A marriage bond was a type of surety bond guaranteeing that two people were legally available to marry each other, free of complications like being legally underage, [1] having too close a genetic relationship, [1] having other extant marriages, etc. [2] A marriage bond is legally distinct from a marriage license or a marriage certificate, although all three types of records are used in genealogical research as evidence of marriage. [2] Marriage bonds are also not to be confused with marriage contracts or prenuptial agreements. [3] Marriage banns were similar in practice although usually lacked the explicit financial guarantees. [4] The person who co-signed the marriage bond was called the guarantor, security, bondsman [5] or surety, [2] and was often a relative of the prospective groom or bride. [5] Most marriage bonds have an amount of money listed but "no money literally changed hands at the time of posting the bond" rather that was a penalty amount "if an impediment to the marriage was found." [6] The dates of marriage bonds may not (and likely do not) correlate with the actual date the marriage was performed. In some cases a bond document exists but no actual wedding ever took place. [3]
Marriage bonds were used in Great Britain and colonial North America. [2] [6] In parts of Great Britain, those who wanted to circumvent a reading of the banns for the traditional three weeks could apply for a marriage license, which required an allegation of legality and/or a bond. [7] The use of marriage bonds in many British counties ended in 1823. [8] [7] Upper and Lower Canada required marriage bonds if the wedding was to be performed by someone other than a Catholic or Anglican officiant. [9] Some southern and mid-Atlantic U.S. states carried the colonial practice of using marriage bonds forward into the mid-1800s. [2] [6] Knox County, Tennessee had a $1250 required surety until 1929. [10]
Marriage by bond occurred in Spanish colonial Texas. [1] In this case the bond surety was a guarantee that a couple would be legally married, as was required by law, by a Catholic priest when one visited nearby or when the couple traveled to a settlement with an established church. Thus, marriage records in early Texas sometimes have a notation to the effect of "previously married by bond" and/or may have two entries for the same couple: their bond-marriage date and their certified marriage date. [11] [12]