“Marriage Bureau Calm Once Again”

Front page of the 1 August 1940 Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star reported this happy news.  Happy news, at least, for those working in the Fredericksburg court clerk’s office.  That office had been under siege for 20 months with couples fleeing their states’ premarital examination law and “wait laws.”

“Stampede for Licenses over. Expect return to Normalcy” was the subheading. Why? Because on August 1, 1940 the State of Virginia’s new law requiring a serological test went into effect.

As reported in an earlier blog about digitizing of these marriage records, the Free Lance-Star confirms our guesstimate on numbers.  Through the end of July 1940 the total for July was 484, exceeding all records for a month, with the number to date for the year to 1,456.  [The end total for that year was 1,599]

The paper reported, “ Since early December 1938, when Virginia first began to feel the effects of “wait” laws which had been passed in a number of eastern states, until yesterday a total of 3,312 licenses were issues at the local clerk’s office.” 

Maryland no longer a Gretna Green.  Couples came to Virginia when Maryland, “one of the most famous Gretna Greens in the east passed a 72 hour wait law between issuance of license and marriage. That law went into effect December 1, 1938.  Pennsylvania, New York, and Connecticut had already passed laws – the reason for the high volume of these residents pouring into Fredericksburg.

Seeing this massive invasion of couples and the pressure it was putting on the court clerks, the Virginia Assembly discussed passing a “wait law” similar to that of other states. This was shelved and replaced by a law requiring a blood test for venereal disease.  Although the presence of venereal disease did not prevent marriage, the law demanded the infected person take treatment until cured, as long as they were Virginia residents.

Two photos are included with this article.  Couples being married are: Roland J. Leveque and Ellen Gordon; John Erhardt and Josephine Ryan of Philadelphia.  Virginia has Marriage Commissions, so couples could fill out the paperwork, pay a couple of dollars, and be married immediately inside the courthouse (or outside by a crepe myrtle in summer) by a Marriage Commissioner.  These commissioners are still available today and are allowed to charge up to $50 for each marriage performed.

Today - The article is helpful to us as we continue our digitizing efforts since it lists the years previous and how many licenses were issued each year.  As we go back to 1914, we will know ahead of time how many we can do in a morning.

Searching for Marriage Licenses

Good News!!

The decision was made to have the digitized marriage licenses be available for researchers to view and handle through the Central Rappahannock Heritage Center in Fredericksburg, VA.

The original documents were to be archived since there would be a digital copy available of the license and any supporting documentation. We are pleased the Heritage Center has offered to be the repository for these documents. And some of the supporting material will be a gold mine for genealogists!!

The title of this blog post is such because these licenses are not just for Fredericksburg or Virginia residents only. Virginia was and still is a Gretna Green where anyone can come, get a license, and be married immediately.  Not only did couples drive south from New York and New England, but also east from the surrounding states.  Since Fredericksburg is conveniently located to several military bases, like Quantico, many military personnel received their licenses from the Fredericksburg Circuit Court.

Our digitizing efforts recently experienced a number of marriages that occurred during World War II. We worked our way through a large number of marriages just after the war, and were a bit surprised that this week’s number for the year of 1942 was the largest we have ever done – 335!!  We suspect 1940 and 1941 will also be big years for marriages.

So, when looking for a marriage license for ancestors especially in the east,  and/or in the military, don’t rule out Virginia.  

Fredericksburg VA - A Gretna Green in 1959?

As we worked our way through the 191 marriage records issued in 1959 for the City of Fredericksburg, Virginia this morning we noted a large number of those marriage licenses were for couples that did not reside in Virginia. The couples came from New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and some midwest states. These couples gave their current residence in those states, were not connected to the military, and applied, received and were married by court appointee on the same day.  Many, if not all couples had one or both divorced. This may be a clue? 

Gretna Green is a village in Scotland where in the early 1800s couples from England who desired a quick or runaway wedding could go there and get the deed done. This situation was abolished by act of Parliament in 1856.  Marriages in Scotland were deemed illegal unless one of the parties lived in Scotland for 21 days. But the name stuck and towns that allow couples to be married in haste, such as Fredericksburg, are called "Gretna Green."

We are curious as to why in 1959 so many out of state couples came to Fredericksburg to be married. Another mystery to solve. 

Warnings Out and other things I learned at NERGC

Were any of your ancestors “warned out” of their New England town? My husband’s ancestor, Ephraim Cutter, was. In 1669 that meant that after three months of moving into a town (the time was later extended to twelve months) a family could receive a “warning out” notice. That meant that the decision had been made that the town would not be responsible for the family should hard times befall them.  It didn’t mean they had to leave, but it did mean they would not receive the same level of support as others in the town.  And it could have brought about a somewhat uncomfortable environment for the family.

Was your ancestor married in a Gretna Green?  For over 250 years this small town in southeast Scotland has been synonymous with quick and easy weddings. Over the years, some states had much easier marriage and divorce laws than others, and those states became known as “Gretna Greens.”  (www.gretnaweddings.com) An example of Gretna Green in the U.S. is Las Vegas.  What about divorce, inheritance laws, dower rights? Helen Shaw’s presentation, “Genealogy and the Law,” showed a number of examples of how local laws affected our ancestor’s lives.  Since each state had their own particular laws, she repeated over and over, “Check the law at the time in the state your ancestor lived.”  Some Resources to find these answers are: Black’s Law Dictionary, Val Greenwood’s The Researcher’s Guide to American Genealogy, and your state’s law library.