England, marriage certificate

By Linda Rogers on Fri, 02/24/2023 - 17:05

Forums

Hello,

I have reviewed previous submissions on this forum and also consulted Evidence Explained 9.48.  This is what I have come up with for a copy of a marriage certificate that was ordered from the Registrar office.  My concern is I didn't need to know if I needed to at that the marriage was solemnized at the Register office.  I have attached a copy of the marriage certificate. 

Thank you as always for your help,

Linda Rogers

 

Source List Entry (EE)

England. Registrar General. Marriage Certificates. General Registry Office, Southport.

First Reference Note (EE)

England, marriage certificate (certified copy of an entry of marriage) for Thomas Byrne and Eliza Ann Vizzard, married 11 May 1863; citing June quarter 1863, 8d/672/entry 08, marriage solemnized at the Register Office in the district of Manchester, County of Lancashire, England, dated 13 Mar 2002; General Registry Office, Southport.

Subsequent Note (EE)

England, marriage certificate (short form), Thomas Byrne and Eliza Ann Vizzard, 1863, citing 8d/672/08, Manchester registration district.

Submitted byEEon Sat, 02/25/2023 - 09:05

Linda, if I understand you correct, your question is this:

 >  My concern is [whether] I needed to [state] that the marriage was solemnized at the Register office. 

Remember the two purposes of a citation:

  1. To provide all essential data to relocate the record.
  2. To provide all available data needed to evaluate the authenticity of the record and the reliability of the information.

If you add into the citation the fact that the marriage was solemnized at the Register office as opposed to somewhere else, does that information assist you with Purpose 1 or 2?

EE 2.7 "Discursive Notes & Overlong Citations" discusses this from a different angle but it includes a relevant point:

Source notes, ideally, should identify and discuss our sources. Matters that relate to our subject should be discussed in the narrative. Self-discipline in this matter not only trims bloated source notes but also produces clearer and cleaner writing.

Submitted byLinda Rogerson Sat, 02/25/2023 - 09:42

Hello,

Yes, that sentence does assist me.  It tells me that they didn't get married in a church so I won't find any church records.  I also know that if I needed to I could order this record again with the information found in the citation.

Thank you,

Linda

Submitted byEEon Sat, 02/25/2023 - 18:44

Linda, that detail would indeed help you with your research; but two things are being confused here. Clues for additional research—or details that rule out a search possibility—are a different issue from points 1 and 2 above. In brief:

  • Both 1 and 2 focus on the source, its identification and its credibility. 
  • That's a radically different issue from the content of the source and the clues that the content might offer—such as marriage in a civil office means there's not a church marriage but does not rule out the possibility of a later church blessing.

Each of these issues is important in its own right. But it's also important to the success of our research that we mentally separate (a) the physical form and whereabouts of the source from (b) the information within the source.  Citations focus on (a).

Submitted byLinda Rogerson Sun, 02/26/2023 - 01:01

Thank you.  I understand now that I don't need the extra information.

Therefore I have changed my citation to:

Source List Entry (EE)

England. Registrar General. Marriage Certificates. General Registry Office, Southport.

 

First Reference Note (EE)

England, marriage certificate (certified copy) for Thomas Byrne and Eliza Ann Vizzard, married 11 May 1863; registered June quarter 1863, Manchester District 8d/672/08, Lancashire; General Registry Office, Southport.

Subsequent Note (EE)

England, marriage certificate (certified copy), Thomas Byrne and Eliza Ann Vizzard, June quarter 1863, Manchester District 8d/672/08.

Thank you as always for your valuable assistance,

Linda Rogers