Here is a hint that might help you. When the Marriage Bond was issued for the marriage of M.F. Hemphill and Julia A. S. Thompson, the bondsman was James Tausay and the witness was J.S. Myers.(North Carolina, Index to Marriage Bonds, 1741-1868 [Ancestry.com.database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2000. Original data: State of North Carolina. An Index to Marriage Bonds Filed in the North Carolina State Archives. Raleigh, NC, USA: North Carolina Division of Archives and History, 1977. Rowan County, Record 01 190.)
Many times, these persons are related to the groom.