Virginia, Surry County Marriage Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is in This Collection?
This collection includes records from 1735 to 1950.

Most of this collection consists of Certificates to Obtain a Marriage License, Marriage Bonds and Consents, Marriage Licenses, and Marriage Returns. The records are arranged by volume and year range. The type of record and time period varies between counties. Marriage records were generally well preserved, although fires, floods, or other disasters may have destroyed some records.

The earliest marriage bonds and licenses were usually handwritten on loose papers that were later bound into lettered volumes. Some marriage records had multiple entries on each page, while others had single records per page.

Original sources:
 * Surry County, Virginia. Certificates to obtain a Marriage License, 1735-1787, 1844-1917. Surry County Courthouse, Surry, Virginia
 * Surry County, Virginia. Marriage Bonds, 1768, 1771-1820. Surry County Courthouse, Surry, Virginia
 * Surry County, Virginia. Marriage Bonds and Consents, 1821-1850. Surry County Courthouse, Surry, Virginia
 * Surry County, Virginia. Marriage Returns, 1785-1854. Surry County Courthouse, Surry, Virginia
 * Surry County, Virginia. Marriage Licenses, 1900-1950. Surry County Courthouse, Surry, Virginia

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

Marriage
 * Date and place (county)of marriage
 * Name and age in (years, months, days) of husband
 * Name and age in (years, months, days) of wife
 * Previous marital status
 * Residence of husband
 * Residence of wife
 * Occupation(s) of the bride and groom
 * Name of person performing the marriage
 * Birthplace of groom
 * Birthplace of bride
 * Names of groom's parents
 * Names of bride's parents
 * Number of times previously married
 * Witnesses to the marriage and their residence

How Do I Search This Collection?
To begin your search it is helpful to know the following:
 * Names of the bride and groom
 * The approximate marriage date and place

View the Images
View images in this collection by visiting the :
 * 1) Select Record Type and Years to view the images

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 to find the family in census records
 * Use the residence to locate church and land 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
 * Use the marriage number to identify previous marriages
 * When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct
 * 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
 * The information in marriage records is usually reliable, but depends upon the reliability of the informant

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

 * Look for variant spellings of the names. You should also look for alias names, nicknames and abbreviated names
 * Look for an 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

Research Helps
The following articles will help you in your research for your family in the state of Virginia.
 * 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.