Idaho, County Marriages - FamilySearch Historical Records

United States Idaho

What is in the Collection?
The collection consists of a name index and images of Idaho county marriages acquired from local courthouses for the years 1864 to 1950.

Currently the collection includes the following counties: Ada, Adams, Benewah, Blaine, Bonner, Bonneville, Butte, Camas, Canyon, Caribou, Cassia, Clark, Custer, Elmore, Franklin, Fremont, Gem, Gooding, Idaho, Jefferson, Jerome, Kootenai, Latah, Lemhi, Lewis, Lincoln, Madison, Minidoka, Nez Perce, Oneida, Payette, Power, Shoshone, Teton, Twin Falls, Valley, and Washington.

The collection also includes records for the towns of Ashton and Marysville. Bannock County marriages are not currently apart of this collection.

About half the records are single page records or registers and another half are packet style with packet cover and related documents. Included in this collection are marriage licenses, certificates, applications, docket books, and affidavits. The collection may also include some loose documents. The first laws in Idaho Territory concerning marriages were enacted in 1864. The first Territorial Legislative Assembly made provisions for books in which to record certificates issued by the person performing the marriage ceremony, as well as contracts made by individuals. Although some early Idaho Territorial marriage contracts were recorded, most were not. Pre-1895 records located in the county courthouses of Idaho are certificates issued by the person performing the marriage ceremony. County recorders have records of marriages since the date each county was organized. In addition to the register, most counties will also have the original marriage applications. These are especially valuable if one or both marriage parties are under legal age as permission from the parent or guardian is included. No licenses were required before 11 March 1895. Civil marriage records were created to legalize marital relationships and to safeguard the interests of the wife and other heirs. The date and place of marriage and the name of the presiding official are quite reliable. Other information depends upon the knowledge and reliability of the informants, usually the bride and groom.

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

What Can this Collection Tell Me?
Information found in most Idaho marriage records may include:


 * Names of the groom and bride
 * Current county and state of their residence
 * Date and place license was issued
 * Date and place of marriage
 * Names of witnesses
 * Presiding official

How Do I Search the Collection?
To begin your search you will need to know the following:


 * Name of your ancestor
 * Name of the intended spouse
 * Approximate date and place of marriage.

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 those in the list to what you already know about your own 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 then Browse Page: 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 "Film" category which takes you to the images.

For tips about searching on-line collections see the on-line article FamilySearch Search Tips and Tricks.

What Do I Do Next?
Look at each 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.

With either search 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.

I Found Who 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.
 * Earlier records may not contain as much information as the records created after the late 1900.
 * 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 Who I'm Looking for, What Now?

 * Look for variant spellings of the surnames.
 * Search the indexes and records of nearby localities.

Citing This Collection
Citing your sources makes it easy for others to find and evaluate the records you used. When you copy information from a record, list where you found that information. Here you can find citations already created for the entire collection and for each individual record or image. Collection Citation:

Record Citation (or citation for the index entry):

Image citation: