Collections : [Library of Virginia]

Marriage Register, 1808-1878, is a list of marriage licenses issued in Nelson County. It is divided into two parts with various sections covered in Part I. Part I, pages 1-55, 1808-1850, records the date of the license, the names of the parties involved (groom first), the names of the securities present,the name of the person by whom married and the date of the marriage. Pages 51-71, 1847-1858, note additional information--to whom license fee was issued or paid. Entries for pages 72-116, July 1858-1878, incorporate additional categories--by what authority marriage license is issued, by whom license issued and to whom fee is paid. Also, the fees for marriage licenses are regularly recorded in this section. Entries from pages 100-116, 1872-1878, omit the name of the minister and date of marriage. The microfilm copy of this volume includes only Part I of the register. Part II of the register covering pages 1-81, 1808-1846, is a copy of an early register which was incorporated into Part I. The names of the parties involved (groom first) are listed before the date of the marriage license. In this part, all entries include to whom the license fee was paid. This information was not included when Part II became incorporated into Part I.

Register of Marriages of Negroes, Volume 1, 1865-1877, lists the date of the marriage license, the date of the marriage and the county where the marriage took place, the full names of both parties, their ages, their marital status before the marriage, their individual places of birth and residence, their parents' names, the groom's occupation, the name of the minister performing the ceremony and any additional remarks. The clerk issuing the marriage license had to obtain and include this information in the marriage certificate.