On Tuesday, September 07, 1999 8:36 PM Sheila K. Rice <skrice@multipro.com> wrote: >I know this book was transcribed by someone else.< "Oldest Marriage Book, 1809-1859; White County, Tennessee" (c.1977), Privately Published. It was "Compiled and Published By: Sharon Johnson DOLIANTE" and "Copied by Mary Fancher MITCHELL". A copy is on file at the White County Public Library in Sparta. >I found this copy in the White County Library. I have been doing research at the White County Courthouse and I have seen the original book. It is very old.< According to the "Introduction" pages v-vii, 25 yrs. prior to publication date, the late Mrs. B. K. MITCHELL, nee Mary FANCHER, served as Clerk and Master then as Deputy Clerk and Master for an additional 10 or 15 years. During this time she copied many of the OLDEST Marriage Records, including loose sheets found "in the old dirt-floored basement vault of the courthouse"! She was approached in 1961 about publication of these records. However, at a much later date she gave a copy of her work to Charles LEONARD. He allowed the above-mentioned ladies to "make a copy". Since the records ended at an odd date (Feb.1, 1859), they urged Mrs. MITCHELL to bring them to 1860, preferably 1880. She agreed to do this, but never advised them when this was done. After several years, this project was forgotten. When it resurfaced, Charles LEONARD advised them that Mrs. MITCHELL had completed the "Oldest Marriage Book" into the 1880s before her demise and had left the records to him. However, when they received the manuscript, it was only HALF of the oldest marriage book! The earliest record located was dated Dec. 4, 1809, between PUCKETT, John & LYDA, Rhody. Remember the "loose sheets"? Mrs. MITCHELL had "carefully returned these papers to the vault. . . .they are now missing!" Since there is no longer a basement vault, but a newer courthouse, this publication appears to be the "only permanent record of those early marriages". Important notations concerning these records: L.P.-B.V. = Loose Page-Basement Vault Colored = indicates Mixed Blood (e.g., Indian); slaves were not allowed to marry before the Civil War F.M.C. = Free Man of Color F.W.C. = Free Woman of Color THOUGHT: Rev. John GREENE spent his entire 43 years as a Baptist Minister in White County, TN (since 1810). HOWEVER, only 5 marriages are on record that he is credited with performing. This could explain WHY you cannot locate your ancestor's marriage record when you have documentation (i.e. family bible) to prove otherwise! NOW, I do not have the entire book. As in the case with some of the others who have responded, I only copied pages that pertained to my family lines (DOYLE and HOLLAND; sure wish I had known about McDANIEL at the time!) This is what I DO have though: p. 1 / (Groom unknown) + Agatha HOWEL thro' ANDERSON, Allen p.3 / ARNOLD, Francis thro' BAKER, Johnathan p.18 / DODSON, John H. thro' DUGGAN, John W. p.29 / HARRIS, Barnett thro' HENRY, Waman p.30 / HENRY, Wm. thro' HILL, Wm. p.31 / HILTON, Leroy thro' HOOPER, David p.33 / HOWELL, Silas thro' HUNTER, John p.34 / HUNTER, Joseph thro' HUTSON, Matthias, Jr. p.35 / HUTSON, Pleasant thro' JAY, Wm. Hope the above information helps to understand why you may be experiencing difficulty in locating your ancestors' marriage record. If I can help anyone with the few pages I have on file, feel free to contact me privately at <montco1@cwix.com>. JEANNIE MONTGOMERY St.Louis County, MO