TNGenWeb Project
Banns, Marriage Bonds and Licenses, and Bastardy Bonds
Compiled by Fred Smoot
Introduction
The subject on the
procedure of early Tennessee marriage, deserves a close look. In
time, we hope to add the actually Tennessee laws regulating
marriage.
The Tennessee laws of marriage would certainly have their roots
in North Carolina colonial laws and the laws of other colonies,
especially Virginia. Here we will look at some marriage
procedures of Old Virginia and Tennessee.
F. Smoot
Banns
A Very Colonial Marriage Procedure
In order to be
married outside of the civil authorities, a couple could publish
“banns,” or intent to be married, at there local church or
meeting house for three consecutive weeks, or meetings. If there
were no objection to the marriage, the clergyman would marry the
couple. This “marriage by banns” required no reporting to civil
authorities, therefore it was recorded only in the church
records and perhaps the family Bible. Unfortunately, many church
records have been lost, leaving many a genealogist searching for
the old elusive family Bible.
The main objection to the marriage that could be raised was the
question of an earlier marriage by either the man or the woman.
Bigamy existed then, just as it does today.
A more legal definition of “Banns of matrimony” from Black’s
Law Dictionary, Sixth Edition:
“Public notice or
proclamation of a matrimonial contract, and the intended
celebration of the marriage of the parties in pursuance of
such contract. Such announcement is required by certain
religions to be made in a church or chapel, during service,
on three consecutive Sundays before the marriage is
celebrated. The object of is to afford an opportunity for
any person to interpose an objection if he knows any
impediment or other just cause why the marriage should not
take place.”
Marriage Bonds and Licenses
“In 1660-61 the
[Virginia] law requiring a bond was first enacted. Because of a
scarcity of ministers, the colony required that all persons
wishing to be married by license must go to the county court
clerk and give bond with sufficient security (usually $150 by
the 19th century) that there was no lawful cause to prevent the
marriage. The license was then prepared by the clerk and
presented to the minister who would perform the ceremony.” From
the introduction to the published Frederick Co., VA Marriage
Bonds, by John Vogt & T. William Kethley, Jr., Iberian
Publishing Company.
The bondsman or
surety was to be “able and knowne.” Often, this person was a
brother or uncle to the bride, not necessarily a parent. The
rich and established uncle was an excellent candidate for
bondsman. The bondsman could be related to the groom, but
from what we have seen, that situation would occur less often.
In Tennessee, three documents were created at the time of a
marriage.
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The first was the
marriage bond.
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The second was
the license, wherein the court authorized the marriage, and
the official signed the back to show that it had been
performed.
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The ledger where
the clerk copied some information from these two sources is
known as the official marriage record, and is often the only
surviving part of the record.
Charles A. Sherrill, Tenn. State Library & Archives; has
furnished the following information on this subject according to
his understanding of the material he has read.
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The groom had to
assure the State that he was able to be legally married (was
not already married to someone else, under age, or
ineligible because of close blood relationship, etc.)
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This assurance
was given in the form of a bond for a certain amount of
money. The friend or relative signed as the groom's security
on the bond, commonly known as becoming a bondsman.
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If indeed the
groom had been sued for violating the marriage contract, the
bondsman would have had to pay any legal damages if the
groom defaulted.
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No money actually
changed hands at the time the bond was issued.
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This bonding
procedure was used across Tennessee and in other southern
states in the 19th century.
“I am not certain whether a woman could sue for breach of
contract under this bond, in a case where a man failed to
actually go through with the marriage. I have seen one or two
cases of that type, but do not know whether they were
successful. However, this bond did provide legal protection for
a woman who married a man and then found he already had a wife.”
Bastardy Bonds
This bond was
required from father of illegitimate children. This bond was
usually made with County Court where the mother resided. The
intent was to protect the county from being forced to support
the child. Occasionally, these records still survive.
John Haywood’s manual for Tennessee Justices of the Peace (1810,
reissued 1816) lists bastardy as an un-indictable offence which
can be tried before any two justices. If found guilty the father
is to be brought before the full court to provide bond and
security. This would be the County Court comprised of all the
justices, not the Superior Court. The bond is technically a
“bastardy” bond, not a “bastard” bond. (Charles A. Sherrill,
Tenn. State Library & Archives.)