GuidedResearch:Why Can't I Find the Record - Wales Nonconformist Marriages

This page will give you additional guidance and resources to find marriage information for your ancestor. Use this page after first completing the Wales Nonconformist page. After 1837, search for Civil Registration.

Substitute Records
Substitute records may contain information about more than one event and are used when records for an event are not available. Records that are used to substitute for marriage events may not have been created at the time of the marriage. The accuracy of the record is contingent upon when the information was recorded. Search for information in multiple substitute records to confirm the accuracy of these records.

Finding Town of Origin
Knowing an ancestor’s hometown can be important to locate more records. If a person immigrated to the United States, try Finding Town of Origin to find the ancestor’s hometown.

Virtual Genealogy Consultations
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Ask the Community
Select a community research group where you can ask questions and receive free genealogy help.

Tips for finding marriages
Successfully finding marriage records in online databases depends on a few key points. Try the following search suggestions:
 * Add information. For common names, add more information to narrow the search such as approximate marriage date or father's name if known.
 * Spelling variations. Your ancestor's name may be misspelled. Search with spelling variations for the first and last name of your ancestor.
 * Search given name. Search by given name (leave out the last name) with the approximate date of marriage.
 * Search for bride. Search by the bride's name rather than the groom's name.
 * Know county. Because of the abundance of common given and last names, knowing the county and parish is important to narrow down the search. See Finding the Wales County or Parish of Origin to learn how.
 * Date range. Expand the date range of the search by 5 years.

Why the Record may not Exist
Records Start Nonconformist records date to 1567, although the vast majority of records began in the 18th and early 19th centuries. Between 1754 and 1837 only marriages in the Church of England were legal, meaning there are very few nonconformist marriage records between those years. Primarily, nonconformist marriage records date to 1837. Records Published by FamilySearch Collection coverage tables show the places and time periods of original records published by FamilySearch. For any FamilySearch collections you did not find your ancestor in, check the coverage table for gaps in the online collection. If the time period or location your ancestor lived in is missing from the collection, it may require searches in records found at original repository or finding substitute records for the event.

Records Destroyed Only 10% of nonconformist records have been digitized.
 * Wales Marriages, Coverage Table