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Nauvoo Marriage Record, February 1842–January 1846

Source Note

Nauvoo City Recorder, Record of Marriages, , Hancock Co., IL, 21 Feb. 1842–8 Jan. 1846; handwriting of , , , and John McEwan; twenty-eight pages; CHL.
This record was later used in 1854 as a letterbook for the Historian’s Office in Salt Lake City, UT. It also includes a single marriage record from 1866.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    See Historian’s Office, Letter Book and Marriage Record, CHL.

    Historian’s Office. Letter Book and Marriage Record, Commencing February 21st 1842. CHL. MS 3444.

Historical Introduction

On 17 February 1842, the City Council passed an ordinance concerning marriages. The first section stated that males over seventeen years of age and females over fourteen could be joined in marriage. The second section stipulated that anyone desiring to be married could have the ceremony officiated by a “minister of the gospel,” mayor, alderman, justice of the peace, judge, or anyone else authorized to perform marriages in ; a license was not required. The third and final section stated that the officiator was to “make return,” or submit a certificate of marriage, and pay a fifty-cent fee to the city recorder, who was to keep an accurate record of the marriage.
By 22 February, , the city recorder, began receiving marriage certificates. Sometime between February 1842 and his departure on a mission to Ireland in July 1843, Sloan acquired the record book featured here and started recording marriages in it. A notation by Sloan in the front of the book states that certificates “have been duly received, and filed.” All of the certificates for the marriages recorded by Sloan are extant.
The certificates received by give the names of the people being married, the date of the marriage, the officiator, and sometimes the date the certificate was written. Some of these certificates were written by the marriage officiator, others were written by Sloan and signed by the officiator, and a few are forms written by Sloan with the participants’ names and marriage date filled in by the officiator. On the Joseph Smith Papers website, certificates are listed by the date they were created, which is sometimes not precisely known and is often not the same day the wedding occurred. After receiving each certificate, Sloan generally noted on the certificate the date he received it and whether he was paid.
When left for Ireland in late July 1843, became the city recorder. Richards began recording marriages in the record book on 28 July 1843. Presumably he followed the same procedure for submitting and recording marriages, though none of the certificates are extant for the marriages recorded in the book after Sloan’s time. Perhaps Richards (and the other scribes in the record book, and John McEwan) discarded the certificates after recording the marriages. Along with the participants and the date of the marriage, Richards noted the date he recorded the marriage. McEwan recorded two marriages in September 1844, and Thomas Bullock took over recording duties at the beginning of November 1844. McEwan and Bullock also noted the recording date. The last Nauvoo marriage recorded in the book took place 31 December 1845 and was recorded 8 January 1846.
Before the passage of the marriage ordinance in , local marriages were recorded in the marriage record. Marriages recorded with the county required a marriage license along with a certificate signed by the officiator. After the marriage ordinance was passed in Nauvoo, some Nauvoo marriages continued to be recorded by the county instead of the city. With only two exceptions, marriages recorded in the county record book do not overlap with those recorded in the Nauvoo record book.
The Nauvoo Marriage Record is included in several Historian’s Office inventories, indicating continuous institutional custody. It was reused as a letterbook for the Historian’s Office in Utah, though the final inscribed page records a marriage performed in 1866.
The individual marriage certificates from the JS period are also featured on this website. The certificates were apparently bundled together in 1858. Included are the 1842 and 1843 certificates submitted to , along with one certificate from 1845 and one from 1846 ; neither of these marriages was recorded in the marriage record before the Saints left . There are also a handful of certificates that were interfiled within the marriage record book. The certificates were not recorded in the book, probably indicating an intention to record them at a later time. These certificates were removed from the book and are now cataloged with the certificates noted above.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Ordinance, 17 Feb. 1842. In contrast, Illinois statute required a marriage license. (An Act concerning Marriages [14 Feb. 1827], Public and General Statute Laws of the State of Illinois, p. 459, secs. 3, 5.)

    The Public and General Statute Laws of the State of Illinois: Containing All the Laws . . . Passed by the Ninth General Assembly, at Their First Session, Commencing December 1, 1834, and Ending February 13, 1835; and at Their Second Session, Commencing December 7, 1835, and Ending January 18, 1836; and Those Passed by the Tenth General Assembly, at Their Session Commencing December 5, 1836, and Ending March 6, 1837; and at Their Special Session, Commencing July 10, and Ending July 22, 1837. . . . Compiled by Jonathan Young Scammon. Chicago: Stephen F. Gale, 1839.

  2. [2]

    Ordinance, 17 Feb. 1842.

  3. [3]

    Marriage Certificates for Joseph Aldridge and Mary Earl and Stephen Boyington and Martha Head, between 21 and 22 Feb. 1842.

  4. [4]

    JS, Journal, 30 July 1843.

  5. [5]

    See Hancock Co., IL, Marriages, 1829–1849, microfilm 229,486, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL.

    U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.

  6. [6]

    An Act concerning Marriages [14 Feb. 1827], Public and General Statute Laws of the State of Illinois, p. 459, sec. 3. The two exceptions are the 27 July 1843 marriage of Daniel S. Cahoon and Jane Spencer; and the 22 August 1843 marriage of Benjamin Hay and Ruth Jane Clarke. (Hancock Co., IL, Marriages, 1829–1849, pp. 67–68, entry nos. 738, 749, microfilm 229,486, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL.)

    The Public and General Statute Laws of the State of Illinois: Containing All the Laws . . . Passed by the Ninth General Assembly, at Their First Session, Commencing December 1, 1834, and Ending February 13, 1835; and at Their Second Session, Commencing December 7, 1835, and Ending January 18, 1836; and Those Passed by the Tenth General Assembly, at Their Session Commencing December 5, 1836, and Ending March 6, 1837; and at Their Special Session, Commencing July 10, and Ending July 22, 1837. . . . Compiled by Jonathan Young Scammon. Chicago: Stephen F. Gale, 1839.

    U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.

  7. [7]

    See “Schedule of Church Records. Nauvoo 1846,” [1]; “Historian’s Office Catalogue Book March 1858,” [11]; “Contents of the Historian and Recorder’s office—G. S. L. City July 1858,” 7; Historian’s Office Catalog, 1859–1882, [59]; “Historian’s Office Catalogue 1858,” 3; and “Index of Records and Journals in the Historian’s Office 1878,” [8], Historian’s Office, Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904, CHL.

    Historian’s Office. Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904. CHL. CR 100 130.

  8. [8]

    Nauvoo, IL, Recorder, Marriage Record, 31–64, 66.

    Nauvoo, IL, Recorder. Marriage Record, 1842–1845. CHL.

  9. [9]

    The item “Certificates of Marriage” is listed on a March 1858 inventory for records that were transported to Provo during the Utah War. (“Historian’s Office Catalogue March 1858,” [2], Historian’s Office, Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904, CHL.)

    Historian’s Office. Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904. CHL. CR 100 130.

  10. [10]

    See the full bibliographic entry for Nauvoo, IL, Recorder, Marriage Certificates, 1842–1846, in the CHL catalog.

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Editorial Title
Nauvoo Marriage Record, February 1842–January 1846
ID #
15626
Total Pages
37
Print Volume Location
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