Canada, British Columbia Marriage Registrations - FamilySearch Historical Records

Record Description
This collection will include records from 1859 to 1932.

The pre-confederation (or colonial) marriage records consist of certified marriage certificates, or returns of marriages, submitted by clergy of various denominations, as well as typed certified extracts (ca. 1933) from marriage registers maintained by churches and missions. The set contains 8 volumes but v. A1 (A to J surnames, 1859-1872, British Columbia mainland) was missing at the time of filming and is not included in this set. The marriage registrations, begun in 1872, are recorded on individual, printed forms. They consist of completed statements regarding marriages submitted to district registrars and registered by the director of Vital Statistics. Note that these forms are not marriage certificates but registrations of marriages. Marriage certificates contain information from the original registration records and are only available through the British Columbia Vital Statistics Agency.

The pre-confederation marriages occurred in the colonies of British Columbia and Vancouver Island and were submitted to the Colonial Secretary by clergy. The two colonies were united in 1866 prior to the entry of British Columbia into the Confederation of Canada. British Columbia became a province of Canada in July 1871, and registration of vital events began in 1872. The only persons excluded from the Births, Deaths, and Marriages Act of 1872 were Chinese and Aboriginals. This was changed by an amendment in 1897, stating the registration would apply to all races. However, the Act was amended in 1899 to once again exclude First Nations from provincial registration until another amendment was passed in 1916, which authorized registration of First Nations to begin again in 1917. These restrictions did not apply to pre-confederation marriages.

Coverage is a small percentage of the population. Beginning in 1872, official government registration applied to the whole province of British Columbia except for the Chinese (until 1897) and First Nations (until 1917). Early registration records are very incomplete chiefly due to the fact that a majority of the population lived great distances from the registry offices and communication was difficult.

Pre-confederation marriages were gathered and registration of marriages begun in order to keep a written record for use by the government.

Provincial vital registrations are considered a reliable source in family history research because they contain a record of an event usually registered very near the time the event occurred. The reliability, of course, depends on the accuracy of the informant.

Record Content
Marriage records usually contain the following information:


 * Names of bride and groom
 * Ages of bride and groom
 * Residences when married
 * Places of birth
 * Marital status
 * Names of parents (father’s name only in most pre-confederation records)
 * Names of witnesses and their residences
 * Date and place of marriage
 * Religious denominations of bride and groom
 * Name of person performing the marriage
 * Whether marriage was by license or by banns

How to Use the Records
To begin your search in this collection,it would be helpful if you knew the following information:


 * Name of bride or groom
 * Approximate year and place of marriage

Search the Collection
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 look at several images and compare the information about the individuals listed in those images to your ancestors to make this determination. Look at the images one by one comparing the information with what you already know about your ancestors to determine if the image relates to them. You may need to look at several images and compare the information about the individuals listed in those images to your ancestors to make this determination. As you are searching it is helpful to know such information as your ancestor’s given name and surname, some identifying information such as residence and age, and family relationships. 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.

Using the Information
When you have found your ancestor's record, the following will help further your research:


 * Use the place of birth for the bride and groom to search for a birth record.
 * Use the names of the parents for both the bride and groom to search for a marriage record.
 * View the image on the record. The image usually tells you more information than the indexed record.

Unable to Find Your Ancestor?

 * Your ancestor might have lived in a different place from where you were looking for the birth, marriage, or death.
 * Your ancestor might have lived at a slightly different time from the years you were looking.
 * Not every birth, marriage, or death was registered.
 * Look in the Canada Census Records for the residence of the parents.

General Information About These Records
Be sure and click on the View Image to bring up the actual image. There is often additional information that might be valuable in your research.

Known Issues with This Collection
For a full list of all known issues associated with this collection see the attached Wiki article. If you encounter additional problems, please email them to [mailto:support@familysearch.org support@familysearch.org]. Please include the full path to the link and a description of the problem in your e-mail. Your assistance will help ensure that future reworks will be considered.

Related Websites

 * Canada History Links
 * Canada Historic Maps
 * British Columbia Archives' Vital Events Index
 * BC Archives Searchable Index

Related Wiki Articles

 * British Columbia
 * British Columbia Vital Records
 * Canada Vital Records
 * Name Variations in Canadian Indexes and Records

Citation for This Collection
The following citation refers to the original source of the information published in FamilySearch.org Historical Record collections. Sources include the author, custodian, publisher and archive for the original records.