Licking County Records & Archives Blog

A marriage return is a document that officially records a wedding. It is completed by the person, such as a pastor, who solemnized the marriage.   It is called a “return” because it must be returned to the court that legally records marriages.   Returns in Licking County have typically indicated the names of the bride, groom and person who solemnized the marriage, along with the wedding date.   Sometimes the names of witnesses are also included.  Older marriage returns were called "Marriage Certificates" in Licking County, because they provided the Probate Court with certification that the couple actually got married.  Today, a marriage certificate is typically the document which the court gives to a couple after they are married. A Marriage Return, sent by the minister to the Probate Court.  Note that these records were called "Marriage Certificates" in the 1920's. Marriage consents are documents proving that a parent or guardian gives consent for a per

During the late-19th and early-20th Centuries, a popular way to get around Newark was by electric rail car.  In 1889, the Newark & Granville Electric Street Railway was completed from downtown Newark to a point a little ways east of Granville.  This was one of the first "interurbans," which were electric railways that connected towns.  Interurbans became a major means of transportation in the USA until motorized bus systems developed, automobiles became more affordable, and streets and rural roads were improved. Workers digging up the streets along the southeast corner of the Courthouse Square, where several railway spikes and ties were found In the summer of 2015, a major street construction project commenced around the Courthouse Square in Newark.  In early August, workers who were digging up South Park Place and South 2nd Street found several spikes and rail ties which were the remains of the interurban railway that went alongside the square.  The workers ga