Marriage Records Search Example for Ancestor Research

A 1990s Search for a Marriage Record

I mentioned how I used the marriage record of Theodore Burns and Delilah Cummins to add Delilah's parents to the family tree in the family tree search example. At the time, I was fortunate to be in contact with another researcher who had found the marriage record. That was in the the 1990s before many records had been digitized.

Google Search for a Marriage Record Website

To see how this search could be done today, I tried the Google search for marriage indexes in the How to Search for Marriage Records on this website. This entry came up among the search results for West Virginia marriage indexes:

Smaller Screens

The image below might be difficult to view on a smaller screen. You can enlarge the image by spreading your thumb and finger on the screen. If that does not work or it is still hard to read, try tapping on the image. That will bring up a larger image that you can view. The larger image should be easier to view on a smaller screen.

Google Result of West Virginia Marriage Index
Google Result of West Virginia Marriage Index

Searching for a Specific Marriage Record

I went to that website and searched for the marriage of Burns and Cummins. I chose not to search on first names because Theodore used multiple versions of his name in various records and there are multiple ways to spell "Delilah." This is the search screen:

West Virginia Marriage Search Screen
West Virginia Marriage Search Screen

And these are the search results:

West Virginia Marriage Search Results
West Virginia Marriage Search Results

Marriage Register

The larger image on line one in the search results above is the same marriage record that the other researcher had found in the 1990s. Here is the image of the marriage register.

Image of the Marriage Record
Image of the Marriage Record

Marriage Record

The smaller image on line two in the search results above is a record of the marriage license. Here is the image of the marriage license.

Image of the Marriage License
Image of the Marriage License

Search Summary

To search online, I did not need to know the county in which they were married as I would have back in the 1990s. This is a very fast way to find a marriage record. Of course, not all states have digitized their marriage records. Nevertheless, you might be lucky enough to be researching marriage records in a state that has.

Additional Resources Related to Marriage Records

Not Sure, Try Our Free Online Genealogy Search Advisor

If you are not sure that searching for a marriage record is the next best option for your research, consider using the advice feature of this site. This will help you pick your next best steps in your research. Go to the .

Marriage Records Search Guide Context

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