Utah, County Marriages - FamilySearch Historical Records

What Is in This Collection?
The collection consists of a name index to marriage records from local county courthouses, for the years 1887 to 1940. The records consist of bound volumes applications, licenses, certificates, etc. Marriages were recorded by the clerk of the district court for each county from the time the county was formed. Persons desiring to marry obtained a license that they presented to the minister or other person authorized to marry, such as a justice of the peace. Once the marriage was performed, the officiator sent a return to the clerk confirming that the marriage had occurred. Civil marriage records were created to legalize marital relationships and to protect the interests of the wife and other heirs to legal claims on property.

What Can These Records Tell Me?
The following information may be found in these records:

Marriage
 * Name of the groom
 * Name of the bride
 * Names of the officiator and witnesses
 * Date of the marriage
 * Residences of the bride and groom
 * Age of the bride and groom

Collection Table
The following table shows the number of records in this collection by county. Because of privacy laws not all records may be available.

How Do I Search This Collection?
Before searching this collection, it is helpful to know:


 * Name of the person
 * The name of a parent or date of the event

How Do I Analyze the Results?
Compare each result from your search with what you know to determine if there is a match. This may require viewing multiple records or images. Keep track of your research in a research log.

I Found the Person I Was Looking For, What Now?

 * Copy the citation below, in case you need to find this record again later
 * Use the age or estimated birth date to find other church and vital records such as birth, baptism, and death records
 * Use the information found in the record to find land, probate and immigration records
 * Use the information found in the record to find additional family members in censuses. Witnesses were usually family members
 * Repeat this process with additional family members found, to find more generations of the family
 * Church Records were kept years before counties began keeping records. They are a good source for finding ancestors before 1900

I Can’t Find the Person I’m Looking For, What Now?

 * If your ancestor does not have a common name, collect entries for every person who has the same surname. This list can help you find possible relatives
 * If you cannot locate your ancestor in the locality in which you believe they lived, then try searching records of a nearby town or county
 * Try different spellings of your ancestor’s name
 * Remember that sometimes individuals went by nicknames or alternated between using first and middle names. Try searching for these names as well
 * Check the info box above for additional FamilySearch websites and related websites that may assist you in finding similar records

Research Helps
The following articles will help you in your research for your family in the state of Utah.
 * Utah Guided Research
 * Utah Record Finder
 * Research Tips and Strategies
 * Step-by-Step Research: 1850-1905 | 1900-Present

Citing This Collection
Citations help you keep track of places you have searched and sources you have found. Identifying your sources helps others find the records you used.