England, Yorkshire, Allertonshire, Marriage Bonds and Allegations - FamilySearch Historical Records

Record Description
This collection consists of the Bishop of Durham's transcripts of marriage bonds and allegations for Allertonshire Peculiar for the years 1667 to 1918. The collection includes the following Yorkshire parishes:


 * Birkby
 * Cowesby
 * Hutton Bonville
 * Leake
 * Nether Silton
 * North Otterington
 * Osmotherly
 * Thornton-le-Street

Note: A peculiar is a parish that is administered by a diocese other than the one where it is actually located. It is exempted from the jurisdiction of the ordinary or bishop in whose diocese it lies and is governed by another. In this case, it is several parishes administered by the ecclesiastical authority of the Bishop of Durham.

A marriage allegation is a sworn statement filed by the marriage participants in connection with their license application. It is a statement that there is no known reason that the marriage should not take place. Marriage licenses could be granted by the Archbishop of Canterbury, bishops, and archdeacons or their surrogates within their respective jurisdictions. The original allegations and bonds were held by the various church officials. Most were later transferred to county record offices. Many of the records are now published by the respective dioceses. The majority of English people would have been married by banns, not by license, and so would not have a marriage allegation.

Record Content


Marriage bond or allegation records contain the following information:


 * Names of the marriage partners
 * Ages of the marriage partners
 * Occupations of the marriage partners
 * Marital statuses (whether single or widowed)
 * Parish of residence
 * Sometimes where the marriage was to take place
 * Sometimes a parent’s name or signature
 * If either of the marriage partners was a minor, the name of the parent or guardian who was consenting to the marriage

How to Use the Record
To begin your search, it would be helpful if you knew the following information:


 * Name of the bride or groom.
 * Jurisdiction where the allegation was filed and an approximate marriage date.

Search the Collection
To browse by image: To search the collection you will need to follow this series of links: ⇒Select "Browse through images" on the initial collection page ⇒Select the appropriate "Year" ⇒Select the appropriate "Durham University Reference Number" which will take you to the images. Search the collection by image 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

Using the Information
The following suggestions can help you find marriage allegation records for your ancestors:


 * Make sure you are searching in the right jurisdiction.
 * Check for indexes that will make your search easier.
 * When searching through the records, look for others with the same surname; they may be related.
 * Look for allegations of parents and earlier generations in the same jurisdiction.
 * Look for allegations of children in the same jurisdiction.
 * You can use the residence information for the bride and groom to look for their baptisms and to identify the children of this couple.
 * The ages can help you calculate an approximate year of birth.

Tips to Keep in Mind

 * When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct.
 * 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.
 * Titles may be clues to property ownership, occupations, rank, or status within the community.
 * Check for variant spellings of the names.
 * Look for an index. There are often indexes at the beginning of each volume. In addition local genealogical and historical societies often have indexes to local records.
 * Search the records of nearby localities (Durham, Derbyshire, Cheshire, Lancashire and Westmorland).

General Information About These Records
Allegations are handwritten documents. Later allegations are handwritten on preprinted pages. Most of the originals have now been compiled and bound in volumes. The majority of the original marriage allegations have been preserved. While most are in the custody of the diocese, others may be found in the records of the Vicar General and the faculty office of the Archbishop of Canterbury. Most are now in the county records office.

These records were created as part of the marriage licensing process. It was used by the marriage official as evidence that the bride and groom were eligible to be married. The information included in a marriage allegation is very reliable because it was provided by the bride and groom.

For people whose ancestors married by license, the allegation could be a valuable research tool. The allegation can help define family relationships and residences as well as personal information such as age and occupation.

Related Websites

 * Yorkshire BMD
 * Durham County Record Office
 * England and Wales Historic Maps
 * England and Wales History Links

Related Wiki Articles

 * Yorkshire
 * Yorkshire Record Office
 * Marriage Allegations, Bonds and Licences in England and Wales
 * Quick Research Links - England
 * Quick Research Links - Wales

Citations for This Collection
When you copy information from a record, you should list where you found the information; that is, cite your sources. This will help people find the record again and evaluate the reliability of the source. It is also good to keep track of records where you did not find information, including the names of the people you looked for in the records. Citations are available for the collection as a whole and each record or image individually.

Collection citation:

Image citation: