Marriages License Affidavits, 1861

The information presented in this four volume series is taken from Marriage License Affidavits currently housed at the Sonoma County History and Genealogy Library in Santa Rosa, California. Affidavits are the application for a marriage license and may well include persons who never actually married. The date may or may not coincide with the actual marriage date of those who did, in fact, get married. Volume I covers A through F; Volume II covers G through M; Volume III covers N through Z; and Volume IV is an index to brides' surnames. Entries in the first three volumes are listed alphabetically according to surname of the groom. The original data is preserved on eight reels of microfilm and contains approximately 14,000 records. In many cases, the condition of the microfilm is exceedingly poor, and the handwritten entries vary from readable to totally unreadable. Many parental consent forms were handwritten notes. Two, and sometimes three, persons reviewed each record to ensure the best possible abstraction of information. Part One of Volume I lists the surname and given name of the groom, surname and given name of the bride, date of application, and comments such as consent of a guardian for brides under the age of eighteen and grooms under the age of twenty-one. In a few cases, birth dates or other pertinent information is given. Part Two of Volume I lists the surname, given name and age of the groom; surname, given name and age of the bride; place of residence (town/city); and place of birth (state or country).