Ways to Record Names on a Marriage Certificate for Genealogy
Genealogy is the study of family relationships and identifying ancestors. The facts a genealogist uses in his research often come from some sort of legal record or document. A marriage certificate is one such legal record. Marriage certificates provide genealogists with the names of both bride and groom, license date and place and wedding date and place. Recording of these facts can take many forms. Regardless of how the names are recorded, researchers should search alternate spellings of names to conduct a full search.
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Full Legal Name
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The best way to record names on a marriage certificate is to use the full legal name of both the bride and groom. This means the bride's name is her maiden name. Genealogists prefer to have full, and correct, legal names when conducting research.
Nicknames and Alternate Names
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Researchers will find some marriage certificates that have a full legal name for a groom but a nickname as the bride's first name. An example is a bride named Elizabeth Ann Jones who is listed as "Betsy Jones." "Betsy" is an alternate name for Elizabeth. Another example is Katherine Ursetta appearing as "Tini Ursetta." "Tini" is a nickname. Researchers should be aware of nicknames and alternate names when searching for ancestors.
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Bride's Maiden Name
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Typically, the bride's maiden name will appear on the marriage certificate. Researchers can search for a female ancestor based on her maiden name in these cases.
Bride's married name
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Brides that have been married before may not have a maiden name listed on their marriage certificates. Their current names may be recorded, meaning the surname belonging to the previous husband. Researchers aware of prior marriages should search for these variables as well.
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References
- Photo Credit the marriage image by Warren Millar from Fotolia.com
