Jim Moore wrote: >The online charts list Rufus Massey (c1809-) as having married a Charlotte. This would be Charlotte LAYTON (c1809-by1880) of Sussex. They married 16 Dec 1833 according to DE marriage records.< You undoubtedly mean the Marriage Bond concerning the impending marriage between Chante May Gayton and Richa Marray . . . . well that is the way Ancestry has it indexed ! Her name is clearly written "Charlottey", but the writer's hand was very difficult. Anyway, this is not a record of marriage. The Bond was good for a month or so, and the couple could have obtained a license and gone through with the ceremony at any time before the Bond expired. Or not - there are many instances where the Bond was executed but some impediment was found (or one of the parties changed her or his mind) and the marriage vows never exchanged. So while the Marriage Bonds may have useful information (sometimes giving a parent's name, and often a relative of the bride was her surety in the Bond), they are not certain evidence that a marriage took place between a given couple. Good huntring, Judy</HTML>