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== Marriage Records == | == Marriage Records == | ||
===When the Records Begin=== | |||
Marriage records usually date from the formation of each county and are found in the County Clerk's Office in each county. Marriages can exist as early as 1788, as the first law regulating marriages was passed by statutes of the Northwest Territory. The statute required: 1) banns to be read 15 days before the marriage, 2) the male to be 17 years old and 3) the female to be 14. By 1800, marriage licenses were manditory.<ref>Eichholz, Alice, Red Book: American State, County, and Towns Sources (Provo, UT: Ancestry, 2004), page 199.</ref> | Marriage records usually date from the formation of each county and are found in the County Clerk's Office in each county. Marriages can exist as early as 1788, as the first law regulating marriages was passed by statutes of the Northwest Territory. The statute required: 1) banns to be read 15 days before the marriage, 2) the male to be 17 years old and 3) the female to be 14. By 1800, marriage licenses were manditory.<ref>Eichholz, Alice, Red Book: American State, County, and Towns Sources (Provo, UT: Ancestry, 2004), page 199.</ref> | ||
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Many eloping couples went to Crown Point, Lake County, Indiana to be married as there was no waiting period between the time of issuing a license and the performance of the marriage. Eloping couples from Indiana, Kentucky, Illinois and Ohio were married in Crown Point, Indiana. | Many eloping couples went to Crown Point, Lake County, Indiana to be married as there was no waiting period between the time of issuing a license and the performance of the marriage. Eloping couples from Indiana, Kentucky, Illinois and Ohio were married in Crown Point, Indiana. | ||
===How to Obtain Records from the Government Agency=== | |||
Original marriage records can be obtained from the [http://www.indgensoc.org/counties.php county courthouse] in the county the marriage took place. Marriages after 1958 were also registered with the Indiana State Department of Health. | Original marriage records can be obtained from the [http://www.indgensoc.org/counties.php county courthouse] in the county the marriage took place. Marriages after 1958 were also registered with the Indiana State Department of Health. | ||
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