Looking for Marriages on the web?
By Maggie Loughran
Marriages online
Percival Boyd’s Marriage Index, compiled from printed and transcribed copies of parish registers, is no longer available on Origins.net. However it is estimated that about 97% of the marriages in Boyd’s Marriage Index are included in the International Genealogical Index (IGI), which is available free to search at
www.FamilySearch.org.
The IGI contains many more marriages than just those from Boyd’s marriage index. As part of the ongoing FamilySearch indexing project, and launch of the new
FamilySearch website, the original source records from the IGI (information extracted from parish registers etc) are being included with the other historical records.
The user contributed data (which do not usually have a source) has been separated out and is searchable under ‘
Family Trees’.
Marriages on Origins.net
- Dorset Marriages 1538-1856
This dataset includes all known surviving Dorset marriages, the information being taken from parish registers, Bishops Transcripts, and non-conformist circuit registers. These online records are abstracts of the actual marriages and over half a million names are searchable, including witnesses.
- Webb’s London Marriages 1538-1837
This ongoing project by Cliff Webb currently contains over 96,000 marriages for London and Middlesex. Most of the marriages included in Webb’s London Marriages are not available anywhere else online.
- Surrey Marriage Index 1500–1846
This index, kindly made available by West Surrey Family History Society, covers nearly 270,000 marriages - ie 540,000 brides and grooms - for the whole of rural Surrey, portions of Metropolitan Surrey, some Middlesex parishes, and strays from all over the UK, especially London, Middlesex and Sussex.
- York Marriage Bonds and Allegations Index 1613-1839
This Index to The Dean and Chapter of York's Marriage Bonds and Allegations (Applications for marriage without Banns), covers over 150,000 marriage licences (over 300,000 names).
Other Origins.net sources to help locate marriages
Information on spouses and other family members that can help you locate elusive marriages can often be discovered in sets of records where family relationships are noted. Also search:
- Censuses
Searching the census easily allows you to build up a picture of your extended family. Using the ages of any children as clues can help you to make a calculated guess as to when a marriage took place whereas the places of birth of the family members can help you with a probable place of marriage. As most people married in the locality where they lived.
- National Wills Index
While not everyone left a will, the vast majority of people will have been mentioned in at least one will; be it as the testator/ testatrix (person making he will), executor (person appointed to ensure the provisions in the will are carried out) or receiving a legacy. Nearly all wills contain information about family relationships, as well as about places associated with the people mentioned.
- Poor Law Records
Poor Law records are among the most valuable of all sources for genealogists, yet underused. They can contain a mass of biographical detail unavailable anywhere else, including names of ‘lost’ spouses.
- London Consistory Court Depositions Index
The Consistory Court of London, one of numerous Church Courts, was the main court dealing, inter alia, with legal separation and matrimonial disputes and therefore gives the names of the couple in dispute.
Sources for marriages on the web
Not all marriages prior to the start of civil registration in England and Wales in 1837 can be found online. Many parish registers can be found deposited in various record offices and archives. Full contact details of these can be found within The ARCHON Directory at
www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/archon/
This includes contact details for record repositories in the United Kingdom. Also for institutions elsewhere in the world (including Ireland) that have substantial collections of manuscripts noted under the indexes to the National Register of Archives.
www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/archon/
