I need advice on how to find a marriage record

Question

I have searched the usual records, but have come up empty-handed ( marriage records from the US state& county). Is there another way to find this info?

Comments

The answer depends on the state, the time period, and often the specific county. The U.S. has not national system for recording vital records.

Who are you looking for, where, and when?

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Looking for my parents marriage record. [[Stoddard-1888|Dorothy (Stoddard) Dallas]]

I always thought they were married in Hamilton, Ohio 1941 or 1942. But there is no record for either her or him.  Just trying to figure out where else to look.

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Could they have married in Kentucky or Indiana?  They lived both places.  Also, Ohio doesn't have a statewide marriage index until 1950, so you may have to search county by county.  FamilySearch has records, but they aren't indexed except by county and type.

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I appreciate the info about the Ohio records. I have searched Kentucky records & Indiana records with no luck. I’ll try FamilySearch per your suggestion. Thanks for your help

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I had the same problem with my parents who married in KY 1947. I had a date and location. That county had digitized vital records only after 1950 or so. I found the phone number for the county registrar on the county’s web site. I called and they provided it ( for a small fee).

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Thank you for that suggestion!

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You might also want to try looking for a marriage announcement on a website like GenealogyBank or newspapers.com, or through a library/archive. I can do lookups if you'd like on GenealogyBank, since I have a subscription.

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I would like to accept your kind offer to search GeneologyBank.

Marriage is between Dorothy Ann Stoddard 1-7-1920 and Walter Lee Dallas 8-21-1916

Although Walter was Catholic, this could have been a civil ceremony. I’m assuming the marriage was in Ohio, Hamilton County ( Dorothy’s home) but Walter was from Louisville Ky or across the river in Clark County, Indiana.

Thank you.

Kathy

Answer 1

Your fathers last name Dallas.

Comments

Yes.  Dallas was my father’s last name.