Preface
The following records were compiled from microfilm copies of Kendall County marriage records filmed by the Latter
Day Saints Church. Information in Kendall County Marriage Registers, Book A-1, Book 1 and Book 2, have been combined
to construct the document. These Marriage Registers cover the period from May 1841 to September 1915.
Marriage Register Book A-1 included the name of the groom, the name of the bride, date of license and license number,
and generally the date of marriage. It also included the person by whom they were certified (minister, judge, Justice
Of The Peace, etc.) and when the marriage certificate was returned to the County Clerk's office. The date the certificate
was issued was always given but in some cases the date of marriage was not provided. In these cases, the date the
license was issued was used as the date of marriage. These cases are indicated by an asterisk (*) after the date.
It appears in some cases that licenses were issued in the wife's married rather than maiden name. Two marriages
were registered twice. The marriage of Charles G. Hughes and Sarah Gridley is registered on pages 45 and 47. The
marriage of Edward Kice and Emeline Lyon is registered on pages 13. and 15.
There may also be other problems as there are several cases where questions arise. The marriage of James Corke
and Sarah R. Chase is given as June 16, 1857. Records also indicate a James Corke married Galena Daniels, July
14, 1857. Is this a case of two men named James Corke or an error? In another case, Henry Bingham supposedly married
Martha Robinson, June 20, 1850 and then Mary L. Gridley, January 1, 1851. Were there two men named Henry Bingham,
a short marriage and quick remarriage, or an error?
Similarly, a Mary Mulligan married Patrick Redmaid, January 15, 1855 and Henry Kaley August 3, 1855. Mary Belchner
married Lewis Weller, March 4. 1858 and a Mary Belchner married John Thomas Belchner, May 18, 1858. There may have
been two people named Mary Mulligan and Mary Belchner. The marriage of Milton H. Evans and Hannah Cass Tenney,
listed page 35 of the register as the source of their marriage record but there was no page 35 on the filmed record.
Notations in the index of Marriage Register Book A-1 indicate that some of the original marriage certificates are
missing even though the marriage is registered in the book.
Marriage Registers Books 1 and 2, included space for a considerable amount of relevant information. The following
general questions were asked: the number of the license; the date of license; by whom affidavit, if any, was given;
by whom consent to the marriage was given; where and when the marriage took place; a list of the witnesses; by
whom the marriage was certified with their name and office (a minister, judge, Justice Of The Peace, etc.); the
date the marriage license was returned to the county clerk's office; and the date the license was registered in
the county clerk's office.
The following questions relating to the groom were asked: the full name of the groom; the groom's place of residence;
the groom's occupation; the groom's age on his next birthday; the groom's race or color; the groom's place of birth;
the groom's father's name; the groom's mother's name; and the number of the groom's marriage. The following questions
relating to the bride were asked: the full name of the bride; the bride's maiden name if a widow; the bride's place
of residence; the bride's age on her next birthday; the bride's race or color; the bride's place of birth; the
bride's father's name; the bride's mother's name; and the number of the bride's marriage.
Unfortunately, many spaces in Marriage Registers, Books 1 and 2 were left blank and the questions unanswered. The
date a certificate was issued was typically given. In some cases, the date of marriage was not provided. In these
cases the date the license was returned or recorded was used as the date of marriage as the actual date of marriage
is unknown.
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