{"id":9439,"date":"2015-01-21T16:52:51","date_gmt":"2015-01-21T16:52:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.genealogybank.com\/?p=9439"},"modified":"2018-02-09T13:03:36","modified_gmt":"2018-02-09T18:03:36","slug":"wedding-belles-how-to-find-your-ancestors-marriage-records","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wedding-belles-how-to-find-your-ancestors-marriage-records.html","title":{"rendered":"Wedding Belles! How to Find Your Ancestors\u2019 Marriage Records"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction<\/em><\/strong>: In this article, Mary Harrell-Sesniak provides search tips for finding your ancestors\u2019 marriage records and photographs in old newspapers. Mary is a genealogist, author and editor with a strong technology background.<\/em><\/p>\n

When romance is in the air, newspapers report it in many surprising ways. By searching old newspapers, you\u2019ll find copious details about your ancestors\u2019 engagements, rehearsal dinners and weddings \u2013 including photographs!<\/p>\n

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Photo: bride in wedding dress, 11 September 1929. Credit: Infrogmation; Wikimedia Commons.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Newspapers Provide Shower & Wedding Details<\/strong><\/p>\n

You might even find old newspaper articles on wedding showers, such as this one from 1910, when Grace (Floyd) Kannaman\u2019s friends surprised her with one. Even though the wedding had already occurred, they couldn\u2019t resist more festivities.<\/p>\n

They dined on frappes and wafers, while entertaining themselves with the games \u201cRing on the String,\u201d \u201cButton, Button, Who\u2019s Got the Button,\u201d \u201cJenkins Up,\u201d and a clothes-pin race. Color-coded gifts were accompanied by poetical dedications, and recipes were pasted in a blue-bound book to become her \u201cinfallible household guide!\u201d What a treasure that recipe book must have been to receive \u2013 and a great family heirloom to locate if it\u2019s still around!<\/p>\n

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Sedan Times-Star (Sedan, Kansas), 1 September 1910, page 1<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Notice how the wedding of Mr. Le Grand C. Cramer and Miss Nellie Almy was described in the following newspaper article as a virtual feast of details. This lengthy historical news article names family members, bridesmaids, groomsmen, the officiant and even the organist \u2013 and you get to read about the magnificent pearl and diamond earrings bestowed on Nellie by her groom.<\/p>\n

Her bridal costume \u201cconsisted of a very rich Velour white-ribbed silk dress with court train, the front breadth elaborately trimmed with flowers and tulle, and the remainder of the dress also elaborately trimmed with waxed orange buds and tulle.\u201d There was a matching veil and extraordinary gifts abounded. An imported camel\u2019s hair shawl was \u201cvery cheap at twelve hundred dollars\u201d and of the solid silverware \u201cthere seemed to be no end, either in quantity or variety.\u201d The article went on to say that \u201cThose who ought to be good judges say that no bride in this city has ever received such a large quantity of elegant presents as have been bestowed upon Mrs. Cramer.\u201d (I imagine that was an understatement!)<\/p>\n

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Providence Evening Press (Providence, Rhode Island), 17 November 1871, page 2<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The elite are usually proffered prime newspaper coverage for their weddings \u2013 but even if your ancestor wasn\u2019t a society belle, you\u2019ll likely uncover intriguing details and descriptions of her wedding.<\/p>\n

In 1897, this wedding notice for J. C. Love and Hattie Upchurch reported that the church was \u201ccrowded to the doors\u201d and that after the \u201cknot had been tied, to be broken only by death\u201d there was a \u201cswell reception.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Gazette (Raleigh, North Carolina), 30 October 1897, page 3<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Ancestor Wedding Photographs<\/strong><\/p>\n

Don\u2019t forget to hunt for photographs of marriage engagements and weddings.<\/p>\n

Historical newspapers have always been prone to printing arrays of pictures. When you find weddings, you get a special treat \u2013 not only do you get to see the bride and sometimes the groom, but you also get a fashion show of earlier styles!<\/p>\n

Genealogy Tip:<\/em><\/strong> As discussed in other articles on this blog, if you\u2019ve got an undated photo, browse early newspapers to see if you can figure out the time period when similar clothing styles were popular. For example, read the article How to Date Family Photos with Vintage Fashion Ads in Newspapers<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Here is a 1913 photograph depicting a society belle with her groom. He was Frances Bowes Sayre (1885-1972), the lucky fellow who married President Woodrow Wilson\u2019s daughter, Jessie (1887-1933). Her gown was magnificent \u2013 and if you search GenealogyBank\u2019s\u00a0<\/strong>Historical Newspaper Archives<\/a> for reports about their wedding, you\u2019ll learn about the White House ceremony and their honeymoon in Europe.<\/p>\n

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Evening Times (Grand Forks, North Dakota), 29 November 1913, page 8<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This next photo example, from 1936, is a virtual collage of people \u2013 from the wedding party to family members and attendees. What a treasure it would be to include this wedding picture collage in the family scrapbook!<\/p>\n

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Heraldo de Brownsville (Brownsville, Texas), 9 August 1936, page 8<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Search Tips for Ancestor Wedding Information in Old Newspapers<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019d like to leave you with some search tips, and invite you to share your own with us in the comments section.<\/p>\n

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