When Wedding Bells Ring, Genealogists Listen

Everyone loves a good wedding; whether it's the ceremony or the reception that follows, there's usually something for everyone to enjoy. However, for genealogists weddings represent the merger of two family trees.

When researching family histories, marriage documents often provide the missing link between two family lines, especially when the bride's maiden name is unknown.

When I travel around to book shows and auctions, I often stumble upon all sorts of marriage documents; actual marriage certificates or licenses, intent to marry documents, and even marriage invitations. You can search these treasures in my Marriage Certificates and Announcements collection in the Genealogy Today Subscription Data service.

This week I uploaded several dozen additional document images, including an interesting one from 1843. It's a handwritten letter from Timothy P. Gillett, pastor of the Congregational Church in Branford, Connecticut, that was sworn to in front of Samuel Frisbie, Justice of the Peace. The letter appears to be a marriage certificate replacement for Ezekiel BUTLER and Lydia FRISBIE who were married in 1788.

You never know what you'll discover when you search the records at Genealogy Today! In addition, to this collection, there are a few other Marriage Records in the subscription database, and some Free Marriage Records in our archives section.