I wrote to NYC Archives and they could not find a record of my grandparents' marriage in 1911. I too would like to know when it became law to record marriages. Pat

I have the same situation in 1912 in Wisconsin with grandparents who were definitely married in the Lutheran church, large reception, newspaper article, etc. You need to remember that for legal purposes, common law marriages were valid in most states until World War II or after. So there was no need to get a civil license to have the protections of marriage, although you were taking your chances the first few years or until a child was born. I think the desire to qualify for survivors' benefits under Social Security after 1937 also will have increased the desireability of a state marriage license. To this day, I don't think it's "law" to record marriages in the sense that a minister does not need a license to perform a religious ceremony. Off the top of my head, I would guess there are some denominations that in fact would object to a civil record. Old Order Amish come to mind, not sure about this. Linda Scheimann