Hayes v. People

To convict of bigamy, a marriage in fact .must be proved, and reputation, and cohabitation alone are not sufficient. The fact of marriage may be proved by a witness present at the celebration, and this is the ordinary way of proving it. In this state marriage is a civil contract, and may exist without any formal solemnization by minister or magistrate.

The fact of the marriage of the prisoner to Sarah E. Blair in February, 1845, and that she was living at the time of the trial, was proved. To establish the fact of a second marriage in September, 1860, to Jane White, she was called and examined…