Brunswick County (Va.) Marriage Register, 1854-1861

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:
Brunswick County (Va.) Circuit Court.
Language:
English

Background

Scope and content:

Brunswick County (Va.) Marriage Register, 1854-1861, records marriages in the county during the mid-nineteenth century. This original volume contains the following information: date and place of marriage, full names of the parties, age and condition of parties before marriage, birth places of parties, places of residence of parties, names of their parents, occupation of husband, name of person performing marriage ceremony and additional remarks such as date of minister's return. The volume contains one listing of a "free negro" marriage--December 1854 (Line 28.)

Biographical / historical:

Brunswick County was formed in 1720 from Prince George County. On 1 January 1733, Brunswick County was enlarged by the addition of parts of Surry and Isle of Wight counties. The county was named for the duchy of Brunswick-Luneburg, one of the German possessions of King George I.

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.

Most loose records prior to 1781 are missing. Pre-1781 volumes that record deeds, court orders, and wills exist.

Acquisition information:
This item came to the Library of Virginia in a transfer of court papers from Brunswick County.
Physical location:
State Records Center - Archives Annex, Library of Virginia
Physical description:
1 v. (14 p.)