Marriage indexes

Background

There are a number of indexes which can help you to find a marriage if you’re not sure where it took place.  But, please remember, it is possible that the couple never married formally so there is no written record at all.

Before July 1837, marriages took place in the Church of England, generally the parish church, so the main source for information is the parish registers which are open for research.  From

1 July 1837, it was legal to marry in a nonconformist chapel, provided it was licensed for marriages or with a civil ceremony in a register office.  The main source of information from 1837 is the civil certificates which are not open for research

What indexes are there before 1837?

Ancestry

The indexes on the Ancestry website cover a wide period so this site is the first place to check.  Ancestry has digitised and indexed all the Church of England marriage registers held at Gloucestershire Archives up to and including the year 1938.   You can search the marriage registers on Ancestry by name of bride or groom or check the registers for a specific parish.  You can access the Ancestry website for free from Gloucestershire Archives or any Gloucestershire library www.ancestry.co.uk.  If you can’t find the person you’re looking for in the parish registers in Ancestry, it is possible that the name was misspelled or mis-transcribed. You could try the following indexes:

Indexes compiled by Gloucestershire Family History Society

• A complete index of marriages between 1800 and 1837 covering all the parishes in the diocese of Gloucester
• An index of marriages between 1754 and 1799 covering only parishes not indexed elsewhere.

You can visit the Family History Centre to check both these indexes yourself or buy downloads or CDs from the Family History Society (www.gfhs.org.uk)

Roe’s Marriage Index (only available in Gloucestershire Archives)

• Based on parish registers (the red and green volumes) with a list of parishes included at the front of the first red volume. It gives the names of the bride and groom, the place and date of the marriage and is less complete after 1812
• Based on bishops transcripts up to 1837 (the blue volumes) with a list of the parishes covered in each one. It is arranged by parish and gives the date, the names of the bride and groom and the place and date of the marriage.  There are two ‘index volumes’ in this series

Parish Transcripts

• The marriage entries for some parishes up to 1812 have been transcribed in the Phillimore series. There is an index of parishes in the first volume.
• Some parish registers and bishops transcripts have been transcribed by local volunteers. These usually contain an index at the back.

Marriage Licence Allegation Index (only available in Gloucestershire Archives)

• Volunteers have compiled an index to the series of marriage allegations sworn in front of the Diocesan Registrar (GDR/Q3) and the bishop’s surrogates in the diocese (GDR/Q2) from 1700 to 1837
• Earlier allegations have been published in the Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Society Records series

The International Genealogical Index (IGI)

• Created and maintained by the Church of Jesus Christ and the Latter Day Saints (Mormons) this covers the whole of the UK and many other countries.

Available to search for free at familysearch.org.uk

• It includes marriages, some baptisms and a few deaths/burials but doesn’t cover every parish and is less complete after 1812
• Although most of the entries come from parish registers or bishops transcripts, it does include information taken from a variety of sources

What indexes are there for British citizens living abroad?

Marriages, births and deaths that took place abroad are indexed separately and these indexes are available on www.ancestry.co.uk and www.findmypast.co.uk.  You can use these websites for free at Gloucestershire Archives and any Gloucestershire library.  There are three main series and some pre-date the introduction of civil registration:

• Registers of births, marriages and deaths from British Consulates, 1810-1968
• Registers of army and navy births, marriages and deaths, 1730-1960
• Registers of births, marriages and deaths at sea, 1844-1890