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African American Genealogy: Marriage Certificates

This guide provides a beginner's introduction to African American Genealogy research, as well as an overview of available resources at the New York Public Library and beyond.

Marriage Records

To located documentation of a marriage, the most common places to begin a search are court records rooms, county clerks’ offices, town halls, and even the National Archives. However, there are two types of marriage records that are unique to African Americans - Freedmen's Bureau marriage records and cohabitation records.

Marriage of W.E.B. Du Bois

Register recording the marriage of W.E.B. Du Bois (Ancestry Library Edition)

Freedmen's Bureau - Marriage Records

Shortly after the Civil War the Freedmen's Bureau was established to assist the large number of newly freed African Americans. According the National Archives the Freedmen's Bureau contained "hundreds of marriage records of newly liberated African Americans in the post-Civil War era collected from 1861 through 1869 first by the Union Army and then the Freedmen's Bureau in its field offices in the Southern States and the District of Columbia, and sent to the Washington, DC, headquarters. Record types include unbound marriage certificates, marriage licenses, monthly reports of marriages, and other proofs of marriages. Record type and quantity varies with each state." Below are ways to access these marriage records and learn more:

Accessing Freedmen's Bureau Marriage Records

Marriage Registers, etc.

Cohabitation Records

Cohabitation records marriages between enslaved individuals and children born from these marriage. In many instances these records might be the only time the person is identifiable in a public record. These record can hold incredibly valuable information such as names and the names of the slave holders. Not all states had cohabitation records, and currently Virginia is the only state that is in the process of digitizing these records. Below are a list of known states with cohabitation records.