Author: Kenneth R Marks

Your ancestors may have sworn they were free to marry—and left behind a document identifying their ages, residences, marital status, and sometimes family connections. A Marriage Allegation was a sworn statement used in the historical marriage licensing process, particularly in England and Wales. Although the word allegation may sound like an accusation today, these documents […]

A marriage license tells you that a couple had permission to marry. But how do you know the wedding actually took place? The answer may be hiding in a Marriage Return. This often-overlooked document was completed by the person who performed the ceremony and reported back to the issuing authority. It may provide the actual […]

Marriage Applications can be among the most information-rich documents associated with a wedding. Depending on the time and place, they may identify parents, birthplaces, occupations, previous marriages, residences, and other details that never appeared on the marriage certificate. For genealogists, the application can provide clues to an entire generation of family history hiding behind a […]

A gravestone tells you where your ancestor is buried. But what if the cemetery’s records tell you much more? Cemetery Burial Registers can contain names, burial dates, ages, residences, funeral directors, grave locations, and sometimes family relationships that never appeared on a gravestone. They may also document people buried without markers, infants whose graves were […]

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What if your ancestors’ marriage contract identified their fathers, documented financial obligations, and survived as a beautifully decorated family heirloom? A Ketubah, the traditional Jewish marriage contract, can provide much more than evidence of a marriage. It may identify the bride and groom through their fathers, reveal Hebrew names, document the location and date of […]

What if your ancestor died in a poorhouse, prison, or asylum—and the death record was only the beginning? Institutions often maintained records documenting far more than a person’s death. Admission registers, case files, medical notes, correspondence, and burial records may reveal family relationships, previous residences, occupations, personal circumstances, and the events that brought someone into […]