Tennessee State Marriage Index - FamilySearch Historical Records

What Is in This Collection?
The collection consists of an index to marriages from 1780 to 2002, from the Tennessee State Library and Archives. The index is provided by Ancestry.com.

Coverage Map
To see a coverage map of FamilySearch's holdings of Tennessee marriages, click here.

What Can This Collection Tell Me?
The index may include the following information:


 * Name of bride and groom
 * Marriage date and place
 * Name of spouse (May only list surname)

How Do I Search This Collection?
When searching the index it is helpful to know:
 * The name of your ancestor
 * The approximate date of marriage
 * The place where the marriage occurred
 * The name of the intended spouse

Search by Name by visiting the Collection Page: Fill in the requested information on the initial search page. This search will return a list of possible matches. Compare the information about the individuals in the list to what you already know about your ancestors to determine if this is the correct family or person. You may need to compare the information about more than one person to find your ancestor. Keep in mind:


 * There may be more than one person in the records with the same name
 * You may not be sure of your own ancestor’s name
 * Your ancestor may have used different names, or variations of their name, throughout their life
 * If your ancestor used an alias or a nickname, be sure to check for those alternate names
 * Even though these indexes are very accurate they may still contain inaccuracies, such as altered spellings, misinterpretations, and optical character recognition errors if the information was scanned

What Do I Do Next?
When you have located your ancestor in the marriage index, carefully evaluate each piece of information about them. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details that can lead you to other records about your ancestors.

I Found the Person I Was Looking For, What Now?

 * Use the marriage record along with the place of birth to find the family in census records.
 * Use the residence and names of the parents to locate church and land records.
 * The father’s occupation can lead you to other types of records such as employment or military records.
 * The parents' names may help you identify former residences and can help to establish a migration pattern for the family.

I Can't Find the Person I'm Looking For, What Now?

 * Look for variant spellings of the names. You should also look for nicknames and abbreviated names.
 * Look for another index. Local genealogical and historical societies often have indexes to local records.
 * Search the indexes and records of nearby counties.
 * Try alternative search methods such as only filling in the surname search box (or the given name search box) on the landing page leaving the other box empty and then click on search. This should return a list of everyone with that particular name. You could then browse the list for individuals that may be your ancestor.

Citing This Collection
Citations help you keep track of places you have searched and sources you have found. Identifying your sources helps others find the records you used.

"Tennessee State Marriage Index, 1780-2002." Database. FamilySearch. http://FamilySearch.org : 14 June 2016. From "Tennessee State Marriages, 1780-2002." Database and images. Ancestry. http://www.ancestry.com : 2008. Citing Tennessee State Library and Archives, Nashville, Tennessee.
 * Collection Citation:

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