Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Transcription Tuesday: Arkansas Marriages and “Permission Slips”

So I’m working on my enormous Norman family and going back through the whole bunch to find as many marriage records as I can in FamilySearch Record Search’s Arkansas County Marriages, 1837-1957 database. Which is a lot of marriage records. I am having flashbacks to a long weekend spent when I first found the Texas Death Certificate database there (talk about a crick in the neck!).

One of the pleasant surprises in the images of these records is that, when the groom was under the age of 21 and/or the bride was under the age of 18, a parent or guardian had to give written permission for the child to get married, and these “permission slips” are often included in the record books. The down side is that they often cover part of all of the marriage documents (Bond for Marriage License, Affidavit, Marriage License, Certificate of Marriage, and Certificate of Record). Still, it’s nice to see relatives’ handwriting and how they phrased their permission.

Below are transcriptions from three such notes and images of two (the third image is very faint).

Note on marriage records of Cleo Pennington and Helen Norman:

“Meyers, Ark.
Nov. 7 - 45
To whom it may concern this is to certify that we W.D. Norman and Irene Norman has given our consent for Helen Norman marriage to Cleo Pennington.
Yours truly
W.D. Norman
Irene Norman”


Note on marriage records of Odis Norman and Eula Mae Kinsey

“I agree for my son Odis Norman to get his married
August 20, 1938
Wiley Norman and Gertie Norman”



Note on marriage records of Cecil Tackett and Validee Norman:

Bonnerdale, Ark.
Feb. 1, 1943
To Whom It May Concern:

This is to certify that we, Joe Tackett and Effie Tackett, the parents of Cecil Tackett, do hereby give our consent to the marriage of Cecil Tackett to Validee Norman.
(Mother) Effie Tackett
(Father) Joe Tackett”

3 comments:

  1. Very neat, but why would they cover the rest of the document? That doesn't seem to make any sense to me. It's wonderful you are finding some many that belong to your family. Happy Hunting! :)

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  2. Thanks, Lori - it's a great database plus there are tons of Normans and related families, so a lot of these are turning up.

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  3. My mother had to sign for me to be able to marry at 17. All these years later I don't recall what she had to sign. Was there a form or did she simply write a note like these?

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