United States Marriages - FamilySearch Historical Records

United States

What Is in the Collection?
This index is an electronic index for the years 1733 to 1990.

This index is not complete for any particular place, region or time period. This collection may include information previously published in the International Genealogical Index or Vital Records Index collections.

Coverage Table and Map
A coverage table for this collection is available in the wiki article United States Marriages, Coverage Table (FamilySearch Historical Records)

To see a coverage map of FamilySearch's holdings of United States marriages, click here.

What Can this Collection Tell Me?
For details about the contents of these records and help using them see the wiki article Marriages Vital Record Index Collections (FamilySearch Historical Records).

Each entry in this index has a source listed which includes a batch number. You will need to trace the batch number for the individual entry to learn its source. Please see the following wiki articles for more information on batch numbers:


 * IGI
 * IGI Batch Number Descriptions
 * IGI Batch Numbers for the British Isles and North America

If an FHL film number is given in the entry for your ancestor, search for it in the FamilySearch Catalog.

How Do I Search the Collection?
To search the collection it is helpful to know the following:
 * The name of your ancestor.
 * The approximate date of marriage.
 * The place where the marriage occurred.

Search by Name by visiting the Collection Page: Fill in the requested information in the initial search page. This search will return a list of possible matches. Compare the information about the ancestors 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 compare the information about more than one person to find your ancestor.

What Do I Do Next?
When you have located your ancestor’s marriage record, carefully evaluate each piece of information about them. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details that can lead you to other records about your ancestors.

I Found Who I Was Looking For, What Now?

 * Use the information found on the marriage record to find the family in census records.
 * Use the information found on the marriage record to locate church and land records.
 * Use the information found on the marriage record to locate the family in additional state and county records.

I Can't Find Who I'm Looking For, What Now?

 * Look for variant spellings of the names. You should also look for 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 counties.
 * 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.

Citing This Collection
Citing your sources makes it easy for others to find and evaluate the records you used. When you copy information from a record, list where you found that information. Here you can find citations already created for the entire collection and for each individual record or image. Collection Citation:

Record Citation (or citation for the index entry):