Would another possible reason that some individuals don't appear in the Illinois Marriage Index be that they traveled to Wisconsin to get married? In a post a month back or so, I thought someone mentioned that many Jo Daviess county residents got married in southwest Wisconsin. If so, that would be a distinct possibility for Scales Mound folks since they're so close to Shullsburg, WI. Just a thought . . . Joellyn :) -researching Hesselbacher