Archibald Wayne RAFTERS^[1]

1939 - 1996  (57 years)

• Name	Archibald Wayne RAFTERS
  Birth	1939	Halifax, Halifax, NS   [2]
  Gender	Male
  Death	8 May 1996	Windsor, Essex, ON   [2]
  Person ID	I64684	A Few Relatives of Bob and Mary Hegerich
  Last Modified	23 Nov 2011

  
  

  Father	Archibald Edward RAFTERS,   b. 1917, NS d. Bef 1996, NS (Age < 78 years)
  Mother	Alice Beatrice MUNROE
  Family ID	F24614	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family 1	Pauline Joan ROBINS
  Children	1. Karen P. RAFTERS   2. Michael RAFTERS   3. Susan RAFTERS   d. Bef 1996
  Family ID	F25708	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	20 Jun 2025

  
  

  Family 2	Janet (--?--)
  Marriage	Bef 1996	Canada
  	Janet WARD's marriage to Archibald RAFTERS is a matter of contention.  As understand it, under the laws of the Province of Ontario, even though Archibald and Janet apparently met the other requirements for a common-law marriage, they could not legally enter into a common-law marriage by reason of the fact that he already had a wife.  However, his obituary notice lists Janet as his wife and it appears that, when Archibald died, since he was a military retiree, Janet claimed and received spousal benefits as his common-law wife. Now in at least one province, i.e., Saskatchewan, married persons are allowed to have multiple spouses at the same time when one conjugal union is a civil marriage and the other conjugal union is a common law marriage. So, although this is a guess, it would appear that the Government of Canada felt it could not deny benefits in one province that it would have to pay in another, given the same set of circumstances. Thus whether or not Janet WARD should be deemed the wife of Archibald RAFTERS appears to depend on what question is being asked, and for what purpose. Janet WARD's marriage to Archibald RAFTERS is a matter of contention.  As understand it, under the laws of the Province of Ontario, even though Archibald and Janet apparently met the other requirements for a common-law marriage, they could not legally enter into a common-law marriage by reason of the fact that he already had a wife.  However, his obituary notice lists Janet as his wife and it appears that, when Archibald died, since he was a military retiree, Janet claimed and received spousal benefits as his common-law wife. Now in at least one province, i.e., Saskatchewan, married persons are allowed to have multiple spouses at the same time when one conjugal union is a civil marriage and the other conjugal union is a common law marriage. So, although this is a guess, it would appear that the Government of Canada felt it could not deny benefits in one province that it would have to pay in another, given the same set of circumstances. Thus whether or not Janet WARD should be deemed the wife of Archibald RAFTERS appears to depend on what question is being asked, and for what purpose.
  Family ID	F31959	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	20 Jun 2025

  
  

• Sources

  [S859] Descendants of John George Brigley. [S2429] Obituary Notice for Archie Wayne Rafters.