Accomack County (Va.) Marriage Register, 1774-1807

Access and use

Location of collection:
Library of Virginia
The Library of Virginia
800 East Broad Street
Richmond, VA 23219
Contact for questions and access:
POC: Archives Reference Services
Phone: (804) 692-3888

Summary

Creator:
Accomack County (Va.) Circuit Court
Language:
English

Background

Scope and content:

Accomack County (Va.) Marriage Register, 1774-1807, records the dates of marriage bonds, the dates of the marriage license, the names of the groom and bride, the monetary amount of the marriage bond, the sureties for the marriage bond, the couple's date of marriage and the minister performing the ceremony. Typically, a marriage register is based on ministers' returns. Marriages between free persons of color are noted on pages 4-6, 11, 14, 24, 37, 40-41, 44 and 50. Marriages between racially mixed individuals are noted on pages 16 and 46. A slave marriage is noted on page 24. The volume was originally titled "Marriage Bonds, 1774-1806."

Biographical / historical:

Accomack County was formed from Northampton County about 1663. The county gained a small part of the southern end of Smith's Island from Somerset County, Maryland in 1879, after the United States had approved boundary changes between Virginia and Maryland settled in 1877. The county was named for the Accomac Indians, who lived on the Eastern Shore at the time of the first English settlement in Virginia. The word means "on-the-other-side-of-water place."

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.

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

Acquisition information:

Volume is a manuscript compilation prepared by notable Virginia genealogist, Stratton Nottingham. Due to the poor condition of the original marriage records and the lack of a register in the Circuit Court Clerk's Office, the court clerk contracted with Mr. Nottingham to compile the register. The Virginia State Library (now the Library of Virginia) received a copy of the register under the accession number 19874.

Microfilm Reel 114 was generated by the Genealogical Society of Utah while filming at the Accomack County Circuit Court Clerk's Office.

Arrangement:

Arranged alphabetically by groom's surname.

Physical location:
Library of Virginia
Physical description:
1 v. (60 p.), 1 microfilm reel