Unveiling Ancestral Wedding Dates: A Genealogist's Guide

Finding out the wedding date of your ancestors can be challenging, but there are many ways to uncover this information. Marriage records are a good place to start, and these can include civil records such as marriage certificates, registers, and bonds, as well as church records. These records often contain details such as the couple's names, ages, parents' names, and the wedding date and location.

If you're struggling to find official records, there are alternative methods to estimate a wedding date. For example, you can estimate based on the birth of the couple's first child or look for wedding and anniversary announcements in local newspapers. Obituaries, pension applications, naturalization records, and court records may also provide clues about when your ancestors got married.

It's important to note that marriage traditions and record-keeping practices varied across time and location, so understanding the specific context of your ancestors' community and time period can increase your chances of success in your research.

Search government records

Government records are a rich source of information for genealogical research. In the United States, marriage records are usually stored with the clerk of the town or county where the bride resided, but some early records may be housed in the state's archives, and more recent ones may be found in the state's Division of Vital Records. The dates when this system began vary by state, and even after laws mandated record-keeping, compliance wasn't always perfect. For example, in 1853, Rhode Island required localities to keep marriage records, but not every city and town sent copies of records to the state. Some states, particularly in the South, didn't start keeping records until the 20th century.

For weddings after statewide record-keeping began, you can request marriage certificates from the vital records office or department of health. Old records may have been transferred to the state archives. For town and county records, check with the clerk of court or city hall. You may have to pay a fee or prove your relationship to the couple named in the record. In addition, privacy laws might restrict access to records created relatively recently.

Marriage records can include a wealth of information, such as:

• The age of the couple at the time of marriage
• The church where the ceremony took place
• The county where the marriage took place
• The date and/or place of birth for the bride and groom
• The full names of the bride and groom
• The names of the witnesses to the marriage, who were often relatives
• The names and birthplaces of the bride's and groom's parents
• The residence of the couple
• Whether the couple was single, widowed, or divorced

Online databases such as Ancestry.com, FamilySearch.org, MyHeritage, and FindMyPast.com can be excellent resources for accessing government marriage records. Additionally, FamilySearch is a free website with indexes and some images of marriage records.

Check church records

Church records can be a treasure trove of information for family historians. They often pre-date civil or government records, so they are especially useful when researching earlier generations.

Church records vary by time and place, but they generally include information about births, baptisms, marriages, deaths, and burials. In past centuries, churches played the role that local governments do today and kept records about local residents. The priests and deacons who made the records usually knew the members of the congregation personally, so they were more likely to spell someone's name correctly and get the facts right.

Church records can include:

• Marriage records: These usually include the wedding date, the town and church where it took place, and the names of both spouses. Sometimes they also list the parents' names and their location if they aren't present or local.
• Baptism records: These typically include a person's birth date, baptism date, church, and the names of the mother and father. Some may also list the names of godparents or sponsors, who are often close relatives or community members.
• Confirmation records: These are mostly available for Catholic and Anglican/Episcopal churches and usually just include a person's name, sex, and church. Confirmation generally occurs around age 13, so this can give you a sense of your ancestor's age and where they lived as a teenager.
• Death records: These contain at least a person's name and the date and place of death. They may also include a birth date, the names of parents or a spouse, church name, and the name of the funeral home.

To locate church records, you'll need to determine your ancestor's religious denomination and, ideally, the place of worship where they were married. Then you can contact the church or the local denominational archives to request the record. Some churches maintain central or regional archives. You can also search online genealogy websites, which may have millions of church records from around the world.

Examine family photos

Examining family photos can be a great way to find out more about your ancestors and bring you closer to them. Here are some tips on how to examine family photos to find out your ancestor's wedding date:

Firstly, take a close look at the clothing in the photos. For most of the 19th century, it was common for brides to wear their best dress, rather than a white wedding dress. This is because white dresses were primarily worn by wealthy individuals and royalty, such as Queen Victoria. So, if you see a woman in a white dress, it could be her wedding photo.

Secondly, consider the format of the photo. The format can help determine the date of the photo. For example, daguerreotypes, tintypes, black-and-white paper prints, and colour prints all date from different periods.

Thirdly, look for any imprints on the photo that display the photographer's name and town. You can then use city directories to find out when the photographer was in business, which can help narrow down the date of the photo.

Additionally, don't forget to consider the possibility that the bride may be wearing a family member's wedding dress, which could be a generation or two old.

Finally, be aware that wedding photos often appeared in local newspapers, especially if the couple or their families were well-known in the area. So, searching through historical newspapers could be a great way to find your ancestor's wedding photo and date.

Consult military records

Military records can be a rich source of information for those researching their family tree. They can provide unique insights and facts about the lives of men and women who served in the armed forces. In the US, military records exist at both the state and federal level and date back to before the Revolutionary War.

The National Archives holds Federal military service records from the Revolutionary War to 1912 in Washington, D.C. and from WWI to the present in the National Military Personnel Records Center (NPRC) in St. Louis, Missouri. The National Archives does not hold state militia records; these are held by the appropriate State Archives.

Military records can include draft records, service records, pension records, bounty land records, claim records, and military histories. They often contain basic information such as name, residence, age, unit, and dates of service. However, they can also include a wealth of additional details, such as physical descriptions, injury reports, letters, family certificates (including marriage), and even photos or pages from family Bibles.

When searching military records, it is helpful to first determine when and where the person served, and whether they were enlisted or an officer. This information can be gleaned from family stories, old newspaper clippings, correspondence, scrapbooks, journals, service medals, memorabilia, photographs, and even grave markers.

If you are seeking the military records of yourself or your next of kin (spouse, parent, child, or sibling), you can request service records from the National Archives. For records of someone who is not your next of kin, you will need written consent from the veteran or their next of kin to access their full records. Limited information about a veteran can be accessed without consent.

Some specific collections to search within include:

• Revolutionary War (1775-1783): Index to the United States Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Applications, 1800-1900 (available on FamilySearch). Actual pensions can be accessed via Fold3, a subscription site.
• Civil War (1861-1865): National Park Service's Soldiers and Sailors Database, with 6.3 million soldier records. Pension records are available on Fold3, FamilySearch, and Ancestry.com.
• World War I (1914-1918): FamilySearch's draft registration card collection includes 24 million people. Additional records can be found on FamilySearch, Ancestry, and Fold3.
• World War II (1939-1945): Enlistment records and draft registration cards are available on FamilySearch. Further records can be found on Fold3 and Ancestry.

Other useful resources for finding military records include:

• Fold3: A subscription site devoted to military records, with a great depth and breadth of records from many wars.
• Ancestry's US Military Collection: Includes over 100 million names in 700 titles and databases. Access requires a subscription.
• HeritageQuest Online: Search selected records from the Revolutionary War era pension and bounty-land warrant application files. Only available at libraries.

Look at census data

Census records can be a rich source of information when researching your family history and can provide clues to help you locate other records. Many countries took censuses periodically to keep track of various aspects of the population. While the questions in census records vary from place to place, and year to year, they often include helpful details about your ancestors and their families, such as names of other household members, ages, birthplaces, residence, occupation, immigration and citizenship details, and marriage information.

Tip 1: Start with the 1900-1940 US Censuses

The US federal censuses for the years 1900-1930 include a date of immigration for immigrants, which can be useful for narrowing your search. The 1910 census also includes information on the length of present marriage, which could help pinpoint a wedding date. The 1940 census is currently the most recent census available to the public, with new censuses being released every 10 years.

Tip 2: Look for Clues in Census Records

Census records from 1850-1940 can provide valuable clues about your ancestors' lives, including their marital status—married, single, widowed or divorced. The 1850 through 1880 censuses mentioned whether a married couple was wed within the year, and the 1900 census includes the year of marriage.

Tip 3: Use Census Information to Search Other Records

Census data can help you search for other records. For example, finding the family in the census closest to a birth year can help you learn where to search for birth and other records. The birthplace of the mother and father can also help locate the marriage record and determine migration patterns for the family.

Tip 4: Pay Attention to Details

Small details in census records can provide important clues about your ancestors' lives. For example, racial indicators and skin colour descriptors may help locate families of various races. Languages spoken by individuals or their parents may hint at a country or region of origin. Gaps in the ages of children could indicate a death or a second marriage and blended family.

Tip 5: Check for Divorce or Widowhood

Look for "D" for divorce or "W" for widowed in census records to check for probate, death, or divorce/court records. This can provide information on previous marriages and approximate marriage dates.

Tip 6: Use Census Data with Other Sources

Combine census data with other sources, such as church records, military records, and family photos, to build a more complete picture of your ancestors' lives, including their wedding dates.

Frequently asked questions