Marriage Information
on the
Provincial Archives of New Brunswick Website

Valentine’s Day falling on a Friday made for two special events. First the coasting party at school and tonight we were going to the Hall to a variety concert which would be followed by a pie social of boxes trimmed with red hearts and filled with all kinds of goodies to eat. Any fellow who was sweet on a girl would be bidding on the chance to share the lunch and possibly walk her home. Sometimes he received incorrect information from a “reliable” source and was the high bidder on the wrong girl’s pie but according to Gram, more than one romance that led to a marriage proposal was the result of making this error.

I hope for the sake of family researchers that they didn’t make any errors in the information they gave for their marriage certificate.

If the marriage took place in New Brunswick between 1888 and 1919, the form was quite simple. Basically it included name, age, residence, single or previously married, occupation of bridegroom, religion, name of parents, names and residences of witnesses, date of marriage, by license or banns, and signed by the clergyman with his postal address. The signatures of the bridegroom, bride and witnesses were on the Marriage Certificate as well as “with consent of” and the place of the marriage ceremony.  It was the officiating person’s responsibility to see the forms were filled in fully and accurately and forwarded to the proper authority.

In 1920, changes were made in the information required for the Official Notice of Marriage. The bridegroom and bride needed to also include their place of birth, whether they could read and write, name of father with his place of birth and mother’s maiden name but not her place of birth, and the place of marriage. The officiating person was responsible in having the bridegroom, bride and witnesses sign the document and to give his religious denomination and address before he sent the form to the Department of Health in Fredericton.

Information on the Provincial Archives of New Brunswick website states: “The Vital Statistics Act of 1887 required that all marriages be registered with the registrar and/or deputy-registrars of Vital Statistics and filed for public consultation. Although this process began in 1888, a few marriages dating as far back as 1882 were included. Previously, between 1812 and 1887, marriages were registered within each county.”

The Index at  archives.gnb.ca includes the names of all bridegrooms and the maiden names of all brides. In the cases where the woman was divorced or widowed, all former names have also been included in the index. These latter cases are indicated by the asterisk (*) after the bride's name. The use of the asterisk indicates that it is not always clear whether the woman's former name was her previous married name or her maiden name.

The names of more than180,000  bridegrooms and brides includes marriages from 1882-1941 and 1946-1951. The index was compiled from the records of Vital Statistics in RS141 located at the Provincial Archives of New Brunswick. Those records from 1942-1945 and after 1951 will be included in the index as they are processed.

The Marriage Certificates can be viewed on microfilm at the Provincial Archives of New Brunswick in Fredericton. Copies may also be ordered from PANB.

Another source for marriage information is the Index to Marriage Bonds, 1810-1932 on the PANB website at archives.gnb.ca with the names of 13706 Brides-To-Be, 13714 Grooms-To-Be and 14005 Co-Signers. Marriage bonds, which were required when banns were not read in the churches or when the clergyman did not know both of the parties, guaranteed a payment of £500 from the would-be-groom or his co-signer if the proposed marriage did not take place. The bonds are especially valuable to genealogists, since they provide the names and residences of the proposed groom-to-be and the co-signer(s) in addition to that of the bride-to-be.

1888 to 1919 MARRIAGE REGISTRATION DIVISION   ______________ COUNTY Bridegroom                                   His Name and Age       ___________________________________                     Residence                    ___________________________________                     Place of Birth               ___________________________________                     Bachelor or Widower  ___________________________________                     Occupation                 ____________________________________                     Religious Denomination  __________________________________                     Name of Parents        ____________________________________  Bride                     Her Name and Age       ___________________________________                     Residence                    ___________________________________                     Place of Birth               ___________________________________                     Spinster or Widow       ___________________________________                     Religious Denomination  __________________________________                     Name of Parents           ___________________________________                      Names and Residences of Witnesses   ________________________                                                                                ________________________                     Date of Marriage             __________________________________                     By Whom Married         __________________________________                     By License or Banns      __________________________________                     Signature and P. O. Address of Clergyman  ___________________                                                           __________________________________    Note - The above form is to be filled in fully and accurately by the Clergyman solemnizing the Marriage and forwarded to the Division Registrar, as required by Act of Assembly, 50th Vic. Cap V., intituled "An Act to provide for the Registration of Births, Deaths and Marriages.

1888 to 1919 MARRIAGE CERTIFICATE Name of Bridegroom           ____________________________________ of the   ___________  of    ______________________ Name of Bride                    _____________________________________ of the ____________ of     ______________________ were married by (Banns or License)     with consent of   ___________________ at the ___________ of __________________ this ____________ day of ___________ A. D. ______ By me,  ____________________________                 (address)  _____________________ This marriage was solemnized between us _____________________                                                                 _____________________ In the presence of    ____________________________                                ____________________________

1920 -1951 PROVINCE OF NEW BRUNSWICK DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH OFFICIAL NOTICE OF MARRIAGE Registered No.  _______________ Sub-Health District of __________________   Sub-Deputy Register area of  ____________ _____________________________________________________________________________ BRIDEGROOM 1    Full name  ______________________________________________________________ 2    Occupation  ______________________________________ 3    Bachelor, Widower, Divorced   _______________________ 4    Age  _______    5    Religious Denomination  __________________________ 6    Residence   ___________________________________________________ 7   Place of birth  __________________________________________________ 8   Name of father _________________________________________________ 9   Place of birth of father ____________________________________________ 10 Maiden name of mother  _____________________________________________ 11 Can bridegroom read?   _________________ Write?  ______________________ BRIDE 12    Full name  ______________________________________________________________ 13   Occupation  ______________________________________ 14   Spinster, Widow, Divorced   _______________________ 15   Age  _______    16    Religious Denomination  __________________________ 17    Residence   ___________________________________________________ 18   Place of birth  __________________________________________________ 19  Name of father _________________________________________________ 20  Place of birth of father ____________________________________________ 21  Maiden name of mother  _____________________________________________ 22  Can bride read?   _________________ Write?  ______________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ 23   When married      _____________   day of ___________________  19___ 24   Place of  marriage      _________________________________________ 25   By License or banns   _________________________________________ 26  Signatures of                            Groom   _______________________________________                             Bride     _______________________________________ 27    Witnesses                             Name          ____________________________________                             Address      ____________________________________                                                    Name          ____________________________________                              Address      ____________________________________ I certify the above stated particulars are true to the best of my knowledge and belief.                     Clergyman   __________________________________                      Address      __________________________________                       Religious Denomination  ________________________ Registered No.  ______   Filed at this office  _____ day of __________ 19__

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Ruby M. Cusack is a genealogy buff living in Saint John. Send your queries to her at:  rmcusack@nbnet.nb.ca.  Include your name and mailing address for the benefit of the readers of the newspaper who do not have access to E-mail but could have information to share with you. Please put "Yesteryear" followed by the surnames in your query. For more information on submitting queries, visit http://www.rubycusack.com/Query-Instructions.html
 
Ruby contributes a "Family History" column to the Telegraph-Journal on Tuesdays

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