This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: jjcaffrey Surnames: Classification: queries Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/localities.northam.usa.states.massachusetts.unknown/7372.1/mb.ashx Message Board Post: I presume the range of years is based on what you saw in the Census. Harriet does appear as Hampden's wife in the 1924 Beverly City directory, so you can refine the years to search. I'm not sure what you mean by this phrase, "even visited the town hall in beverly". Did they choose to not help you, or did they have no luck finding the record? Vital records in MA are maintained at the local level (town/city), with copies of the records also provided to the state. At the state level, there are Archive records (1841 - 1920), and more current records which are under the management of the Registry of Vital Records. Since Hampden and Harriet may have married in 1920, you might want to try the Archives first. The Archives also has the index for the records through 1970 (I think!! Not totally sure how far forward, but definitely they have the index for 1920's...). If they don't have the actual record in their collection, they may be able to give you a date of marriage from the Index. Archives can be found through here --> http://www.sec.state.ma.us/arc/arcres/residx.htm . The Registry of Vital records can be found here -->http://tinyurl.com/on9re Having to go the Registry route may be costly, since they don't generally assist in research. I presume you are trying to find the date of the marriage and the family name of Harriet. Your best be might be to send an email to the Archives, and let them know that Hampden's marriage appeared after the 1920 census, and before the 1924 Directory. You believe he was married in Beverly, although you are not 100% positive. You would like to find the record, or at least the date and location of the marriage. With the date and location, you can then contact the specific town, via email. The management of the records in the towns are via the town/city clerk, so you can search the web with the town name and "town clerk" to find the contact info. Good luck. John Important Note: The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board.