Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions

Preferred Citation

Middlesex County (Va.) Marriage Records, 1743-1844. Local government records collection, Middlesex County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia 23219

Acquisition Information

These items came to the Library of Virginia in shipments of court papers from Middlesex County under the accession number 50290.

Historical Information

Middlesex County probably was named for the English county. It was formed from Lancaster County about 1669.

Prior to 1853, when the Commonwealth began recording vital statistics, Virginia marriages were recorded at the county or city level. Beginning in 1661, in order to be married by license, the groom was required to go before the county clerk and give bond with security that there was no lawful reason to prevent the marriage. The license, issued then by the clerk, was given to the minister who performed the service. Written consent from a parent or guardian was needed for individuals younger than twenty-one years.

Until 1780, marriages could be performed only by ministers of the Established Church, who were required by law to record marriages in the parish register. In 1780, dissenting ministers (only four per county from each sect) were first permitted to perform marriage ceremonies. In order to have a record of all marriages, ministers were required to sign a certificate to be filed with the county clerk. Intially, ministers sent marriage certificates to the clerk every three months. Some ministers adopted a custom of making collected returns --a list of marriages performed within a period of time such as a year or several years. Beginning in 1784, marriage certificates were returned annually. The law was rarely enforced, and ministers' returns were sometimes late, incorrect, incomplete, and in many instances, not made at all. County clerks compiled a register of marriages based, in part, on ministers' returns.

The original returns were created by the County Court.

Scope and Content

Marriage Records, 1743-1844, are comprised of four record categories--marriage bonds, minister's returns, marriage consents and solemnizations, and a list of marriages.

Marriage bonds record the date of the marriage bond, the sum of the marriage bond, the names of both parties, the names of the parents or guardians present and the names of the security or witnesses in attendance. Minister's returns record the name of the minister, the names of both parties, and the date of the marriage. Marriage consents and solemnizations record the date, names of both parties, and either the name of the guardian giving consent for the marriage or the name of the minister performing the solemnization of the marriage. The list of marriages contains a single document that records the date of the marriage and the names of both parties.

There is also a miscellaneous folder that contains an envelope which originally contained several of the records

Arrangement

Chronological

Related Material

Additional Middlesex County Marriage Records can be found on microfilm at the Library of Virginia. Consult "A Guide to Virginia County and City Records on Microfilm."

Index Terms

Corporate Names:

• Middlesex County (Va.) Circuit Court.

Subjects:

• Clergy--Virginia--Middlesex County.
• Marriage--Virginia--Middlesex County.

Geographical Names:

• Middlesex County (Va.)--History.

Genre and Form Terms:

• Local government records--Virginia--Middlesex County.
• Marriage bonds--Virginia--Middlesex County.
• Marriage consents--Virginia--Middlesex County.
• Marriage records--Virginia--Middlesex County.

Adjunct Descriptive Data