England, Yorkshire Marriage Bonds and Allegations - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is in This Collection?
This collection contains marriage bonds and allegations for the Anglican Diocese of York, 1618-1887. Some licenses for curates and schoolmasters, 1618-1620, are also included.

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


 * 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 Do I Search This Collection?
Before searching, it is best to know the following information:
 * Name of bride or groom
 * Year of marriage

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?

 * If an age is recorded, estimate a birth year and search for a birth or christening record
 * If parents are listed, search in parish registers for their names
 * Census records begin in 1841. Look for the married couple as a family in censuses
 * Continue searching for records for the wife with a married surname
 * Search in parish registers for children that would be born to the couple and christened

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

 * Be careful using the listed age to estimate a birth year. Rather than listing actual ages, clerks often wrote in 21 as the age of both the bride and groom to show that they each were of legal age
 * Check for variants of given names and surnames
 * For much of the period of this collection, spelling was not standardized; pay special attention to how the name should have been pronounced and try variations on the pronunciation
 * Individuals might also have been listed under a middle name, a nickname, or an abbreviation of their given name
 * Vary the search terms. For example, search by either the given name or surname to return broader list of possible matches
 * Expand the date range
 * Search the records of nearby parishes. For this collection, bordering locations could include other parishes in Yorkshire outside Allertonshire or certain parishes in County Durham to the north

Research Helps
The following articles will help you in your research for your family in Yorkshire.
 * Yorkshire Guided Research
 * England Record Finder
 * England Research Tips and Strategies

Related Family History Library Holdings

 * Marriage bonds and allegations for the Diocese of York, 1618-1887

Related FamilySearch Historical Records Collections

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

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.