Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Frederick County (Va.) Marriage Register, 1850-1870. Local government records collection, Frederick County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia 23219.

Acquisition Information

This item came to the Library of Virginia in a transfer of court papers from Frederick County.

Historical Information

Frederick County was formed from Orange County by a statute of 1738 that stipulated that when the population was large enough the new county government would begin to function. The county court first met on 11 November 1743. Part of Augusta County was added in 1754. The county was named in honor of Frederick Louis, Prince of Wales and eldest son of King George II.

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.

In 1853, the General Assembly passed a law requiring the systematic statewide recording of vital statistics. The marriage register, still compiled by the county clerk from ministers' returns and other original marriage records, became more standardized and comprehensive.

The original marriage records, from which this volume was compiled, were created by the County Court.

Scope and Content

Frederick County (Va.) Marriage Register, 1850-1870, is a list of marriages celebrated in the county and recorded by the county clerk. The first half of this original volume, 1850-1862, mentions the date of the marriage license and the full names of both parties. In this part of the volume, marriages between "free negroes" or "persons of color" are found in every year except 1855. In the second section of the volume, 1865-1870, the following information is found: the fulll name of husband and wife, the date of marriage, the place of marriage, the age of the husband, the age of the wife, the condition of the husband (including his occupation) before marriage, the condition of the wife before marriage, the birth places of husband and wife, the names of their parents and the name of the person who married them. All marriages are numbered consectively from 1 to 643. Marriages between "persons of color" are noted throughout this section. There are no record of any marriages, white or colored, for the years 1863 and 1864.

Arrangement

Arranged chronologically by month, day and year.

Related Material

Additional Frederick 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:

• Frederick County (Va.) Circuit Court.

Subjects:

• African Americans--Employment--Virginia--Frederick County.
• African Americans--Marriage--Virginia--Frederick County.
• African Americans--Virginia--Frederick County.
• Clergy--Virginia--Frederick County.
• Free African Americans--Marriage--Virginia--Frederick County.
• Free African Americans--Virginia--Frederick County.
• Marriage--Virginia--Frederick County.

Geographical Names:

• Frederick County (Va.)--History--19th century.

Genre and Form Terms:

• Local government records--Virginia--Frederick County.
• Marriage records--Virginia--Frederick County.
• Marriage registers--Virginia--Frederick County.

Added Entry - Corporate Name:

• Frederick County (Va.) County Court.

Adjunct Descriptive Data