Marriage records are one of the three core types of vital records every family historian should learn to use. Birth, marriage, and death records often work together like a three-legged stool. If you...
Category - Marriage Research
Marrying After the War: Tracing Families That Began in Peace
War has a way of pausing life. Plans are put on hold. Relationships are delayed. Young people grow older quickly. And when the fighting ends, the urge to settle down often comes fast — sometimes with...
6 Frequently Asked Questions About Marriage Records
Discover why marriage records are crucial for genealogical research. Learn how these records can provide valuable information about your ancestors.
Common-Law Marriages: A Closer Look at Marriage Records #4
What do you do if you can’t find a marriage record, bond, or banns, no matter where you look? Fortunately, there are alternative ways to find a marriage date, or record that a marriage took place...
Marriage Banns: A Closer Look at Marriage Records #3
Marriage banns were the way marriages were legalized for centuries in most of the western world. There are records of the Roman Catholic church requiring them as early as eight hundred years ago in...
Marriage Bonds: A Closer Look at Marriage Records #2
Marriage bonds are more common than marriage licenses in early colonial marriage records. Licenses didn’t become common until the mid to late 1800s. Bonds were usually used prior to that. This is...
Marriage Records: A Closer Look at Marriage Records #1
Marriage records are a basic part of genealogy research and are usually among the first official family records that beginning genealogists find. There can be a variety of information included on...
Irish Wedding Traditions
There are tens of millions of people in America with Irish ancestry, and even more around the world. Therefore, knowing about Irish traditions, such as wedding traditions, is important to...
Genealogy Basics: Marriage Research Advice for Beginners
Are you just getting started looking for marriage records in your genealogy research and need some help finding them? Here are the best places to look.
Mail Order Brides: A History of Love in the Wild West
Mail order brides were popular in the Old West in the United States. Here's why, and why so many women decided to become them.