Michigan Marriage Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

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Collection Time Period
This collection covers marriages for the year 1868 through 1925.

Record History
An 1805 law required registration of marriages with the clerk of the local district court. In 1867 an additional law required the counties to send copies of the records to the Office of the State Registrar. A very high percentage of marriages that took place in Michigan were recorded by civil authorities.

Why This Record Was Created
Counties in Michigan recorded marriages to safeguard the interests of the wife and other legal heirs.

Record Reliability
The date is very reliable. Other information depends upon the knowledge and reliability of the informants (usually the bride and groom). Only a few deliberately provided false information.

Record Description
Marriage records were handwritten on preprinted pages with multiple entries to a page.

Record Content
Key genealogical facts found in Michigan marriage records are:


 * Name of bride and groom
 * Date of marriage license
 * Age of bride and groom
 * Race of bride and groom
 * Residence of bride and groom
 * Birthplace of bride and groom
 * Name of bride and groom’s father
 * Occupation of bride and groom

Later records also include the following:


 * Maiden name of bride and groom’s mother
 * Number of times previously married
 * Date of marriage
 * Place of marriage
 * Name of person performing the marriage
 * Witnesses to the marriage
 * Residence of witnesses

How To Use The Record
Marriage records are the best source for validating the date and place of marriage. They are also one of the best sources of individual information. The age listed can be used to determine birth dates. The place of residence and occupation lead you to other records that may have information on parents and siblings.

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Related Web Sites
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Related Wiki Articles
Michigan Vital Records

Source of This Collection
"Michigan Marriages, 1868-1925," database, FamilySearch; from Michigan Secretary of State. "Marriage records, 1868-1925." Michigan Department of Vital Records, Lansing, Michigan. FHL microfilm, 187 reels. Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah.

A full bibliographic record is available in the Family History Library Catalog.

How To Cite Your Sources
An example of citing these records is: Department of Vital Records, Lansing, Michigan, Marriage record. From FamilySearch Internet (www.familysearch.org), April 23, 2010. Frank Albert Bergman m. Elizabeth Francis Mason, 05 Jan 1869, Detroit, Wayne, Michigan, vol. 2, page 252, record number 1028.

Instructions for citing this source can ge found at: How to Cite FamilySearch Collections