Massachusetts, 1633-1850 Marriage Index

Here you'll find information on approximately 838,000 individuals who were married between 1633 and 1850 in select Massachusetts towns and counties. Fully indexed, this data set is a valuable resource because it brings together previously uncollected marriage records and provides easy access to information that you would otherwise have to obtain from local sources. The information collected here was expertly compiled by Liahona Research of Orem, Utah.

Generally, if you find an ancestor listed here you'll learn the following information:

• Full name
• Name of spouse
• Marriage date
• Marriage location
• Family History Library microfilm roll number on which you may be able to learn more about the marriage

It is the purpose of this work to serve as a guide for your research -- here you'll learn a place and time within which a marriage event occurred. It is advised that you consult a copy of the original record to verify and learn more information about a marriage. Usually, copies of the original record can be found on microfilm and you'll often learn the following information about the bride and/or groom:

• Age
• Date of birth
• Location of residence
• Information on previous marriages
• Parents' names

To help you do this, almost every record lists information on where to find a copy of the referenced marriage record (usually a Family History Library microfilm roll). However, since exhaustive research uncovered marriage records in small, local repositories, some records may not have been microfilmed. In these cases, it is suggested that you contact the town in which the marriage occurred.

More About this Online Data Set

In some cases, you may find more than one marriage record for a couple. In these cases the differences between the records can provide you with important clues for your research. Possible differences include:

Spelling variations — Names were recorded as they were found in the original records. When record of a marriage was found in more than one location, this may have resulted in variations in the way a name was recorded. To provide as many clues to your research as possible, all spellings have been included.

Date discrepancies — If two dates are listed for a marriage, the first date will usually refer to the date of the marriage intention while the second usually refers to the date of the actual wedding. In doing your research, please remember that marriage intentions could be filed up to a year before the actual wedding took place.

Location discrepancies — In some cases, record of a marriage was discovered in multiple locations. Couples would file an intention or publication for marriage in one town and be married in another (most often near other relatives). Each of the locations have been included here so as to provide you with information on where you may wish to look for additional family information.

Notes on Names and Dates

When a surname or given name was missing on the original records, three question marks were recorded in place of that name. Question marks have also been used to denote missing letters within a name. And, a question mark after a name indicates that the spelling was unclear.

Usually, the date listed denotes the date of the wedding. However, 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.