The Top 5 ‘Other’ Places to Find Marriage Records

Marriage records can be hard to find if you do not have all the information that is required of you. But, there are other places you can check out. Have you considered these options?

You can find marriage records at either the state clerk’s office, after the late-1800s, or at the county clerk’s office, before the late-1800s. For more recent records, the best place would be the state vital records unit.

The problem with these sources, however, (aside from the fact that some require eligibility) is that they require at least an approximate date. You must, of course, know the location and names as well. If you are missing these details, there are other places to look that can help you pin down names, dates, and places.

Unconventional Places to Find Marriage Records

• You can find marriage records, particularly the exact date, by looking through county or state death records. Keeping a record of deaths in an area predates marriage registers in many locations across America. Such a record will likely contain not only an exact date of marriage but also parents’ names.

• Long before civil marriage registers, there were church records or registers and announcements in local papers, as well as banns and obituaries. If the church is extant, they may have archives on the premises. However, records may also be housed at a local historical society. Archives of the area’s papers throughout the years, on the other hand, can be found at the local library.

• Another place to look would be the local census. If you can pin down the first child’s date of birth, for example, you may be able to pinpoint a range of dates when the marriage was likely to have taken place. For this purpose, tax records could also be useful. The only thing you have to consider is that access to such records differs across the US.

• Sometimes the easiest way to find a marriage date of an ancestor is to walk through the local cemetery. Tombstones may not only bear the marriage date it may also bear the name of the person’s spouse.

• Other government records can also help track down marriage information. Try checking pension records if the person was with the military or probate and estate records filed at the county clerk’s office. This will likely contain details such as dates, as well as names of surviving offspring, spouses, or relatives. If you can find the estate agent, you may even find marriage records attached to these documents.

However, if you don’t have any problems providing the details for the marriage record, then simply check out the top providers at RecordsSiteReviews' marriage records section.