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Hello, and welcome to Found in the Archives, a publication of The Clerk of the Fairfax Circuit Court, 19th Judicial Circuit, who proudly serves The City of Fairfax & Fairfax County. In the spirit of Valentine’s Day, we will discuss the Memorandum of Marriages Issued by County Clerk, a record found here at the Historic Records Center.
This record is broken up into two different volumes, the first covering the years 1867 through 1895 and the second book covering 1896 through 1928. These books contain lists of couples applying for a marriage license, and includes information like the date of application, town of residence of applicants, names, if they were “white or colored,” and age of the applicants. During this time, the legal age of marriage was 21. Many applicants under the age of 21 have notations next to their entries stating they have parental permission to marry; some entries even have separate notes mailed or submitted to the court.
 Memorandum of Marriages Issued by County Court, page 11
 Note found in Memorandum of Marriages Issued by County Clerk
The second of these books contains different printed headings, and it is clear this book was originally intended for a different use. This is one example of how records were sometimes recorded in whatever was available, even if it meant scratching out pre-printed headings and categories.
 Memorandum of Marriages Issued by County Clerk, page 1
As can be seen below, these books are in need of cleaning and repair. Luckily, they will be sent out for conservation in the coming months and will be returned to us looking better than ever.
 Memorandum of Marriages Issued by County Clerk, Volume 1
 Memorandum of Marriages Issued by County Clerk, Volume 1
Virginia began recording marriages in 1853, so these books do not include all of the marriage licenses we have at the Historic Records Center. Researching marriages before 1853 can be difficult since there is typically no official documentation for them. However, researchers can get around that lack of documentation by looking in our “implied marriages” resources. An implied marriage comes from other official documentation and records, like a deed, court case, or will, that include phrases like, “my wife Susan” or “her husband John.” Although there may be no marriage certificate or contract, it can be safe to use those phrases to confirm marriages. (The Historic Records Center has published books put together through meticulous research that share some of the implied marriages found in our court records.) Through meticulous research and indexing work, the Historic Records Center has an Implied Marriage index card catalog, from which 1 book were created and published in 1994. The Circuit Court still issues and maintains marriage licenses today. While we do not work with the modern licenses, we do have a collection of original marriage licenses beginning in 1853 and ending around 1957.
 Fairfax Marriage License, John P. Allen and Marion Taliaferro, 1879
If you would like to learn more about these and other court records, come visit the Historic Courthouse on Saturday, February 3rd during the Chocolate Lovers Festival. The Courthouse will be open with documents on display from 10am-3pm, including original pages of George Washington's Will, with a mock trial taking place at 10am and a game show at noon.
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