Marriage Records


Record of the Month!




To celebrate Valentine’s Day, for the month of February we are featuring a volume of Marriage Records dated 1808-1828.

In the early hours of April 3, 1875, the Licking County Courthouse was reduced to a smoldering ruin as a result of a fire. Sadly, the fire destroyed an estimated 2,500 boxes of early county and Probate Court records. The marriage records displayed here are among the handful of Probate Court records that were recovered. Despite having well over 500 marriage records bound in this volume, it is only a fraction of the number of marriage records that were lost.

Although the 1875 fire has become a frustrating roadblock for genealogical researchers across the country, there is still hope. It is sometimes possible to unearth marital relationships through other records found at the Licking County Records & Archives Center. For example Law Record and Chancery Record volumes will list various genealogical relationships depending on the nature of a given case. The Licking County Records & Archives Center’s collection of Chancery Record and Law Record volumes date between 1809 and 1883.

Additionally, deed records were required to list the Grantor’s spouse’s name, if applicable, when the deed was recorded. The Licking County Recorder’s Office has a complete set of Deed Record volumes and Deed Record Indexes dating back to the founding of Licking County in 1808. The Licking County Recorder’s Office is located on the 3rd floor of the County Administration Building (20 South Second Street, Newark, OH, 43055).

One of the keys to conducting genealogical research in areas where there has been record/information loss is to be creative with the sources of information available. Who will you discover?

For more information, please contact us at 740-670-5121, or at archives@lcounty.com.

Popular posts from this blog

Researching the History of Your House and Property

Image
Learning about the history of your house and the land it sits on can be fascinating.  The characteristics of your house can offer clues about the times in which it was built.  You can also usually find out who owned your property, from the early years of Licking County onwards. Be advised, though:  it can be difficult and time-consuming to find a lot of information.  In many cases it is not possible to learn exactly when a house was built, but you can usually at least surmise an approximate date.  And when you learn the names of the people who lived on your property, you can often gather more information about their lives. Government records were not usually kept which specifically indicate when a house was built.  Sometimes, though, you can find a good clue about the construction date by looking at old tax records.  If a tax record from a certain year indicates a major increase in the value of a property, this suggests that a substantial new structure was built. For Licking C
Read more

Licking County Children's Home

Image
The Licking County Children's Home on East Main Street in Newark was built between 1886 and 1888.  Orphans and other children from homes that suffered major difficulties were sent to live there from 1888 to 1975.  Thousands of children lived there during that period--some for a few days, and others for their entire childhood.  The Home also hosted events such as "lawn socials" which were attended by many people of the community.  An adjacent farm provided much of the food that was consumed at the Home.  Boys from the Home worked on the farm, and girls worked indoors.  Individuals, businesses, churches and organizations donated large amounts of money and gifts to help support and brighten the lives of the children. This year the building must be demolished because it is not salvageable.  To add to the historic record of the Children's Home, the Licking County Commissioners are asking that anyone who lived or worked there be interviewed.  Recordings of these inter
Read more

Marriage Consents and Returns

Image
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
Read more