Genealogy Life Cycle - marriage records

This is the second installment of our lifecycle series. We started with birth records, now we are moving into marriage documents. The variation in these documents is tremendous! I want to share a few common findings with you. 

1.  When searching for marriage documents, you may find marriage licenses and marriage certificates. Typically the license is issued first, authorizing the couple to marry. 

2. During the time of slavery, enslaved people had unions that were not legally recognized. Immediately after emancipation, many formerly enslaved people were now allowed to legally wed their spouses. Finding an 1867 marriage record often means that the couple had been together while enslaved, but were then able to have their union legalized. 

3. Marriage licenses and certificates vary greatly from state to state. In the least, the name of the husband and wife will be listed as well as the officiant. The best marriage records I’ve seen, like those issued by Virginia include the name and birthplace of the parents for bride and groom. 

4. When searching for marriage documents, be open to the possibility of multiple marriages and name changes. A woman may not use her maiden name on her marriage documents if she has been married previously. 

5. If listed, pay attention to the name of the officiant, location of the ceremony and the names of the witnesses. The witnesses may be relatives of the bride or groom, and may give you some clues of relationships you have been unsure of.

6. I have often found that women lie about their age when marrying young. If the minimum age to marry is 21, it’s not uncommon for a woman to increase her birth year to meet the requirement. Trust the date of the record.

7. Traveling to get married is not new! I have seen many marriage records in states outside of the couple’s home state. Some people went to areas where the laws were more suitable to their circumstances, whether because of age or relationship to one another.    

Use marriage records with census records and other documents to verify a hunch and paint a better picture of the family connections between ancestors. Next week we will complete the life cycle with death records. 

Always Searching, The Tangled Roots Team