How to Estimate United States Marriage Information

Estimating a Marriage Date and Place

Find Your Ancestor in All Possible Census Records: Find a Date
Census records 1900 and moving forward in time often list a marriage year or the age at first marriage. Find the birth year of the first child and estimate that the marriage took place one to two years before that birth. Marriage age for a female's first marriage was about 16-21. Marriage age for a male's first marriage was about 18-25.

Find Your Ancestor in All Possible Census Records: Find a Place

Marriages most often took place where the bride and her family lived. Find the state and county where her family lived in the census closest to her marriage date. Next look in the state and county where the groom lived. Find the state where the first child was born. Substitute records may suggest a state and county where either the bride or groom lived about the time you expect them to have married.

Your ancestor's actual marriage date or place may vary widely from these general guidelines. These are guidelines for rough estimates.

• When working with many generations of a family, always begin with younger generations and work backward in time.