I used to work in the LaSalle Co. Vital Records - for the years in question there is no guarantee as Rose pointed out. Documents were not always returned by the officiant or were lost in transit. You will sometimes discover both the application and the license or just one or the other. I've come across several "missing licenses" in my research although I've found the marriage written up in the newspaper. You will also sometimes find "license not returned" as the marriage was called off at the last minute. Hope this helps Margaret ----- Original Message ----- From: <RAdams505@aol.com> To: <ILLIVING-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Saturday, March 03, 2001 8:36 AM Subject: Livingston Co., IL Marriage Records > I too, am searching Livingston Co. records. I suspect that the requirements > for obtaining a license changed somewhere around 1880. I recently wrote for > a copy of records of a marriage in 1882 and asked that it include anything > with parents' names, etc. I promptly received copies of two documents. One > is a Marriage License which gives names and ages of the couple and states > that the bride, age 17, has her father's consent to marry.At the bottom of > this certificate is space certifying that the marriage was performed by a > Justice of the Peace "agreeable to the authority given in the above > license." The 2nd document is "Return of a Marriage to County Clerk". > This has the couple's names, ages, place of birth, parents' names including > maiden name of both mother. It is signed by two witnesses as well as the > bride and groom. > > A couple of weeks ago I requested copies for marriage in October 1869. This > time I received one document. The top portion states that "License and > permission has been granted to any Minister, etc to certify the marriage, > according to the usual custom and laws of the State of Illinois. This is > signed by the clerk of the court. At the bottom of the document is a > certification that the couple was joined in matrimony by a Justice of the > Peace. It is signed by him and there is no place for signatures of > witnesses. > > The present clerk noted that "We do not have the application on file. We do > have the marriage license. I did a search and this is what I found." > > Hope this may be of help to those searching in Illinois and would like to > hear from anyone searching McGuire, Ford, DeBolt, McCoy in Illinois. > > Regards, Rose Adams > > > > > ============================== > Join the RootsWeb WorldConnect Project: > Linking the world, one GEDCOM at a time. > http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com > >