Marriage bond

A marriage bond was a type of surety bond guaranteeing that two people were legally available to marry each other, free of complications like being legally underage,[1] having too close a genetic relationship,[1] having other extant marriages, etc.[2] A marriage bond is legally distinct from a marriage license or a marriage certificate, although all three types of records are used in genealogical research as evidence of marriage.[2] Marriage bonds are also not to be confused with marriage contracts or prenuptial agreements.[3] Marriage banns were similar in practice although usually lacked the explicit financial guarantees.[4] The person who co-signed the marriage bond was called the guarantor, security, bondsman[5] or surety,[2] and was often a relative of the prospective groom or bride.[5] Most marriage bonds have an amount of money listed but "no money literally changed hands at the time of posting the bond" rather that was a penalty amount "if an impediment to the marriage was found."[6] The dates of marriage bonds may not (and likely do not) correlate with the actual date the marriage was performed. In some cases a bond document exists but no actual wedding ever took place.[3]

1836 marriage bond of Edgar Allan Poe and Virginia Eliza Clemm Poe

Marriage bonds were used in Great Britain and colonial North America.[2][6] In parts of Great Britain, those who wanted to circumvent a reading of the banns for the traditional three weeks could apply for a marriage license, which required an allegation of legality and/or a bond.[7] The use of marriage bonds in many British counties ended in 1823.[8][7] Upper and Lower Canada required marriage bonds if the wedding was to be performed by someone other than a Catholic or Anglican officiant.[9] Some southern and mid-Atlantic U.S. states carried the colonial practice of using marriage bonds forward into the mid-1800s.[2][6] Knox County, Tennessee had a $1250 required surety until 1929.[10]

Marriage by bond occurred in Spanish colonial Texas.[1] In this case the bond surety was a guarantee that a couple would be legally married, as was required by law, by a Catholic priest when one visited nearby or when the couple traveled to a settlement with an established church. Thus, marriage records in early Texas sometimes have a notation to the effect of "previously married by bond" and/or may have two entries for the same couple: their bond-marriage date and their certified marriage date.[11][12]