The Ancestry Daily News announces the addition of new databases at the Ancestry.com site at the top of the newsletter. With the move to larger, but less frequent rolls of new data, Juliana began early last year to showcase “Ancestry Classics” -- that is, databases that have been around for a while, but that may have been missed or become buried and forgotten. I’m always eager to see what’s new that might help my research or be reminded of a database that I perhaps should revisit. In the Ancestry Daily News of 6 January 2006, the “Ancestry Classic” really piqued my research interest. It is the North Carolina Marriage Bonds, 1741-1868. I had missed this database when it originally went up and since I have many North Carolina ancestors, I was sure that this new database would have something interesting for me.

In Along Those Lines . . . this week, I want to talk a bit about marriage bonds and to illustrate some information that I found in this particular database.

What is a Marriage Bond?
When a couple was planning to marry, the prospective groom took out a bond from the clerk of the court in the bride’s county of residence. This was done as surety that there was no legal obstacle to the proposed marriage, such as another living spouse for either party, for example. These bond marriage records can be helpful in determining the approximate or exact date of the marriage in the event that marriage books and/or church records cannot be found.

This particular database contains abstracts of the marriage bond records on file in the North Carolina State Archives. There are over 170,000 marriage bonds there that cover the years 1741-1868 and the records in this database were abstracted by the Works Progress Administration. Most of the bonds contain the following items of information: groom's name, bride's name, date of bond, bondsmen, and witnesses. Some of the records contain more details. Since this is a database of abstracted records, remember that the person who did the abstracting may have made errors. Therefore, as in all genealogical research, it is important to use alternate spellings or use a first name rather than a surname, or try some other strategy. Don’t forget that nicknames may have been used instead of a formal first or middle name.

Sample Marriage Bonds
One search I performed right away was for my great-great-grandfather, Isaac WILSON. Sure enough, I found a record for him as the groom and, when I clicked on the link to view the record, I was shown the following information:

Groom: Isaac Wilson
Bride: Vioelet E L Alexander
Bond Date: 24 Dec 1831
Bond #: 000084350
Level Info: North Carolina Marriage Bonds, 1741-1868
ImageNum: 000116
County: Mecklenburg
Record #: 02 273
Bondsman: Wm M B Flinn
Witness: B Oates

This is great information because it shows me the date on which the marriage bond was filed with the Mecklenburg County Clerk of Court. It is immediately apparent to me, however, that the abstractor misspelled the bride’s first name -- Violet. I then went back to search for the bride’s name, Violet Alexander, and found no matches. As you can see, this is an example of the abstractor’s error. (I sent a request in to Ancestry.com requesting that the record and index be corrected and they will make that change. For more on submitting corrections, see Megan Smolenyak’s article on “Virtual Post-Its.”

I decided to search for the marriage bonds of the children of Isaac and Violet. I knew that one of their daughters, Isabella WILSON, had married an Andrew PARKS, but did not have specifics about the marriage date. I searched for Isabella and found the following record:

Groom: Andrew D Parks
Bride: Isabella Wilson
Bond Date: 04 Mar 1858
Bond #: 000082927
Marriage Date: 09 Mar 1858
Level Info: North Carolina Marriage Bonds, 1741-1868
ImageNum: 008782
County: Mecklenburg
Record #: 02 184
Bondsman: John N D Wils
Witness: W K Reid (Clerk of County Court)
Performed By: S C Pharr

As you can see, in this record I have found both the bond date of 4 Mar 1858 and the actual marriage date of 9 Mar 1858. I also had not known Andrew’s middle name or initial and that may help me locate more information about him in other records where he may be listed as A. D. Parks.

The name of the bondsman or witness in both of these records may have been important, perhaps a relative or friend of either the groom or the bride. Don’t overlook these potential clues.

Questionable Information Clarified
My next search was for my Grandmother Morgan’s parents’ marriage bond. I knew that my great-grandfather’s name was Joseph McKnitt WILSON. However, my great-grandmother’s naming sequence has become obscured over time. Was she Lydia Lenora PATTERSON or Lenora Lydia PATTERSON? The marriage bond I found in this database helped clarify that question.

Groom: Joseph M Wilson
Bride: Leonora L Patterson
Bond Date: 05 Apr 1856
Bond #: 000084384
Marriage Date: 08 Apr 1856
Level Info: North Carolina Marriage Bonds, 1741-1868
ImageNum: 006128
County: Mecklenburg
Record #: 02 275
Bondsman: T H Brem
Witness: W K Reid
Performed By: E D Junkin

I now have another record that the first name was Lenora rather than Lydia. In addition, I now have another corroborating piece of evidence of the couple’s marriage date of 08 April 1856.

Secondary vs. Primary Sources
This marriage bonds database contains, as I said, abstracts of the original marriage bonds. These records are therefore secondary sources and should be subject to my personal verification. Whenever an abstract, a transcript, or an extract is done, human error is apt to come into play. The spelling error for Violet ALEXANDER is a case in point. While I am elated to find these records in the new database, I also know two other important facts. First, I know that the marriage bond records exist at the North Carolina State Archives in Raleigh. Second, as a thorough genealogist, I know that I want to see an exact copy of the marriage bond. I therefore printed off the three records from the Ancestry.com database, attached a cover letter to the North Carolina State Archives, and have mailed a request for photocopies of the original marriage bond images. I specifically indicated that I did not want copies of the abstract records; those are still secondary sources. I want the image of the original marriage bond document to review for myself. That will be a primary source and I can put more weight onto that evidence than I can from the secondary source, i.e., the abstract record.

Other Marriage Records
Remember that there are many types of marriage records. Some of these include consent affidavits, marriage banns (this was a religious custom in some areas and sects), marriage bonds, marriage licenses, and marriage certificates. The information provided on these records will vary according to purpose and the year in which they were created, but almost all of them will at least list the names of the bride and groom and the date and place of the event. Occasionally the names of the couple's parents, ages of bride and groom, birthplaces of bride and groom, signature of the issuing clerk, and other details will also be found among marriage records.

The Ancestry.com databases include any number of indexes and abstracts for these types of marriage records. They can point you to the original sources and help further your research or corroborate other pieces of information you may already have found. I hope you’ll go in search of these resources because, like me, you can make some great discoveries every day!

Happy Hunting!
George

Visit George’s Web site at http://ahaseminars.com/atl for information about speaking engagements.

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