Not necessarily. It was probably just a legal formality, in case the spouse wanted to remarry. Coincidentally, I was just transcribing a marriage investigation that got snagged, because the husband was from Spain, and had been married previously, and he needed to provide proof that he was "libre de matrimonio," and had unfortunately lost a signed affidavit from his home parish, confirming his first wife's death.
Have you found the couple's marriage record? Another way to see whether they were legitimately married is to look at the baptism/birth records, and see if it says the child was legitimate.
Saludos!
Manny Díez Hermosillo
Thank you Manny. The husband was married prior (I found that marriage record), but I have not found his first wife's death record just yet, nor his second marriage record. I pinned both dates (death and second marriage) down to a three year span. I found his children with his second wife listed as legitimate as the same with his first wife. I will keep searching for the missing records.
Cynthia
libre de matrimonio