Louisa County (Va.) Register of Licenses for Marriage, 1850-1861

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

Background

Scope and content:

Louisa County (Va.) Register of Licenses for Marriage, 1850-1861, records the marriage licenses issued by the clerk of Louisa County Court. This register includes the date of the license, the name of the male to be married and the name of the female to be married. In addition to the chronological listing of the licenses, the volume is organized by the last letter, A-Y, of the intended groom's surname.

Biographical / historical:

Louisa County was formed from Hanover County in 1742. The county was named for Louisa, a daughter 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. 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, from which this volume was compiled, were created by the County Court.

Acquisition information:
This item came to the Virginia State Library (now the Library of Virginia) in a transfer of court papers from Louisa County.
Arrangement:

Arranged chronologically by month, day and year.

Physical location:
State Records Center - Archives Annex, Library of Virginia
Physical description:
1 v.