West Virginia Marriages - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is in This Collection?
This collection is an electronic index of marriages for the years 1854 to 1932 taken from the following sources:


 * Indexed church records
 * Civil registrations
 * The Internet indexing project sponsored by the LDS Church

Church records and civil registration were official sources and are some of the most reliable sources of family history information.

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.

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

Marriage
 * Name of bride and groom
 * Marriage date and place
 * Family History Library Microfilm and item numbers for the source materials
 * Parents' names
 * Date and place of birth
 * Age
 * Marital status
 * Race

Coverage Table
A Coverage table for this collection is available in the wiki article West Virginia Marriages, Coverage Table (FamilySearch Historical Records).

Coverage Map
To see a coverage map of FamilySearch's holdings of West Virginia, marriages, click here.

How Do I Search This Collection?
To begin your search it is helpful to know:
 * The place where the marriage occurred
 * The names of the persons at the time of marriage
 * The approximate marriage date

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?

 * Use the marriage date and place as the basis for compiling a new family group or for verifying existing information
 * Use the birth date or age along with the place of birth of each partner to find a couple's birth records and parents' names
 * Use the birth date or age along with the place of birth to find the family in census records
 * Use the residence and names of the parents to locate church and land records
 * Use the parent’s birth places to find former residences and to establish a migration pattern for the family
 * Use the marriage number to identify previous marriages
 * The information in marriage records is usually reliable, but depends upon the reliability of the informant
 * There is also some variation in the information given from one marriage record to another record
 * Occupations listed can lead you to other types of records such as employment or military records
 * The name of the officiator is a clue to their religion or area of residence in the county. However, ministers may have reported marriages performed in other counties
 * Compile the marriage entries for every person who has the same surname as the bride or groom; this is especially helpful in rural areas or if the surname is unusual
 * Continue to search the marriage records to identify children, siblings, parents, and other relatives of the bride and groom who may have married in the same county or nearby. This can help you identify other generations of your family or even the second marriage of a parent. Repeat this process for each new generation you identify
 * When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct

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

 * The records are very brief, so it is easy to confuse individuals in the index. In addition, an individual may be listed multiple times with slight spelling variations of their name
 * 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
 * Be aware that, as with any index, transcription errors may occur
 * 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

Research Helps
The following articles will help you in your research for your family in the state of West Virginia.
 * West Virginia Guided Research
 * Research Tips and Strategies
 * Step-by-Step Research

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.