> > If no one comes through with an online list, there's always your > > local public or college library. Marriage customs have been a topic > > of scholarly research ever since the establishment of anthropology > > as a branch of human knowledge. > > > > Cynthia Van Ness, MLS -- roots@bfn.org > > Thank you for the suggestion, but I am looking for something more > interactive. Example: When I first started looking online for my > "Mary" relatives, I soon learned to look for "Polly". I was able to > pass this on to others, and in return I was sent links they had > found later on supporting the Mary/Polly naming custom. Neither one > of us would have gone there on our own. Those links led to other > discoveries we would probably had missed out on. > > I have been looking for online pages of info regarding marriage > customs/rites in IT, OK, TX where there was not a minister or > Justice of the Peace, etc. I am hoping to find something that will > make my great aunt feel OK about talking about the paperless > marriages of a number of family members pre 1925 ish. She refuses > to talk about them and it has left huge gaps in the family history. > > Many genealogy lists have "talked" about naming customs and some > marriage customs, I was just hoping there would be a list that spent > more time on the subjects of customs, rites of passage and the like. > I don't have the time and computer knowledge to start my own list, > or I would consider it. > > Brenda Branstetter <bransflakes@earthlink.net> Due to the lack of preachers in Tx around that time MANY marriages were not "papered". You had to try and catch a circuit riding preacher. Some couples would simply leave a note on the church stating that such and such are living together as man and wife. You can hopefully ease her mind by telling her these marriages were still recognized, even if not on "paper". If the couple lived together but were hindered by lack of "Godly officials" yet vowed to each other, I feel the marriage would be recognized by God himself, who needs a court official? God was the only witness they needed. Hope this helps her. Kasey Alvarez-Duckworth http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/a/l/v/Kasey-L-Alvarezduckworth/ Kasey Alvarez-Duckworth <ms_historybuff@yahoo.com>