How to interpret marriage records

A recent article in the TribStar genealogy column by Tamie Dehler, "Marriage records are among the most sought documents," provides some insightful information on researching and interpreting marriage records. The article identifies various types of marriage records and helps clarify what different records mean and how they can be used to extend the family tree. A good article.

The value of researching all marriages within a family

Experienced researchers recognize the value of collateral-line research; that is, in addition to researching direct-line ancestors, also researching the siblings within a family. In his article, "Searching All Marriages in a Family," Kevin Cassidy provides a substantial case for researching the marriage records for all siblings in a family to identify people and establish relationships. The marriage records when combined with the information from other available records can help significantly to pin down a considerable amount of detail about a particular individual and/or family, to say nothing of the additional information that can be discovered along the way. So rather than a deterrent, collateral-line research may be the most direct route to key information.

Searching for Catholic Marriages in NYC . . . continued

"Searching for Catholic Marriages in New York City, Part Two" is the second of a two-part article by Kevin Cassidy on the challenges of researching Catholic marriages in New York City. This part, takes a general look at marriage records in Manhattan, comparing civil and Catholic marriage records, and suggesting ways to make the best of both to find those elusive New York City marriage records.

Searching for Catholic Marriages in NYC

GenWeekly welcomes our newest writer, Kevin Cassidy. As a result of his own inquiry, Cassidy discovered that, despite New York City law, many Catholic parish marriages in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century went unreported to civil authorities. Curious to understand the depth of the problem, Cassidy undertook a personal study. For his first article, Cassidy reports on the findings of this study, in two parts. The first, "Searching for Catholic Marriages in NYC, Part One." explains the dilemma, citing New York City marriage law, and undertaking a study addressing the questions, How Many NYC Catholic Wedding Were Recorded with Civil Authorities? Understanding the dilemma may shed new light for researchers and provide new avenues for locating the elusive marrage record.

Index to Irish Marriages, 1771-1812 online

The Index to Irish Marriages, 1771-1812, has been added to the Ancestry.com database. According to Ancestry, this database was originally published in London in 1897 and contains the names and marriage dates of Irish and English marriages. The information in this database was abridged from the pages of “Walker’s Hibernian Magazine,” from its first issue in 1771 until its discontinuance in July, 1812.

California Marriage and Divorce Indexes online

Ancestry.com announced in mid-July the release of California Marriage and Divorce Indexes. According to the web site, "If you have family from the Golden State, look no further than the more than 16 million names in the newly added California Marriage and Divorce Indexes. Spanning roughly 25 years, you’ll discover bride and groom names, dates and locations. These great indexes will ensure you strike gold when searching for your Californian ancestors. Search the California Marriage and California Divorce indexes now. Check Ancestry's Genealogy Databases Posted and Updated Recently for information on other new releases and updates to existing databases.

Another place to look for that elusive marrage record

So who is Gretna Green or, what is it? In her article, "Gretna Greens and Your Ancestor's Missing Records," Gena Philibert-Ortega explains: "Gretna Greens are cities where people went to get married. They are named for a place called Gretna Green in Scotland," where marriage regulations were few. Gena provides information on the hisotry of Gretna Greens and the Scotland equivalents in the United States. Learning more about marriage laws within your various areas of interest may open up new possibilities. For example, marrying a first cousin is legal in some states but illegal in others -- there are, no doubt, other motivators. Something else to consider in searching for an elusive marriage record.

Proving Marriage Relationships

A common problem for researchers is the elusive marriage certificate. In her article, "You Know They Were Married, but . . .," Karan Pittman provides insights for canvasing records and locations for marriage records. She also offers alternative sources for proving the marriage relationship when the marriage record cannot be found.

Love and Marriage

As thoughts turn to Valentine's Day and remembering those we love, Gena Philibert Ortega, in her article, "Love and Marriage," reminds us this may be a good time to look back at how our ancestors celebrated marriage and to consider the variety of resources available for documenting marriages.