Find your ancestors in these marriage records from the county of Northamptonshire (Northants). There are over 190,000 records in this collection, which will reveal your ancestors’ marriage date, parishes and even occupations.
Find your ancestors in these marriage records from the county of Northamptonshire (Northants). There are over 190,000 records in this collection, which will reveal your ancestors’ marriage date, parishes and even occupations.
These records are transcripts of the original marriage records. The details in each record can vary depending on the date of the marriage or from which parish the record was retrieved but most will include the following:
• Name
• Spouse’s name
• Marriage date
• Marriage place
• Parish
• Spouse’s parish
• Marital status (S = spinster and B =bachelor)
• Spouse’s marital status
• Occupation
• Spouse’s occupation
• By banns or by licence
The records have been transcribed by the Northamptonshire Family History Society from parish registers deposited at the Northamptonshire Record Office.
Included in the transcripts is a field to describe whether your relatives were married by licence or by Banns. Marriage licences were created in the 14th century. Couples could obtain a marriage licence for a fee if they wished to waive the Bann period. Banns were announcements made in the church on three separate Sundays during the three months leading up to the wedding day. The announcements were made to give the congregation an opportunity to voice any objection to the marriage. Along with a marriage licence fee, the couples were obligated to sign a declaration stating that there were not lawful impediments to their marriage. There are different reasons why couples married by licence instead of by Bann; they may have wanted to get married quickly, they may have wanted to show that they could pay for a licence or the couple was getting married away from home.