Wisconsin. Bureau of Health Statistics.

ABSTRACT: Records of marriages recorded between 1836 and 1907 with the various  county registers of deeds. Generally recorded for each marriage are the individuals' names and birthplaces, the names of the parents of each, the occupation and residence of the husband, the date and place of the marriage, the kind of ceremony (usually the denomination), the names of witnesses, the name and residence of the person pronouncing marriage, the date of the certificate or affidavit, the date of registration, and remarks. Indexed by the index to Registrations of Marriages (Wisconsin Series 2074).

ACCESS RESTRICTIONS: There are no access restrictions on the materials, and the collection is open to all members of the public in accordance with state law. However, the researcher assumes full responsibility for conforming with the laws of libel, privacy, and copyright which may be involved in the use of this collection (Wisconsin Statutes 19.21-19.39).

SCOPE AND CONTENT: In 1849, the statutes specified that the marriage registry contain the following data:  names and residences of the two parties, names of two witnesses, and date and place of marriage.  The 1852 legislation specified name, occupation, birthplace and residence of the husband, name of the wife, names of the parents of both, the color of the parties, the date, place, and kind of ceremony, the name and residence of the person performing the ceremony, and the dates of the certificate and of registration.  The law also allowed registration of marriages performed prior to passage and of marriages performed elsewhere and these kinds of entries will be found too.

From county to county, the completeness of the records varies, with only a few counties having records prior to 1852. As with other county-generated records, it is necessary for users to check for records in the county which maintained jurisdiction over the area concerned for the time period concerned.

ARRANGEMENT: Registrations are arranged by county and thereunder by the date of registration, not by date of the marriage.  Because of this fact, access to the records is best accomplished through the indexes.

ADMINISTRATIVE HISTORY: From 1836 until 1907, clergymen, justices of the peace, and any others solemnizing marriages were required to submit a certificate for each marriage performed.  These reports were to be submitted to county clerks, later to clerks of the district courts and then clerks of the circuit courts (except Dane County reports went to the clerk of the Supreme Court).  Legislation in 1852 changed the recipient to the county register of deeds.

The register of deeds was required to enter the information into a registry book, maintain an index, and send a copy of the registrations to the Secretary of State.  In 1905 the State Board of Health replaced the Secretary of State as recipient of the copies which were then maintained in the State Bureau of Vital Statistics (now called the Bureau of Health Statistics). Registrations on file with the Secretary of State were transferred to the Bureau.  This series is a microfilm copy of those registration records.

A more detailed history of legislation relating to vital records, along with listings of local government holdings of such records as of 1941, may be found in the Wisconsin Historical Records Survey's Guide to Public Vital Statistics Records in Wisconsin (Madison, 1941).

COLLECTION CITATION: This collection should be cited as:

Wisconsin. Bureau of Health Statistics. Registrations of marriages [microform], 1836-1907. Wisconsin Series 2073. Wisconsin Historical Society. Milwaukee Area Research Center. Golda Meir Library. University of Wisconsin--Milwaukee.

RELATED COLLECTIONS:

Milwaukee County (Wis.). Register of Deeds. Certificates of marriage [microform], 1836-1876. (Milwaukee Series 39)

Milwaukee County (Wis.). Register of Deeds. Index of marriages [microform], 1830-1918. (Milwaukee Micro Series 12)

Milwaukee County (Wis.). Register of Deeds. Register of marriages [microform], 1836-1911. (Milwaukee Micro Series 13)

Wisconsin. Bureau of Health Statistics. Index to registrations of marriages [microform], 1852-1907. (Wisconsin Series 2074)

Wisconsin. Bureau of Health Statistics. Statewide index to registrations of marriages [microform], 1852-1907. (Wisconsin Series 2109)

ACQUISITION: One set of film was received in October 1982 (accession number 1982-287).  The second set was purchased for the Wisconsin Historical Society by the Wisconsin Genealogical Society.

PROCESSING: These are copies of the originals held by the Bureau of Health Statistics. They were microfilmed as part of a cooperative project between the Wisconsin Historical Society and the Genealogical Society of Utah which holds the master negatives.

MARC RECORD SEARCH TERMS: The following terms were used in the online bibliographic MARC record to this collection:

• Local government records.
• Milwaukee County (Wis.)--Genealogy.
• Ozaukee County (Wis.)--Genealogy.
• Public records--Wisconsin--Milwaukee County.
• Public records--Wisconsin--Ozaukee County.
• Public records--Wisconsin--Sheboygan County.
• Public records--Wisconsin--Washington County.
• Public records--Wisconsin--Waukesha County.
• Sheboygan County (Wis.)--Genealogy.
• Washington County (Wis.)--Genealogy.
• Waukesha County (Wis.)--Genealogy.
• Wisconsin--Genealogy.

About the Archives | General Information | Subject Listings | Finding Aids
Genealogy | Upcoming Events | Exhibits | Teaching Resources
Records Management | Other Web Sites | Archives Home Page

©2002 University of Wisconsin--Milwaukee -- All Rights Reserved.
URL: http://www.uwm.edu/Library/archives/findaids/wiscsr2073.htm
Last edited on Friday, January 4, 2002.
Ask an Archivist