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Illinois & Indiana, 1790-1850 Marriage Index
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Search for a specific individual (first and last name):
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About the Data
This data set contains
alphabetical listings of approximately 380,000 individuals who were married in
Indiana or Illinois between 1790 and 1850. It's a great resource — you'll
find previously uncollected marriage records together in one place.
While marriage records can usually be found in county courthouses, copies are
often located in the state archives, libraries, or historical societies. The specific
office in a county courthouse where marriage records may be kept varies from county
clerk to probate clerk. Actual records are kept in a variety of forms, primarily
as marriage bonds or marriage licenses. These records usually indicate where a
bride and groom were wed and details of the ceremony.
More About This Data Set
While great
effort has been taken to eliminate duplicate records from this data, some records
are entered twice. This is because of differences in knowledge of the recorder,
variations in spelling of names, and the filing of marriage intentions in more
than one location.
The information included on this data set is described in more detail below.
Name — In some records, you will find three question marks in place
of the given name or surname. This indicates that the name was not listed on the
original record. You may also find question marks in place of missing letters.
A question mark after a name indicates that the name spelling was unclear. You
may also occasionally find the same record listed in the index under two different
name spellings. Please note that not all unusual and uncertain names were noted
by question marks, so always be sure to check under various spellings if you are
having trouble locating a name.
Spouse — This field lists the name of the individual's spouse. Please
note that all records appear in the index twice, once under the husband's name
and once under the wife's name. Since both names are indexed, you will be able
to locate an ancestor's marriage even if you only know one of the spouse's names.
Marriage date — As noted in the previous section of this introduction,
this date is usually the marriage date. When no marriage date was available in
the records, the date of the license
application or the date that the license was issued was substituted.
County — This is the county in which the marriage was recorded. In
most cases, this is also the county in which the marriage took place.
Location of records — This tells you where you can find a copy of
the original record. The original record may provide you with more complete information,
such as the name of the couple's parents, the couple's ages, and where they lived
at the time of their marriage.
Soundex code — The Soundex code for each individual's surname appears
on the status bar at the bottom of the screen.
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