Arkansas, County Marriages - FamilySearch Historical Records

United States &gt; United States Vital Records &gt; Arkansas County Marriages

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Collection Time Period
The records in this collection include the years 1837-1957

How to Use the Records
Marriage records are the best source for validating the date and place of marriage. Other details such as age and birth place help in finding more 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.

Record Description
There are three types of marriage records:


 * Marriage books are usually large, bound volumes, especially those with printed columns. Entries were made chronologically. Some volumes, especially those for earlier years, were written in paragraph format, often with two or three marriages on each page. When printed pages were introduced later, marriages were recorded in columns, allowing for many entries per page.
 * Marriage licenses may be in paragraph format or printed forms.
 * Marriage returns are usually in paragraph format.

Record Content
While earlier records usually less complete, genealogical facts in marriage records include:


 * Names of the groom, bride, and officiator. The bride’s surname at the time of marriage is her maiden name, unless she was previously married. May include names of parents or guardians, especially in later records. Names of witnesses often given.
 * Date of the marriage or license.
 * Birth dates and places of the bride and groom often given in later records.
 * Residences of the bride and groom.
 * Occupation of the groom is frequently given.
 * Name of the officiator, either a Minister (MG) or a Justice of the Peace (JP)

Record History
County officials, usually the county clerk, began keeping marriage records from the time the county was formed. When the person obtained a license, he went to a minister or other person authorized to perform marriages, such as the justice of the peace. That person sent a return to the county clerk confirming that the marriage had occurred. Most marriages that took place in a county were recorded by civil authorities.

Why This Collection Was Created?
Marriage records validate a wife’s legal claim to property.

Record Reliability
The date and place of marriage and the name of the officiator are 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.

Related Web Sites
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Related Wiki Articles
Arkansas_Birth,_Marriage_and_Death_Records

Citing FamilySearch Historical Collections
It is recommended that you cite the sources of information as you search genealogical records. Citing sources will allow you to avoid duplicate searches later and share your sources with other researchers. A citation with specific details about the source document should allow yourself or others to easily find the source document at a later time. You should cite all sources searched, whether new information is found, to avoid duplicating searches without findings. Suggested Format:  A suggested format for citations created to document information found in FamilySearch Record Search is: Collection title, digital images, from FamilySearch Internet (www.familysearch.org: date accessed or downloaded), items of interest. Items of Interest Include: 


 * Name of the person mentioned in the document
 * File, folder or jacket number
 * Locality
 * Record type
 * Page number
 * Line number
 * Date of entry
 * Digital identification number
 * Film number

You are Invited to Add Source Citations for a Record in This Collection: Please add sample citations to this article following the format guidelines listed above.


 * United States. Bureau of the Census. 12th census, 1900, digital images, From FamilySearch Internet (www.familysearch.org: September 29, 2006), Arizona Territory, Maricopa, Township 1, East Gila, Salt River Base and Meridian; sheet 9B, line 71
 * Mexico, Distrito Federal, Catholic Church Records, 1886-1933, digital images, from FamilySearch Internet (www.familysearch.org: April 22, 2010), Baptism of Adolfo Fernandez Jimenez, 1 Feb. 1910, San Pedro Apóstol, Cuahimalpa, Distrito Federal, Mexico, film number 0227023

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Style Guide
For guidelines to use in creating wiki articles that describe collections of images and indexes produced by FamilySearch, see: FamilySearch Wiki: Guidelines for FamilySearch Collections pages

Sources of information for This Collection
"Arkansas County Marriages, 1838-1957", database, FamilySearch; from Arkansas Courts of Common Pleas and County Clerks. digital images of originals housed at various county courthouses in the State of Arkansas. Marriage records. FHL microfilm, Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah.