> I went off to an on-line database, created and maintained by a > state's own government. I scoured it for a fairly uncommon surname, > and copied the results into the database I created from a 1980s book > on the family. > > I gotta tell you, there are some SERIOUS discrepancies between > Marriage Record A and Marriage Record B! > > SOME of it is probably due to some data-entry-er (me or them, > doesn't matter) picking up the date of the license rather than the > date of the actual marriage -- I figure up to a 30 day difference is > that. SOME of the discrepancies cannot be explained away. > > F'instance, I have a newspaper account of a marriage that occurred > in a different state altogether; this account is complete with the > name of the minister and the specific church in that other town. > Yet -- same marriage appears in these on-line records as having > happened in THIS state. > > F'instance, I've seen a marriage certificate that says the wedding > occurred on 11 Oct 1869; state records say 29 Nov 1868. Now that's > just _backwards!_ > > F'instance, woman still living says her name is Axxxx middlename; > her marriage record gives her as Ayyyy differentmiddlename. Good > thing her husband had a HIGHLY recognizable name or I'd never have > found them! > > F'instance, woman is illegitimate and NEVER used her stepfather's > surname -- except on this marriage record. > > Then there's the one where every detail of bride and groom match the > database -- birthdates & places -- except that the marriage date > makes him 11 months old at the time. I /don't/ think so. > > So, all the info is in the NOTES and discrepancies are marked. Let > someone who doesn't know the participants figure it out. > > Bah. Humbug. > > Cheryl Singhals <singhals@erols.com> Could the people have had two ceremonies? One religious and one civil? Or one in another state for one side of the family and one in another for the second family? Mistakes/mysteries...it is all fun Sharon Zingery Mediator szingery@sbcglobal.net 773.262.7699