West Virginia, Berkeley County, Church Marriages - FamilySearch Historical Records

Record Description
This collection will include records from 1819-1889.

The collection consists of an index to marriages from various churches in Bunker Hill, Hedgesville and Martinsburg in Berkeley County, West Virginia. The rights to publish the images associated with these indexes are not available at this time.

Record Content
Marriage records may contain the following information:


 * Names of bride and groom
 * Place of marriage
 * Ages and estimated birth dates of bride and groom
 * Place of birth for bride and groom
 * Parents’ names
 * Previous spouses
 * Race

How to Use the Record
To use these records it is helpful to know the following:


 * The name of the person at the time of marriage
 * The name of the intended spouse
 * Other identifying information such as the approximate marriage date and place

Search the Collection
To search the collection fill in the requested information in the boxes on the initial search page. This search will return a list of possible matches. Compare the information about the individuals in the list to what you already know about your ancestors to determine if this is the correct family or person. You may need to look at the information on several individuals comparing the information about them to your ancestors to make this determination. Keep in mind:


 * There may be more than one person in the records with the same name.
 * You may not be sure of your own ancestor’s name.
 * Your ancestor may have used different names, or variations of their name, throughout their life.
 * If your ancestor used an alias or a nickname, be sure to check for those alternate names.
 * Even though these indexes are very accurate they may still contain inaccuracies, such as altered spellings, misinterpretations, and optical character recognition errors if the information was scanned.

For tips about searching on-line collections see the on-line article FamilySearch Search Tips and Tricks.

Using the Information
When you have located your ancestor’s marriage record, carefully evaluate each piece of information given. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details that can lead you to other records about your ancestors. Add this new information to your records of each family. For example:


 * Use the marriage date and place as the basis for compiling a new family group or for verifying existing information.
 * Use the birth date or age along with the place of birth of each partner to find a couple's birth records and parents' names.
 * Use the birth date or age along with the place of birth to find the family in census records.
 * Use the residence and names of the parents to locate church and land records.

Tips to Keep in Mind

 * When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct.
 * Remember that there may be more than one person in the records with the same name as your ancestor and that your ancestor may have used nicknames or different names at different times.
 * Continue to search the index to identify children, siblings, parents, and other relatives who may have lived in the same area.
 * Be aware that, as with any index, transcription errors may occur.

Unable to Find Your Ancestor?

 * Look for variant spellings of the names. You should also look for alias names, nicknames and abbreviated names.
 * Look for another index. Local genealogical and historical societies often have indexes to local records.
 * Search the indexes and records of nearby localities.
 * Try alternative search methods such as only filling in the surname search box (or the given name search box) on the landing page leaving the other box empty and then click on search. This should return a list of everyone with that particular name. You could then browse the list for individuals that may be your ancestor.

Related Websites

 * Genealogy Trails – Berkeley County Marriages
 * Berkeley County, West Virginia Marriages - Brides
 * Berkeley County, West Virginia Mariages – Grooms
 * Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness, West Virginia
 * [http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~wvberkel/ GenWeb Project – Berkeley, West Virginia
 * Link Pendium
 * Virginia Marriage Laws
 * Order West Virginia Certificates online

Related Wiki Articles

 * Berkeley County, West Virginia
 * West Virginia Vital Records
 * West Virginia Marriages (FamilySearch Historical Records) 1854-1932
 * West Virginia, County Marriage Records (FamilySearch Historical Records) 1780-1970
 * West Virginia Genealogy

Citations for This Collection
When you copy information from a record, you should list where you found the information; that is, cite your sources. This will help people find the record again and evaluate the reliability of the source. It is also good to keep track of records where you did not find information, including the names of the people you looked for in the records. Citations are available for the collection as a whole and each record or image individually.

Collection Citation:

Record Citation (or citation for the index entry):