Sheri, There were no "licenses" in those days. There were bonds, or banns, and then these were followed by minister returns of the actual marriage ceremonies. In Fauquier there is a marriage register dating from 1759, the county's formation. This doesn't mean all marriages are in there, but a good many are. The register includes bonds and returns. Not all the marriages have both. Having one or the other but NOT both is not unusual. Sometimes a marriage bond is present but not a marriage return. In this case, unless you have other information to the contrary, you should not assume the marriage took place on the basis of the bond alone. Sometimes the minister's return just never made it back to the courthouse. Sometimes the parties were religious dissenters and refused to cooperate with the established church requirements to record the marriage. Sometimes there is a return with no bond, but the reverse is more likely to be tu. The register will contain some or all of the following, depending on the situation: Bride's and groom's names. If bride or groom under age (bride < 18; groom <21), parental permission was required, and that will be noted, for whichever party needs the permission. If both bride and groom are "of age" then only a bondsman for the groom was required, and that person's name will be noted on the bond. Sometimes this person is a member of the bride's family instead of the groom's, but you cannot assume it is the father (in either case) unless it specifically says it is the father. Sometimes you'll see a note for the only bondsman that the bride is "daughter of...X". I'm not sure if this means the bride's father is the bondsman, but often if his is the only other name, his name is put in that spot. Maybe he's vouching for both of them. Perhaps someone else can enlighten us on that point. Where there are two names other then the bride and groom, the bondsman for the groom cannot be assumed to be his father unless it says that it is. Even then sometimes it's wrong, but you have to go with it until proof otherwise. Sometimes ages are there, but not always. The more recent, the more likely. Usually if one of the parties is from outside the county, then the place of residence will be noted. Otherwise you can usually assume Fauquier residence. In some cases where the clerk/minister got the names wrong on the paperwork, there was a later attempt to have them corrected, which results in 2 records for the same people, with noticable differences. Often the nicknames were used instead of 'formal' names, so be creative with interpreting the names. Don't rely on extracts for these records. There is often more information in the original than is contained in the extract. Even if other marriages have a bondsman listed, some entries may not have one, but that doesn't mean the name isn't there. I've found many examples of names on the originals left off the extracts. I hope this helps. -Nancy -----Original Message----- From: Crystelbel@aol.com [mailto:Crystelbel@aol.com] Sent: Monday, February 09, 2004 9:24 PM To: VAFAUQUI-L@rootsweb.com Subject: [VAFAUQUI] question to list Does anyone happen to know WHAT info would be on a marriage license in 1806 in Fauquier county ? Does Fauquier county Court give copies of marriage license OR do they only have marriages recorded in a book ? I have found tht to be true in some counties in U.S. . thanks sheri ______________________________