Marriage Records
Over the past few days while I have been working on some of my 52 Ancestors posts, I have posted to Facebook to seek some assistance with the records I was using. More of a clarification as to what I was reading. What I learned is that we should discuss the different types of marriage records we can find.
- Marriage Bann – an announcement made in church that two people intend to marry. They usually cover three weeks in a row. If those intending to be married are not from the same church, the banns were to be read in both churches. Having the banns read for three weeks would give the congregation enough time to notify the clergy if there were reasons the two should not be married.
- Marriage Bond – The intended groom would post a bond in the county of the intended bride. The purpose of this bond is to show that there is no reason the said groom cannot be married. The bond will also list a bondsman which is usually a family member.
- Marriage Intention – The intention is treated much like the bann in New England, except the intention is published in town meeting books before the marriage.
- Marriage License – A marriage license is issued once the application is filled out and filed with the appropriate government office. Information on the marriage license will be the individual names of those requesting to be married and their parents names.
- Marriage Consent – When the bride and groom are not of legal age, consent was given by parent or guardian.
- Marriage Return – Once the marriage license is signed and returned to the government office by the officiant, it is recorded in the register.
In the above marriage record, you can see #’s 4, 5 and 6. In the record below, you will see #2.
