Eileen, My wife and I applied for a marriage license in Maryland and got married on June 18th in 1981. I went into the US NAVY and in December of 1981 a letter arrived at my parents house. My wife opened it when she visited and it said if I didn't use the license by the end on January it would be void. The priest had failed to return it. He did, we are legal! Ted Duke On 6/28/2016 1:05 PM, mizscarlettny via wrote: > Hi Eileen, > > > I recall helping you identify the correct Catholic church near a specific addresses. > > > > First, let me explain the steps involved. I tend to think that any multi-step process leave it open to fumbles. > > > The marriage "process" 1908-1951 began with the couple applying in-person for, then acquiring, a "License to Marry." > [I have one in front of me now.] The header title says "State of New York Affidavit for License to Marry." Couples applied for a license in the county where the ceremony would take place, usually where the bride lived. > > > The couple had 90 days to actually marry while the license was valid. Once the marriage ceremony was performed aka > "solemnized" [the word on the civil license form], the officiant was supposed to complete and return page three of the Marriage License to the county that issued the license. > > > According to the form in front of me, the officiant was supposed to return his confirmation of marriage "on or before > the 10th day" of the next month. > > > Since you have the marriage certificate from St. Bernard's RC Church, this tells me that: > l) The officiating priest neglected to complete then return the form to NYC, or returned it to the wrong county; or > 2) The marriage ceremony did not occur within the 90 day licensing window; or > 3) The officiating priest was not paid for his services; or > 4) The officiating priest and/or his parish felt that their "sacramental" records were not the business of civil authorities. > [This was quite common within the Irish culture.] > 5) The officiating priest returned his section later than the 10th of the next month. > > > > In general, when page 3 of the license was not filed by the officiant with the city, this could lead researchers to believe that a marriage ceremony did not occur. > > > FYI For each of the 5 marriage licenses that I purchased last week, none appear in the IGG/GGG marriage certificate search. I don't know if this is common or not. > > > Eileen, residential addresses of both bride and groom appear on the Marriage License. Please contact me offlist if > you'd like me to retrieve it for you. > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: Chapman, Eileen <echapman@monmouth.edu> > > Thank you for the link, Barb. > I found my grandfather and grandmother both listed and at each of their names there is a "NO RETURN" stamp and no date provided for their marriage. To add to the mystery, I have a marriage certificate for their wedding at St Bernard's church but when I called the church asking if they had the bride's address on file, they were very accommodating and spent quite a bit of time on the phone with me but could find no record of the marriage. Would love your thoughts on this mystery. > > Eileen > > -----Original Message-----mizscarlettny via > > Access to Marriage LICENSE Index, not Marriage CERTIFICATES, 1908-1951. > I viewed and purchased a few last week at the Archives. > Informational and truly beautiful copies. > > > VIEW Marriage License Index here>>>> > https://archive.org/details/nycmarriageindex/&tab=collection > It's a goldmine to panhandle! > > > > > > > ====NY-Irish Mailing List==== > Don't forget to check out the NY-Irish mailing list website. Also, check/add your NY-Irish surnames on the Surname Registry: http://www.connorsgenealogy.com/NYIrishList/ > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to NY-IRISH-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message >