North Carolina, County Marriages - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is in the Collection?
The collection consists of an index and images of marriage records from North Carolina county courthouses for the years 1762 to 1979. These records include licenses, marriage applications, marriage bonds, marriage certificates, marriage packets and cohabitation registers. For a list of what is currently contained in this collection see the wiki article North Carolina County Marriage Records Coverage Table (FamilySearch Historical Records).

Image Visibility
Whenever possible, FamilySearch makes images available for all users. However, ultimate rights to view images on our website are granted by the record custodians. Some of the images in this collection are only available for viewing if you are a registered FamilySearch user. You can register for a free FamilySearch account here. For additional information about image restrictions, please see the Restrictions for Viewing Images in FamilySearch Historical Record Collections page.

Coverage Table
A coverage table for this collection is available in the wiki article North Carolina County Marriage Records Coverage Table (FamilySearch Historical Records).

To see a coverage map of FamilySearch's holdings of North Carolina marriages, click here.

What Can this Collection Tell Me?
Bonds usually list the following information:


 * Names of bondsmen (one is usually groom)
 * Name of bride
 * Date of bond
 * Place of residence of bride and groom (normally the bond was supposed to be filed in the county where the bride resided)
 * Parent’s names were occasionally given on bonds from the 1850’s and 1860’s

Indexed register of marriages usually lists the following information:


 * Name of groom
 * Name of bride
 * County of residence
 * Ages of bride and groom
 * Date of license
 * Date of marriage
 * By whom married
 * Place of marriage
 * Witnesses

Licenses usually list the following information:


 * Name of groom
 * Name of bride
 * Names of parents of bride and groom
 * Places of residence of bride and groom
 * Date of license
 * Place where license was issued
 * Date married (if a marriage then took place)
 * Person performing marriage
 * Age of bride and groom (on later licenses after about 1872)
 * Race of bride and groom (on later licenses after about 1872)
 * Date of birth (on later certificates)
 * Whether parents were living (on later certificates)

Cohabitation registers usually list the following information:


 * Name of bride
 * Name of groom
 * Place married
 * Name of person who performed the marriage
 * Date of marriage

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

Search by Name by visiting the Collection Page: Fill in the requested information on the initial search page. This search will return a list of possible matches. Compare the information about the individuals 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.

View images in this collection by visiting the Browse Page: To search the collection you will need to follow this series of links: ⇒ Select the "Browse" link in the initial search page ⇒ Select the "County Category" ⇒ Select the "Record Type, Volume, and Year Range" which takes you to the images.

Keep in mind:


 * There may be more than one person in the records with the same name.
 * You may not be sure of your own ancestor’s name.
 * Your ancestor may have used different names, or variations of their name, throughout their life.
 * If your ancestor used an alias or a nickname, be sure to check for those alternate names.
 * Even though these indexes are very accurate they may still contain inaccuracies, such as altered spellings, misinterpretations, and optical character recognition errors if the information was scanned.

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

I Found Who I was Looking for, What Now?

 * Use the locator information found in the index (such as page, entry, or certificate number) to locate your ancestors in the marriage records.
 * 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.
 * 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.

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. There are often indexes at the beginning of each volume. Local genealogical and historical societies often have indexes to local records.
 * Search the indexes and records of nearby localities.
 * 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 with the same family number.

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.

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.


 * Collection Citation:

Record Citation (or citation for the index entry): Image Citation: Top of Page