How to find the marriages of his ancestors? History, method and tricks
Have you been looking for the marriage certificate of one of your ancestors couples for some time? We help you find it with a little history, method and useful tips.
In genealogy, the marriage certificate is the most important and reliable act in terms of information. Indeed, the most recent acts give us material to advance in our research with the dates and places of birth of the two spouses, the names of their parents and their place of life and/or death (with the date!) As well as the professions of each according to the talkative of the civil status officer.
Note that it takes 75 years before being able to consult a marriage certificate without concealment of the mentions (by going to the departmental archives, in town hall or online - but beware of digitization slowness).
A little story about marriage ...
1215 - Lateran IV Council
- Obligation of publication of banns.
- clandestine weddings (to limit consanguineous marriages) and marriages of prohibited priests.
- Public consent of the two spouses is compulsory.
- The priest must be present during marriage.
1545-1563 - Council of thirty
- The wedding calendar is strict: no marriage during religious festivals (Lent, Easter, Pentecost, Ascension, Assumption, All Saints' Day, Advent and Christmas). Our ancestors being mainly rural people, they married mainly in a hollow period (January or February).
- Weddings without at least two witnesses and a Catholic priest are zero.
- The obligation to consent from the spouses is confirmed and the parents' agreement is no longer necessary.
1580 - Blois prescription
- Parents' consent is compulsory again to validate marriage.
- The holding of marriage registers is compulsory.
1639-Declaration of Saint Germain-en-Laye
- The spouses who marry illegally (without the consent of parents and without witness or priest) will be deprived).
17th century - well -rooted traditions
- To prevent spouses from frequenting before marriage, declaration, chords and engagement very often the day before marriage.
- An exemption can be requested to marry during the limited periods in the event of serious reasons.
1667-Ordinance of Saint Germain-en-Laye
- The holding of two registers (original and copy) of the parish registers is set up.
- The spouses and four witnesses must sign the marriage certificate.
1736 - Royal Declaration
- The original copy of the parish registers must be deposited at the grafting of the bailiff or the Sénéchaussée.
1792 - Constitution and law
- Marriage becomes a civil contract - The registers are no longer kept by priests but by civil status officers. The acts are standardized as you go.
1800-1802 - Law of year VIII
- Weddings must be recorded in the town hall of the canton.
- Civil marriage must be celebrated before religious marriage under penalty of nullity.
1897 - Law
- Weddings are registered in marginal mention on birth acts.
To find out more about weddings, consult these few books and reviews:
The marriage of Christians volume II - from the Council of Trent to the present day
Illegitimate filiation and marriage pushed in France in modern times (16th-18th century)
Celibacy and age at marriage in the 18th and 19th centuries in France
Age at marriage and its influence on the birth rate
From the revolution to the present day - marriage in all its states
Discussion on the evolution of marriage and consanguinity
Age exemptions at marriage since 1889
Wedding, seasonal custom. Contribution to a sociological study of nuptiality in France.
Finally, the nubile age and the matrimonial majority depends mainly on the time and the successive rules - to find yourself there, consult This painting of the Departmental Archives of Indre.
What archives and tools to find a wedding?
If you are looking for the wedding of your ancestors, consult these few resources and tools - they may bring you reliable tracks to find this act (if it has not been destroyed ...)
Wedding acts
For beginners in genealogy, know that you can find a marriage certificate in the departmental archives, in the municipal archives or in town hall, free of charge, 75 years after the celebration.
There are two periods of research in genealogy, that of before the Revolution and among which we are looking for among the parish registers (held by the Church) and that post-revolution, the period of the civil status.
To search for a wedding act in the archives, you must have some information - otherwise your search will not be impossible but simply longer:
Of the department and the municipality where the marriage took place
Of the wedding year (or the period)
The name of the spouses to confirm a parentage
To learn more about the basics of genealogy, you can Consult our guide.
Decennial tables
For a marriage in the 19th and 20th centuries, do not miss the decennial tables. If the act is destroyed and/or missing, its mention in the tables may confirm that it took place in the town. Also consult these tables in the surrounding municipalities, you will save time compared to a strict peeling of the entire wedding registers.
Wedding contracts
Wedding contracts sont à retrouver dans la série E des archives départementales ou possiblement dans les archives privées versées en série J voire même dans vos archives de famille.
Before the Revolution, many couples do a marriage contract, regardless of their fortune (except in Brittany or it was more rare).
These contracts were drawn up by a notary between 1 day and 2 months before marriage and give you several indications such as:
- names, first names, professions, homes of future spouses and their parents
- If necessary, the name (s) of the previous joint (s) (s) (s) (s)
- the financial contributions of parents or spouses
- The proper goods of the spouses
- The goods excluded from the community
- widowhood conditions
- The goods that will return to children in the event of death or remarriage
- and other useful information ...
Note that since 1850, if a contract has been drawn up, it is mentioned in the marriage certificate. Before this date, the mention of the contract was not compulsory.
In theory, to find a marriage contract you must know the name of the notary and his residence, the name of the spouses and the date of the act. If you don't know all of these elements, your search will simply be a little longer. The marriage contract is paid to the departmental archives for free consultation 75 years after its date.
Wedding publications - Bans and engagement
According to the regions and the time, some departmental archives made their users on site or online users of wedding publications under the E series with the civil status registers.
Family photos
Family photos et surtout les photos de mariage peuvent vous aider à retrouver l’acte de mariage tant recherché !
First of all, check your own archives looking for wedding photos. Otherwise, take the time to ask cousins the question, maybe they also have family archives.
Once the wedding photos in hand, several indications can guide you: if the family photo is annotated then it is the jackpot !! Otherwise, you will have to trick, find the photographer (not alive, we agree ...) and his scope of action and try to date the photo (we have a guide for that too!). This information will allow you to refine your research in the archives.
You can also ask for help - family, of course, to identify the bride and groom - but also online! There are several support groups on social networks (especially on Facebook) or via genealogy associations that can make a call for help via their own networks.
You can also check the iconographic funds of the departmental and municipal archives, online or on site, looking for wedding photos of your ancestors.
Geneafinder missing dates estimator
Doptim research teams have developed a single prediction algorithm Capable of giving you estimates for the missing dates of your genealogy. This algorithm deals with the dates of birth, marriage and death of the people of your family tree born before 1900.
This tool aims to save you time in your research! And it is powered by data dated trees on geneafinder. Thus, the more our users fill their tree, the more the estimated dates will be reliable for your genealogy!
Some tips for finding a wedding in the archives
Several tips can help you find a couple's wedding track in the archives ...
- In general, parents' marriage takes place before birth of the first child.
- In the old regime, marriage was very often celebrated in The parish of the wife.
- Read the birth certificates Children, it is mentioned whether the parents were married or not (in case of birth outside marriage).
- Look for the marriage certificate in the Birth municipalities first children and in the surrounding municipalities.
- Search for the birthplaces of parents in censuses To check the archives in these municipalities.
- Check the different places of life of the husband in Military recruitment registers.
- Search them places of origin of the sponsors of children And check the archives in these municipalities in search of the parents' marriage certificate.
You have several cards in hand now to try to find the marriage certificate of your ancestors! Good research!