Marriage bond

1836 marriage bond of Edgar Allan Poe and Virginia Eliza Clemm Poe

A marriage bond was a type of surety bond guaranteeing that two people were legally available to marry each other, free of complications like being legally underage,[1] having too close a genetic relationship,[1] having other extant marriages, etc.[2] A marriage bond is legally distinct from a marriage license or a marriage certificate, although all three types of records are used in genealogical research as evidence of marriage.[2] Marriage bonds are also not to be confused with marriage contracts or prenuptial agreements.[3] Marriage banns were similar in practice although usually lacked the explicit financial guarantees.[4] The person who co-signed the marriage bond was called the guarantor, security, bondsman[5] or surety,[2] and was often a relative of the prospective groom or bride.[5] Most marriage bonds have an amount of money listed but "no money literally changed hands at the time of posting the bond" rather that was a penalty amount "if an impediment to the marriage was found."[6] The dates of marriage bonds may not (and likely do not) correlate with the actual date the marriage was performed. In some cases a bond document exists but no actual wedding ever took place.[3]

Marriage bonds were used in Great Britain and colonial North America.[2][6] In parts of Great Britain, those who wanted to circumvent a reading of the banns for the traditional three weeks could apply for a marriage license, which required an allegation of legality and/or a bond.[7] The use of marriage bonds in many British counties ended in 1823.[8][7] Upper and Lower Canada required marriage bonds if the wedding was to be performed by someone other than a Catholic or Anglican officiant.[9] Some southern and mid-Atlantic U.S. states carried the colonial practice of using marriage bonds forward into the mid-1800s.[2][6] Knox County, Tennessee had a $1250 required surety until 1929.[10]

Marriage by bond occurred in Spanish colonial Texas.[1] In this case the bond surety was a guarantee that a couple would be legally married, as was required by law, by a Catholic priest when one visited nearby or when the couple traveled to a settlement with an established church. Thus, marriage records in early Texas sometimes have a notation to the effect of "previously married by bond" and/or may have two entries for the same couple: their bond-marriage date and their certified marriage date.[11][12]

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "10 Types of Marriage Records for Family History Research" (in en). https://www.thoughtco.com/marriage-records-types-4077752.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 "Back to the Basics with Marriage Records Part 1: Marriage Bonds" (in en-US). 2022-12-11. https://familylocket.com/back-to-the-basics-with-marriage-records-part-1-marriage-bonds/.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Morgan, George G. (2018-11-24). "How to Read and Understand Marriage Bonds" (in en-US). https://familytreemagazine.com/records/vital/document-detective-understanding-marriage-bonds/.
4. ↑ SHUE, KEVIN (2007-08-24). "IT'S ALL RELATIVE: On good terms with historic marriage verbiage" (in en). https://lancasteronline.com/lifestyle/its-all-relative-on-good-terms-with-historic-marriage-verbiage/article_df92a63c-fb7f-52c5-a659-9c9818836805.html.
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Marriage Bonds: A Closer Look at Marriage Records #2Ancestral Findings". June 25, 2021. https://ancestralfindings.com/a-closer-look-at-marriage-records-2/.
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Dehler, Tamie (2007-08-11). "Genealogy: Think of a marriage bond as an intention to marry" (in en). https://www.tribstar.com/news/lifestyles/genealogy-think-of-a-marriage-bond-as-an-intention-to-marry/article_0d4c0f38-f3a7-5e83-a556-e75bbaca2bd4.html.
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "What is a marriage bond?" (in en). https://www.whodoyouthinkyouaremagazine.com/tutorials/religious/marriage-bond-licence/.
8. ↑ "MARRYING BY LICENCE: MARRIAGE BONDS AND ALLEGATIONS". https://www.york.ac.uk/media/borthwick/documents/5marriagebonds.pdf.
9. ↑ Canada, Library and Archives (2013-03-19). "Marriage Bonds, 1779-1858 - Upper and Lower Canada". https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/vital-statistics-births-marriages-deaths/marriage-bonds/Pages/marriage-bonds-upper-lower.aspx.
10. ↑ "Knox County marriage index, 1901–1950 | Knox County Public Library". https://www.knoxcountylibrary.org/resources/knox-county-marriage-index-1901-1950.
11. ↑ Livingston, Ronald Howard. "Marriage Banns, Marriage Bonds, and Marriage by Bond". http://history.brazoriaresearch.com/2015/06/21/marriage-banns-marriage-bonds-and.
12. ↑ Hans W. Baade, Form of Marriage in Spanish North America , 61 Cornell L. Rev. 1 (1975) Available at: http://scholarship.law.cornell.edu/clr/vol61/iss1/1

## External links

* Marriage bond of William Shakespeare and Ann Hathaway

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