On record in the county clerk's office is a promise from a man (for the life of me I can't remember his name) who stated that he and his intended were members of Wavell's Colony and that there was not a minister or other official person to perform a wedding, but that he promised to legally marry the woman when an official became available. If he failed to marry the woman, he promised to pay her $5,000. That was a whole bunch of money in the late 1820s, when the man wrote the promise. My guess is, the man and the woman took up abode as husband and wife, until such time as an official marriage took place. I think there were other marriage bonds, but I can't recall details. Bob Merriman

I recall seeing mention of a similar practice in early Nacogdoches. Perhaps in one of Jack Jackson's books. Gary Pinkerton -----Original Message----- From: txredriv-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:txredriv-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of PRISCILLA MERRIMAN Sent: Sunday, July 01, 2007 6:18 PM To: TXREDRIV-L@rootsweb.com Subject: [TXREDRIV] Marriage bonds On record in the county clerk's office is a promise from a man (for the life of me I can't remember his name) who stated that he and his intended were members of Wavell's Colony and that there was not a minister or other official person to perform a wedding, but that he promised to legally marry the woman when an official became available. If he failed to marry the woman, he promised to pay her $5,000. That was a whole bunch of money in the late 1820s, when the man wrote the promise. My guess is, the man and the woman took up abode as husband and wife, until such time as an official marriage took place. I think there were other marriage bonds, but I can't recall details. Bob Merriman ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to TXREDRIV-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message