You are looking for the marriage records of your ancestors. What can you hope to find in those records? Some of the most common details you can expect to find are:

° Names of the bride and groom

° Where and when the marriage took place

° Ages of the bride and groom

° Residences of the bride and groom

° Birth dates and places of the bride and groom

° Marital status of the bride and groom, if widowed or divorced, and possibly information about a previous marriage

° Information about the bride’s and groom’s parents, such as names, residences, or even occupations

° Names of witnesses, which may be other family members

° Name and title of the person performing the marriage

This is the information you can find in a marriage record. But this record is part of a marriage trail that can lead you to that final source of information. The trail may include such things as:

° Intentions: These were most common before 1850. They were posted in a public place prior to a couple’s marriage to show intention to marry. This allowed others to object to the marriage.

° Marriage bonds: These can be found in southern and mid-Atlantic states until around 1850. These were usually posted by a member of the bride’s family. The bond was the amount of money the groom would pay if the marriage did not go through.

° Marriage applications and licenses: A bride or groom applied to the civil authority for a license which showed that the couple had legal permission to marry.

° Consent papers: These can be found if either the bride or groom was underage. These papers show the parents’ permission to marry.

° Marriage certificates: The marriage certificate was given to the couple at the time of the marriage. The clerk or the officiant may have also kept a copy.

° Returns and registers: The person performing the marriage sent these to the county clerk to show that the marriage took place.

For more information you can find an article in the FamilySearch Wiki entitled, “How to Find United States Marriage Records.” Once there, you can click a state to see a chart which breaks down the marriage records by time periods.

[Source: Leslie Albrecht Huber, 29 January 2018, FamilySearch Blog]