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Marriage with deceased wife's sister

I think that it is mean to make her sister wait until your wife dies before marrying her.
Tongue firmly implanted in cheek.

What about the possibility that the situation could be dangerous for your wife if her sister is in any way impatient.
Marry early and marry often?
 
This happened to Samuel's great great great grandfather in England.
His wife became sick after the birth of her only child, so her sister moved in to help with looking after the family. The wife died and he wanted to marry the sister. According to the church he wasn't allowed to because she was family and you can't marry family. So not only did the church ban polygamy, but women that you weren't even blood related to as well. They ended up going to France and eloping instead.
They had 16 children, one of which was Samuel Dennis who moved to New Zealand and married a Sarah. These are Samuel's great great grandparents. We got married in the church where they are buried, so one of our wedding photos was standing beside their grave stone.
 
FollowingHim2 said:
This happened to Samuel's great great great grandfather in England.
His wife became sick after the birth of her only child, so her sister moved in to help with looking after the family. The wife died and he wanted to marry the sister. According to the church he wasn't allowed to because she was family and you can't marry family. So not only did the church ban polygamy, but women that you weren't even blood related to as well. They ended up going to France and eloping instead.
They had 16 children, one of which was Samuel Dennis who moved to New Zealand and married a Sarah. These are Samuel's great great grandparents. We got married in the church where they are buried, so one of our wedding photos was standing beside their grave stone.
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I don't know why, but this was a common occurrence in England; especially in the rural areas, right up into the 19th century. Probably had to do with large families and lots of health problems, esp. around giving birth. Very often it was polygamy from nearly the start, it just didn't become 'official' unless the first sister died. This was discussed I think in the 'polygamy in other cultures' thread.
 
I know why - it's just so logical, practical, and predictable. If a young woman gets ill or dies in pregnancy, who is the first person you'll call on to help out with the kids? Their aunt - her sister. Then once there's an available young woman in your home 24/7 doing all the housekeeping, especially one who looks and acts a lot like the woman you were first attracted enough to to marry, the result is almost inevitable.
 
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