Utah County (Utah). County Clerk

Marriage license applications, 1897-

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Schedule Description

The county clerk registers each couple through an application process to prove their identity and record other information which permits the couple to receive their license to be legally married. The information includes: application number; names and addresses of the couple; color or race; marital status; places and dates of birth; occupation of applicants; names, birthplaces, and nationalities of fathers; maiden names, birthplaces, and nationalities of mothers; statements that applicants are free from venereal disease or chronic epilepsy; maiden name of female (if previously married); signatures of applicants; consent of parent or guardian if either applicant is a minor; signatures of witnesses and county clerk; and date application was filed.

Scope and Content

This series contains applications submitted to the county clerk by couples seeking to obtain a marriage license. Information in the application identifies the applicants and verifies their fitness to be legally married. Information in the applications may include application number, names and addresses of the applicants, color or race, marital status, places and dates of birth, occupation, names, birthplaces, and nationalities of mothers; statements that applicants are free from venereal disease or chronic epilepsy; maiden name of female (if previously married); signatures of applicants; consent of parent or guardian if either applicant is a minor; signatures of witnesses and county clerk; and date application was filed.

The type and amount of data recorded varied over time. The earliest applications are a much simpler three part form. The form includes the sworn and signed affidavit of the groom that he is eligible to marry and notes his name, residence, and age; bride's name, residence and age; and clerk's signature and date. The second part is the bride's sworn and signed affidavit recording her name and age along with the clerk's signature and date. The third part is for the consent of the parent or guardian to marriage of a minor giving that person's name, relationship, signature, date, and signatures of witnesses.

Notes

As these records contain private information and may pertain to minors, this series is private and not available to the public for 100 years. Furthermore, portions of the series containing records less than 100 years old remain in the custody of the County Clerk.

Numbering of the applications held by the State Archives begins with #217 in 1897. Applications 467-713, dating from 23 November 1897-1 November 1898 are missing from the original records and do not appear on the microfilm.

Microfilming of the series by the county was begun in 1980. The reels of film having only records over 100 years old and in the custody of the State Archives were processed by A. C. Cone in December 2000. Original records dating from 1897-1917 were transferred to the State Archives in 2017 and processed by Hyrum Veach.