Marriage Bonds and Licenses "In 1660-61 the [Virginia] law requiring a bond was first enacted. Because of a scarcity of ministers, the colony required that all persons wishing to be married by license must go to the county court clerk and give bond with sufficient security (usually $150 by the 19th century) that there was no lawful cause to prevent the marriage. The license was then prepared by the clerk and presented to the minister who would perform the ceremony. From the introduction to the published Frederick Co., VA Marriage Bonds, by John Vogt & T. William Kethley, Jr., Iberian Publishing Company. The bondsman or surety was to be "able and knowne." Often, this person was a brother or uncle to the bride, not necessarily a parent. The rich and established uncle was an excellent candidate for bondsman. The bondsman could be related to the groom, but from what we have seen, that situation would occur less often.
Hi group, Just wanted to say thank you for the information. It helps alot. Sue Wilson --- "Dixie A. Laire" <dal@heartland.net> wrote: > Marriage Bonds and Licenses > "In 1660-61 the [Virginia] law requiring a bond was > first enacted. Because > of a scarcity of ministers, the colony required that > all persons wishing to > be married by license must go to the county court > clerk and give bond with > sufficient security (usually $150 by the 19th > century) that there was no > lawful cause to prevent the marriage. The license > was then prepared by the > clerk and presented to the minister who would > perform the ceremony. From the > introduction to the published Frederick Co., VA > Marriage Bonds, by John Vogt > & T. William Kethley, Jr., Iberian Publishing > Company. > > The bondsman or surety was to be "able and knowne." > Often, this person was a > brother or uncle to the bride, not necessarily a > parent. The rich and > established uncle was an excellent candidate for > bondsman. The bondsman > could be related to the groom, but from what we have > seen, that situation > would occur less often. > > > > ==== WILSON Mailing List ==== > Be sure and check out www.rootsweb.com > Archives of this list and other list. > __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Calendar - Free online calendar with sync to Outlook(TM). http://calendar.yahoo.com