For many genealogists researching their family histories, locating accurate marriage records for ancestors can be daunting and often fruitless. Whether they were never kept, lost to time and decay, or segregated based on race, the struggle to find them can be a vexing challenge.
Tracking down a marriage certificate from the 1800s shouldn’t be this difficult in the digital age. Yet amateurs and professionals alike find themselves stymied by incompletely digitized archives, public records scattered across countless local jurisdictions, and even the way census data was collected.
But, with the proper techniques and mindset, you can cut through the thicket and secure verifiable proof of your ancestors’ union.
» Look through marriage records to find your ancestors
Step 1: Learn how marriage records evolved
For the general period and place you’re studying, you should first explore how officials documented marriage records. The process might’ve changed over time and differed from region to region.
Throughout American history, marriages have held significant legal and social weight. Because of this importance, governments have required official documentation of marriages. The process initially took place at the local level, not just in churches.
In New England, town clerks recorded marriages in registers before 1841. After this date, marriage records transitioned to the state level. The shift towards centralized state recording happened much later in the rest of the U.S. , occurring between the late 1800s and well into the 1900s. In the Southern states, the switch was even more delayed, with states establishing registration systems between 1911 and 1962.
Note: Just because a marriage record exists doesn’t mean the wedding ever happened. Marriage licenses had expiration dates that varied by period and location.
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Step 2: Determine or estimate the marriage year
Start with the date. If you don’t know it and need to narrow the timeframe, you can examine census records. The newer ones are handy because they include the number of years your ancestor was married and the exact year.
You may also have challenges using these documents. Earlier U.S. censuses — which only go back to 1790 — have much less data and are enumerated only by male heads of households.
If you can’t find the information, you can look at the ages of the couple’s children. Usually, a woman gives birth to the first kid one to two years following the marriage. Age can also help you. For older marriage records, men were usually about 18–25 years old, and women were 16–21 around the time of the ceremony.
Note: Many census records are also missing, a glaring example being the U.S. census of 1890. If you know the names of any of the couple’s children, you can try searching for their birth records to find them.
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Step 3: Find the location of the ceremony
You may already know the location of the ceremony, but if you don’t, there are ways to narrow it down.
The most likely scenario is that the couple married where the bride — or sometimes the groom’s — family resided. Again, you can use censuses to find this information. Another possibility is that they emigrated to another region and wedded there. In this case, you can determine the location by seeing where their first child was born.
Consider whether your ancestors might have been married at a “Gretna Green” — a location where couples could wed quickly and on-demand, without the involvement of their families.
There are many such places in the U.S., and lists of these sites are available online. Although officials didn’t register the ceremonies in these places, account books might hold some useful information.
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Step 4: Locate relevant record collections
Consider what record collections are most likely to turn up a marriage certificate or other type of document. You should note the information you hope to glean from them and order your search accordingly.
Deciding which record collections to explore depends on the information you already gathered in the previous steps.
If you’ve narrowed down the date and place of the couple’s marriage, you’re halfway there. For ancestors who were married during county- or state-level registrations, request a copy of the marriage certificate from the corresponding authority. You can also ask local churches that have such documents on file.
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Consider segregation records
When requesting marriage records for African Americans in southern states, ask the clerk if the records were segregated, as this depended on the period. You may also not know your ancestors’ surnames, as some former slaves kept their own while others took their enslaver’s after emancipation.
To determine enslaved ancestors’ names, plantation and probate records naming enslaved individuals are important sources, as they often only listed first names. Some southern states maintained “cohabitation documents” to note marriages and births among the enslaved. You can find them at courthouses, state archives, and local repositories.
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Step 5: Search strategically
When exploring the collections you’ve identified, be methodical. With each search you make, record the details of how you did it so you don’t repeat yourself and end up going in circles.
Here are some tips:
- Use a date range and broaden it if your initial search is unfruitful.
- Try advanced searches to narrow the results by gender, race, and ethnicity.
- Take advantage of keywords by entering other known information, such as the name of your ancestor’s child or other family member.
- Insert wildcard characters such as “?” to mark, look for a variation in one letter, or use “*” for a string of them. For example, when searching for Allen Christenson, you can type “Al*n” and “Christ*s?n.”
- Avoid exact searches, as they can eliminate valuable results.
- You can try leaving out the location because your ancestors may have migrated. By narrowing the area immediately, you eliminate that possibility.
If the above efforts fail, you can try networking with other genealogical researchers online, whether they’re part of a research group or have common ancestors in their family tree. Platforms like MyHeritage can also help with DNA analysis if you want to locate genetic cousins who might have additional information.
What is a marriage record?
Marriage records are legal documents issued by a government authority, typically a county clerk’s office. Simply put, they act as permission slips for couples who want to get married.
They could confirm the rightful inheritance of property, prevent bigamy, and ensure that the bride and groom had reached the age of consent or had the blessing of their parents to marry.
Future brides and grooms fill out forms to indicate their desire to tie the knot soon. They must apply in person and submit various details, including:
- Proof of identification (e.g., driver’s license, passport)
- Social Security numbers
- Proof of residency
- Information on previous marriages
Note: If the future spouses are under the age of majority, the parent’s consent is necessary for marriage. The licenses also may not be readily available in certain jurisdictions.
Types of marriage records
- Marriage certificate: Confirms a couple’s legal marriage. It’s the most common record used in genealogy and typically contains details like the couple’s ages, parents’ names, and witnesses.
- Marriage license: Authorizes a couple to be married. It typically includes the couple’s names, ages, residences, and prior marital statuses.
- Church record: Acknowledges and celebrates a couple’s marriage within the traditions of that faith. It may contain church affiliation, nobility status — for older records — or previous marriages if the couple switched religion.
- Banns of marriage: Publicly announce a couple’s upcoming or recent marriage. While they’re less common today due to the rise of social media, they can be a valuable resource for the distant past.
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Unearth love’s history
Each newly verified marriage is another branch grafted onto the family tree, roots extending deeper into the past. For those willing to persist and think creatively, the satisfaction of recovering these records would be like rejoining your ancestors at the altar.
After all, matrimony was the formal cornerstone of every new family throughout history. Rediscovering those ceremonial moments ensures they remain enshrined in your heritage rather than fading away unmourned with the passage of generations.
» Find your ancestor in over 780 million marriage and divorce records
