To find a clue to a couple's marriage place in census records, you must at least know the name of one of the spouses, the state, and the county in which the couple lived when the census was taken. If you are using census records for 1870 or earlier, you can probably use an index that only requires the state and surname. If you do not have the minimum information to locate a census record, you can either:

Get help finding some of the minimum information by selecting one of the following items,

Name

Places the family has lived

click the Back button on your browser to return to the list of other places where you can find marriage places, or

read the paragraphs below for a few additional tips.

Finding marriage places

You may also want to check the information contained in state and local censuses. Not all states and localities took their own censuses and the contents vary from state to state. However, sometimes the information is quite valuable. Broderbund Software has a selection of state census records on CD-ROM, and you can also contact libraries, state archives, and genealogy societies in the area where your ancestors lived. They should be able to tell you if any exist and where you might find them. The Family History Library of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is another possible source.

If you are not sure of the state or county where the couple may have lived at the time of the marriage, try looking in the area where the couple's first child was born. You can find this information on the child's birth certificate. For other places to find an individual's birthplace, see the topic Birthplace. Also, if the bride and groom were both born in the same state or county, look for records in that state or county, too. The area where the bride's parents lived is another good place to check.

Make sure to check photo albums, scrapbooks, diaries, and family Bibles at home. See the topic Finding information at home for more information. Also check for local histories. See the topic Finding previous research.

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