This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/Sc.2ADI/1038 Message Board Post: When researching Houston Co., GA marriage records, please keep in mind, that the published marriage records by William R. Henry (via CCGS) is only a portion of the "assumed" actual records at the courthouse. The reality is, most (12,000) of the white marriage records are mixed in with those that are now bound as "Colored Marriages". I didn't know this until I stumbled upon it back in 1996. The only thing that I can figure is that somehow, thousands of the marriage records were filed away "unbound", and were either knocked over or mixed up. The books that are now bound and titled as "Colored Marriages" (prior to 1900) are a nighmare to research. Not only are they not in chronological order, the handwriting is often poor. For about 2 years, back around 1997 to 1999, I attempted to abstract 12,000 of the pre-1900 "Colored Marriages", which were mostly "white marriages". I also attempted for over 5 years, to have the original marriage records microfilmed, to no avail. I contacted the LDS and the GA Archives. I am guessing that funding is the main issue. Back in the 1960's, when the vital records were being microfilmed, these "Colored Marriages" were somehow overlooked and not included. As a result of this, whenever someone is trying to find their (white) Houston Co., GA ancestor's marriage record, their odds are about 1 in 4. For now, the only way to try to do a thorough search for your Houston Co., GA ancestor's marriage record, is to go to the county courthouse in Perry, and plan on spending about a month or more looking through all of the marriage record books that say "Colored Marriages". As of this writing, the task is too much for me to undertake to compile and publish.