Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

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Use Restrictions

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Preferred Citation

Louisa County (Va.) Register of Licenses for Marriage, 1850-1861. Local government records collection, Louisa County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia 23219.

Acquisition Information

This item came to the Virginia State Library (now the Library of Virginia) in a transfer of court papers from Louisa County.

Historical Information

Louisa County was formed from Hanover County in 1742. The county was named for Louisa, a daughter of King George II.

Prior to 1853, when the Commonwealth began recording vital statistics, Virginia marriages were recorded at the county or city level. Beginning in 1661, in order to be married by license, the groom was required to go before the county clerk and give bond with security that there was no lawful reason to prevent the marriage. Written consent from a parent or guardian was needed for individuals younger than twenty-one years. The license, issued then by the clerk, was given to the minister who performed the service. Once the service was performed, the minister submitted a return to the county clerk. The county clerk recorded these returns along with other marriage records, such as bonds, certificates and licenses, in a marriage register.

The original marriage licenses, from which this volume was compiled, were created by the County Court.

Scope and Content

Louisa County (Va.) Register of Licenses for Marriage, 1850-1861, records the marriage licenses issued by the clerk of Louisa County Court. This register includes the date of the license, the name of the male to be married and the name of the female to be married. In addition to the chronological listing of the licenses, the volume is organized by the last letter, A-Y, of the intended groom's surname.

Arrangement

Arranged chronologically by month, day and year.

Related Material

Additional Louisa County Court Records can be found on microfilm at the Library of Virginia. Consult "A Guide to Virginia County and City Records on Microfilm."

Index Terms

Corporate Names:

• Louisa County (Va.) Circuit Court.

Subjects:

• Marriage--Virginia--Louisa County.

Geographical Names:

• Louisa County (Va.)--History--19th century.

Genre and Form Terms:

• Local government records--Virginia--Louisa County.
• Marriage licenses--Virginia--Louisa County.
• Marriage records--Virginia--Louisa County.
• Registers (lists)--Virginia--Louisa County.

Added Entry - Corporate Name:

• Louisa County (Va.) County Court.

Adjunct Descriptive Data