Virginia, Bureau of Vital Statistics, County Marriage Registers - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is in This Collection?
County marriage registers from the Bureau of Vital Statistics in Virginia for years 1853-1935. The commissioner of the revenue registered marriages for the county and then turned the books over to the clerk of the County Court. The clerk made abstracts to send to the state auditor and would preserve the books in his office. Microfilm of the original records is at the Virginia State Library in Richmond, Virginia. Marriage registers give the date and place of marriage, the full name of the parties, age, birthplace, residences, parents, husbands occupation, and who performed the marriage. Information is sometimes incomplete.

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


 * Name of bride and groom
 * Ages
 * Sex
 * Birthplace and date


 * Parents names
 * Place of marriage
 * Race

How Do I Search This Collection?
Before searching this collection, it is helpful to know:
 * Name of the person
 * Approximate date of the event

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.

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 the Person I Was Looking For, What Now?

 * Add any new information to your 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.
 * 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.

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

 * Look for variant spellings of the surnames.
 * 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 counties.

Research Helps
The following articles will help you research your family in the state of Virginia.
 * How to Find Virginia Marriage Records
 * United States, How to Use Marriage Records
 * Virginia Guided Research
 * Virginia Research Tips and Strategies
 * Step-by-Step Virginia Research, 1880-Present

Other FamilySearch Collections
These collections may have additional materials to help you with your research.

FamilySearch Catalog

 * John Vogt and T. William Kethley, Jr, Marriage records in the Virginia State Library : a researcher's guide Athens, Georgia : Iberian Pub. Co., c1988 FS Library 975.5 V23v 1988
 * Magazine of Virginia genealogy Richmond, Virginia : Virginia Genealogical Society, 1983- FS Library 975.5 B2vs

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.