements and birth registrations not only showed the
babies as illegitimate, which had long been the case, but required that the
babies be given the surnames of their mothers. And, unless the father
presented himself and witnesses to prove that the baby was his, chances were
that his name did not even appear on the birth record. This meant that when
the child was enrolled in school (education was mandatory under Franz
Josef), his or her surname would be his mother's.

Thus, in the slim record books of Galicia, one sees a marked increase in the
number of civil marriages after 1880 and by the time of WWI, it is fairly
common to see couples with grandchildren "getting married."

Hope this helps....

Suzan Wynne
Kensington, MD

Thank you for a very good overview of civil marriage among Jews in
Austria-Hungary. I was aware of the practice of religious marriage and the offspring
taking their mother's madien name as their surname. My question is this: did the
male offspring then keep this maternal surname? Should my research assume
this?

Hennie Greenland
Scottsdale, AZ

Hennie:

It is usually a mistake to assume one alternative at the
exclusion of another. I do not think there is any assumption (or
rule) you can apply as to the surname that a person, born
illegitimate in the eyes of the Austrian Government, used in his
or her later life. You will find anecdotal evidence of these
people using their maternal surnames as well as their paternal
surname. In my family, I have found nobody who ever used their
maternal surname once they emigrated >from Galicia. You really
must research all surnames.

Mark Halpern
Devon, PA, USA

Some offspring kept the mothers name and some did not. Some used the
father's name until forced to use a mother's name when entering the army,
for example. Others used the mother's name for official purposes until they
emigrated to the US, and then took the father's name for official as well as
unofficial use.

So I should say, yes, you should at least consider the possibility that the
mother's surname was used, especially if you can't find someone using the
father's surname.

Peter Zavon
Penfield, NY 14526

DO NOT reply to this address, I am on the road and cannot send mail through
my usual service
Reply to: PZavon@...

As with many things in genealogy, your assumption should be "maybe."

Israel Pickholtz