England, Cheshire, Marriage Bonds and Allegations - FamilySearch Historical Records

This collection consists of marriage bonds and allegations from the county of Cheshire for the years 1606-1900.

What is in the Collection?
This collection contains an index to various record types necessary to obtain a marriage license. The original records are held at the Cheshire Archives.

Marriage allegations and bonds were sworn statements filed by a bride and groom as part of a marriage license application. The allegation stated that there was no known reason that the marriage should not take place; bonds contractually obligated the signers to pay a sum of money if the allegation was incorrect. Until 1733, marriage bonds were written partly in Latin but the wording was standardized. Furthermore, the printed forms that were in use by the 1690s also help in deciphering the records.

Due to both tradition and a fee associated with obtaining a marriage license, most English couples were married by banns, not by license, and so would have neither a marriage allegation nor its related bond. However, families able to pay the fee would often avoid the reading of public banns and obtain a license, since many families did not like the thought of public objection to the intended marriage. Before the 1830s, nonconformists were required to marry officially in the Church of England, so most applied for licenses, rather than having their marriage announced by banns. Other possible reasons for obtaining marriage licenses are explained in the Marriage Allegations, Bonds and Licences in England and Wales article.

Although most bonds and allegations have survived, some are in poor condition and difficult to read, especially when the microfilmed images are badly focused. Licenses themselves were not normally retained for long after being handed to the officiating minister, though exceptions are known to exist.

For a list of the parishes which historically made up this county with links to more information about each of them, see the Cheshire Parishes page.
 * Jurisdictions

Until 1847, the Diocese of Chester covered large portions of Lancashire and Yorkshire, so some parishes from these two counties may be present in this collection. It could be helpful to use the Historical Jurisdictions Map to locate pre-1851 parish boundaries.

What Can This Collection Tell Me?
The following list indicates potential information provided in these records. It must be remembered that every record may not provide all the listed information, as record-keeping practices varied greatly over time.

Marriage Bonds and Allegations may include:
 * Names of bride and groom
 * Ages of bride and groom
 * Bride and groom’s occupations
 * Whether the individuals were single or widowed
 * Parish of residence
 * Where the marriage was to take place (sometimes included)
 * Parents’ name or signature (sometimes included)
 * If either of the marriage partners was a minor, the allegation would name the parent or guardian consenting to the marriage.

How Do I Search the Collection?
Before searching, it is best to know the following information: As you search, compare your results with this information to find a match.
 * Name of the person
 * Date range for the record

Search the Index

 * 1) Go to the Collection Page
 * 2) Enter the requested information into the search box
 * 3) Click Search to return a list of possible matches

I Found the Person I Was Looking for, What Now?

 * Make sure to fully transcribe and cite the record entry for future reference. See below for assistance in citing this collection. Save or print a copy of the image if possible.
 * 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.
 * If in the appropriate period, use the information which has been discovered to find the individual in civil records. Particularly useful for research in nineteenth-century England are the England Census and the England Civil Registration records.
 * Continue to search the index to identify children, siblings, parents, and other relatives. Note that family members often appear on an individual's vital records, such as in the role of witnesses to a marriage.

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

 * When looking for an individual with a common name, look at all the search results before deciding which is the correct person. Use other information, such as place of birth, age, occupation, or names of parents, to help with this decision. If listed, a personal title may be a clue to property ownership or occupation, either of which might be noted in other records.
 * Try variations of given names and surnames. An individual might appear under a different name in a record for a variety of reasons:
 * An individual might have been listed under a middle name, nickname, or abbreviation of their given name.
 * Spelling was not standardized for much of the period of this collection, so names were often spelled as scribes heard them. Pay attention to how the name should have been pronounced and try spelling variations that could have that pronunciation.
 * Some women returned to their maiden names after the death of their husbands.
 * Vary the search terms. For example, search by either the given name or surname to return broader list of results which can then be examined for matches. Try expanding the date range as well; this is especially useful in searching baptismal records, as it was not unusual for a child to be baptized weeks or even months after birth.
 * Search the records of nearby parishes. While it was uncommon for an individual in this period to move more than about 20 miles from their place of birth, smaller relocations were not uncommon. For this particular collection, this step may require finding records in the bordering English counties of Lancashire to the north, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire or Shropshire to the south, or in the Welsh counties of Denbighshire and Flintshire to the west.

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.

Collection Citation

Record (or Index) Citation

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