The minister or town clerk recorded these announcements in a register, or interfiled with other town or church records. Intentions were written notices presented to the local civil authority and posted in a public place for a given period of time. They may have also posted a written notice at the church.

Traditionally the announcement of an impending wedding would be announced in the church for three weeks prior to the event.īanns were a religious custom in which the couple announced to their local congregation that they planned to marry. This was a rather common custom in the southern and New England states through the mid-1800's. The couple may have been required to announce their intentions in order to give other community members the opportunity to raise any objections to the marriage. Banns and intentions were made a few weeks before a couple planned to marry. Marriage banns are the public announcement of an intended marriage. Various records may have been created that show a couple's intent to marry. Some records may show a couple's intent to marry in addition to the records of the actual marriageįor more information about using marriage records effectively, click here.

These records are usually stored with the clerk of the town or county where the bride resided, but some particularly early ones may be housed in the state’s archives and more recent ones may be found in the state’s Division of Vital Records. Marriage has always been a very public covenant, recorded in a variety of ways. Whether a civil or church authority performed the ceremony, local laws usually required that the marriage be recorded in civil records. Churches and governments often kept marriage records before they documented other life events. To find a marriage record, choose the state where the marriage occurred:ĭon't know the state? - Go to How to Estimate Marriage InformationĪ valuable source for genealogists is the Marriage Record. How to Find United States Marriage Records Using Guided Research

6 How Information from Marriage Records can Help Research.

4.3 Personal Records of the Individual Who Performed the Ceremony.

1 How to Find United States Marriage Records Using Guided Research.

Adam's Bride by Mildred B. Lewis