What does Mm mean on a Catholic marriage record?

+5 votes
506 views
Hi forum,

I've got a marriage record for my 3x great grandparents from a Wisconsin Catholic church from 1863.  

The Groom is listed as being a widower (from his 1st marriage, as expected), and his 2nd wife is listed with an "Mm" in front of her name.

The first m is capitalized.

Any ideas what this means or is an abbreviation for?

Thank you,

Gary
in Genealogy Help by Gary Theisen G2G6 (7.3k points)

7 Answers

+7 votes
Do you have a link to the record?  Sometimes it's easier to decipher when you can see how they filled out all the fields.  The only things that possibly comes to mind based on what you have is if it could be Nm for Never Married, but I doubt they would put that in front of her name - or, since it's Catholic, maybe it could be a first initial or abbreviation for "Mary" - I have a few Catholic families in my ancestry where all the girls were literally named Mary and went by their middle names.
by Roxanna Malone G2G6 Mach 3 (34.7k points)
+7 votes
mesdemoiselles?

Motherhood and maternity, could have been a degree?

There is a possibility there were people who used to help others with childbirth, I am not sure on this one It might be a typo ? for Ms.?

There were not as many hospitals if it was rural.

have you asked a local church?
by Kenny Johnson G2G3 (3.0k points)
+3 votes
Thank you both for the replies and suggestions on what the Mm might mean.  I appreciate it!

I don't have a copy of the record (yet - I've requested it) but I was given a transcription of the original record by one of the fathers/archivist at the diocese that holds the record.

Possibly being an abbreviation for "Mary" is very intriguing and something I hadn't thought of before.

When/if I ever get a copy of the actual record, I'll post it.

Many thanks!
by Gary Theisen G2G6 (7.3k points)
+4 votes
Hi all,

A shot in the dark!

Could it possibly be Mixed Marriage?

Regards

Joe
by Joseph McCrory G2G Crew (500 points)
+3 votes
It might be an abbreviation for Mary Margaret before a more unique Christian name.
by Louise Martin G2G4 (4.5k points)
+3 votes
look for their grave with the find a grave site it should say if she had several names? wisconsin is good with detait
by Kenny Johnson G2G6 (6.0k points)
+3 votes

Could it stand for Mutatis mutandis, which is a Medieval Latin phrase meaning "with things changed that should be changed" or "once the necessary changes have been made"? The legal use of the term is somewhat specialized. As glossed by Shira Scheindlin, judge for the Southern District of New York, for a 1998 case: "This Latin phrase simply means that the necessary changes in details, such as names and places, will be made but everything else will remain the same." See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mutatis_mutandis. 

by Mack Morrison G2G6 Mach 8 (88.5k points)

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