United States Western States Marriage Index - FamilySearch Historical Records

Collection Time Period
This index covers marriages prior to 1900.

Record Description
This is an index to over 740,000 marriages entries from county records in the following 12 western states:


 * Alaska
 * Arizona
 * California
 * Colorado
 * Idaho
 * Montana
 * Nevada
 * New Mexico
 * Oregon
 * Utah
 * Washington
 * Wyoming

The coverage is uneven and not comprehensive, although it contains a high percentage of marriages for Utah and Idaho and for Nevada prior to 1900.

Record Content
Most entries in the index include the following information:


 * Bride’s name
 * Bride’s residence
 * Groom’s name
 * Groom’s residence
 * Marriage date
 * Marriage place
 * County and state
 * Volume
 * Page number

How to Use the Record
Begin your search by finding your ancestors in the index. Name indexes to marriages make it possible to access a specific marriage record quickly. Remember that these indexes may contain inaccuracies, such as altered spellings, misinterpretations, and optical character recognition errors if the information was scanned.

When searching the index it is helpful to know the following:


 * The county where the marriage occurred.
 * The name of the person at the time of marriage.
 * The approximate marriage date.
 * The marriage place.
 * The name of the intended spouse.

Use the locator information found in the index (such as page, entry, or certificate number) to locate your ancestors in the marriage records. Compare the information in the marriage record to what you already know about your ancestors to determine if this is the correct person. You may need to compare the information of more than one person to make this determination

Record History
This index was created by volunteers at Brigham Young University-Idaho and the Snake River Family History Center.

Why this Record Was Created
This index was created as a means to quickly access a specific marriage record.

Record Reliability
The most reliable information is the date and place of the marriage and license date. Other information is dependent upon the reliability of the informant.

Related Websites
Western States Marriage Index

Related Wiki Articles
Western States Marriage Index

Sources of Information for This Collection
"Western States Marriage Index." Database, FamilySearch (http://familysearch.org/). David O. McKay Library, Brigham Young University – Idaho, Rexburg, Idaho. FHL digital images, Family History Library Salt Lake City, Utah.

Citing FamilySearch Historical Collections
When you copy information from a record, you should also list where you found the information. This will help you or others to find the record again. It is also good to keep track of records where you did not find information, including the names of the people you looked for in the records.

The format for citing FamilySearch Historical Collections, including how to cite individual archives is found in the following link: How to Create Source Citations For FamilySearch Historical Records Collections

Examples of Source Citations for a Record in This Collection

 * 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