|
Marriages |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Generally, young ladies married from home so their marriage record will probably be in the county where her parents were living or where her church was at the time she married. Widows usually re-married in the same county where they were living when their husband died or where their parents were living at that time because she may have had move back in with them for support. Young men and widowers, being true to their nature, would wander a wider geographical range in search of their bride. It's not surprising to find a male ancestor's marriage record in any one of the surrounding counties from his parents' home. Eloping was almost always a cause for a young couple to marry in a county other than their parents' home.
Siblings of one family marrying siblings in another family was a common
practice. The resulting children were called 'double 1st cousins'
and were genetically closer than single-birthed siblings yet not the
same genetically as identical twins. Because of so many 'inherited'
diseases, SMARC recommends that researchers be sure to include a reference
within double 1st cousins' individual notes so that tracing these
diseases will be easier. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Marriages between 1st cousins was a common practice in the Old South. It was a way for a the land to remain in families from one generation to the next. [See Book: Forbidden Relatives: The American Myth of Cousin Marriage by Martin Ottenheimer] Women died in childbirth in large numbers. Husbands were usually working farms, had other young children and likely the motherless infant to try and raise. Therefore, widowers would re-marry quickly. The usual, respectable waiting period of one year before re-marrying just wasn't practical in the rural South. One of the most common errors we at SMARC see among on-line researchers is that they have considered all females shown in a county's marriage records as 'single, never been married before' ladies. They have made the assumption that their surname shown on the marriage record was their maiden name and that is not always the case. The title designation of Mrs. was not always included within the transcribed record. Always consult the original marriage record. The 1900 census will show how many marriages each spouse had. If it says M1, then that was the wife's first marriage; but if it says M2 or greater, you'll know if her marriage record name was her married name from a previous husband. If you see the phrase "nee SMITH" associated with a female ancestor, it merely means that their maiden name was Smith. She was born a Smith. There are several types of marriage records: Bonds, Banns, Licenses and Returns. Visit: "Researching Marriages" an on-line article at Your Family Legacy which gives more detail about each type.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| For additional marriage resources, please visit our Off-line Records section. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Design, Graphics, Photos & Content © Copyright 2004 Carol Ann "C.A.T." Tindell, Blue Ridge, GA |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
