Isle of Wight County (Va.) Marriage Register, 1850-1862

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:
Isle of Wight County (Va.) Circuit Court.
Language:
English

Background

Scope and content:

Isle of Wight County (Va.) Marriage Register, 1850-1862, is a list of marriages celebrated in the county and recorded by the county clerk. The following information is included: the name of the parties, the date of the marriage license, upon whose consent the license was granted and a notation of the minister's return and the name and denomination of the minister performing the ceremony (this section is only included on leaves 1-63 from 1850-1854.) Marriages between "free persons of color" are noted from 1850-1861 on leaves 2-81. The register also includes an unnumbered, internal index found at the beginning of the volume. This index is organized alphabetically A-W, by the groom's surname, according to the order of the leave numbers in the volume.

Biographical / historical:

Isle of Wight was one of the original shires, or counties, first enumerated in 1634. Parts of Nansemond County were added in 1769 and 1772. The county was definitely named for the Isle of Wight (which means "channel" or island in the channel) and one of the first settlers in that county of Virginia was from the Isle of Wight in England, Sir Richard Worsley, and early patentee there. It was first known as Warrosquyoake for a tribe living in the area whose name means "swamp in a depression of land." The present name was given in 1637.

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. Written consent from a parent or guardian was needed for individuals younger than twenty-one years. The license, issued then by the clerk, was given to the minister who performed the service. Once the service was performed, the minister submitted a return to the county clerk. The county clerk recorded these returns along with other marriage records, such as bonds, certificates and licenses, in a marriage register.

The original marriage licenses and ministers' returns, from which this volume was compiled, were created by the County Court.

Acquisition information:

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

The microfilm copy of this volume, Reel 145, was generated by a field operator, from the Virginia State Library's (now the Library of Virginia) Microfilm Section, while filming in the Isle of Wight County Circuit Court Clerk's Office.

Arrangement:

Arranged chronologically.

Physical location:
State Records Center - Archives Annex, Library of Virginia
Physical description:
1 v. (81 leaves), 1 microfilm reel