Female Ancestor Search: Marriage Records

I somewhat dismissed marriage records when I introduced the searching for female ancestors series of posts. That was not intentional.

If you have the groom's name and have a pretty good idea of where he was living at about the time the couple married, your odds of finding the marriage are, at least, fair. [Case in point. Once I found out that Jacob Crousore was living in Clinton Co., OH during the early 1820s, it was possible to locate his marriage to Jemima Smith. Further research proved her to be Ama Jemima Smith.]

There is always the chance that the bride and groom lived in different parishes [British Isles], towns or even states. [The couple might have lived in adjoining counties in different states.] So when you are searching for a marriage record, expand your search to neighboring jurisdictions. Chances are the couple married on the bride's home turf.

As with any search, be creative with spelling. Jacob Crousore mentioned above turned up as Crouser, Crowser, Crosser, Crowsor, Crowsore and a number of other variations in records. Your family may have "always spelled your name that way," but that doesn't mean town clerks and other folks did. And remember, your ancestor might have been lacking in the ability to read or write, so they had no idea how to spell the name anyway.

If you come across a marriage record on an online tree that has an accessible image, click on the image. Make sure the image matches the couple in question. It seems that the new favorite activity for some researchers is to find a marriage license, or similar document, that matches the name of one of  spouses, the date of the event, and, maybe, the location.

Example: Walter Franks married Emma Hertz on 12 March 1845 in Pittsburgh, PA. There is an image that documents the marriage event. You click on the image and find the following: Walter Franks married Anna Hurst on 12 March 1845 in Uniontown, PA. It's a great find if you are related to Walter and Anna. As for Walter and Emma? Useless.

Also, make sure what the date or dates on the marriage document represent. Was it the date that the couple applied for the license? The date of the marriage return? The date banns was posted? The date of the marriage itself?