Florida Marriages - Why can't I find the record?
This page will give you additional guidance and resources to find marriage information for your ancestor. Use this page after first completing the marriage section of the Florida Guided Research page.
Other records to search
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Additional Databases and Online Resources
- 1970-1999: Florida, Marriages - ($)
- 1802-1998: Florida, United States Marriages - ($)
- 1822-1950: Florida, Compiled Marriages - ($)
Additional Records with Marriage Information
Substitute records can contain information about more than one event, and are used when records for an event are not available. Because the substitute records may not be created at the time of the event, it may contain incorrect information. Search for as many substitute records as possible to collaborate information found in substitute records to help improve accuracy.
| Use these additional records to locate marriage information about your ancestor: | ||
| Why to search the records | ||
| Includes marriage information such as wedding announcements or golden anniversaries. Many marriage announcements were published. | ||
| May list maiden name of spouse as well as date and place of marriage. | ||
| May include the name of a surviving spouse and later obituaries may also include date and place of marriage | ||
| Pensions for widows may include name of spouse as well as date and place of marriage. | ||
| Go back to the Florida Guided Research page, and click on "Death". Death records may include the name of spouse and whether married, widowed, or divorced. | ||
| After 1850, censuses may list the first names of spouse; 20th Century censuses may include information such as number of years married. | ||
| May include dates of marriage as well as the maiden name of spouses. | ||
Marriage in a different place - Gretna Greens
Improve searching
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Tips for finding marriages
Success with finding marriage records in online databases depends on a few key points:
- Your ancestor's name may misspelled. Try the following search tactics:
- Try searching using the spouse's name.
- Try different spelling variations of the first and last name of your ancestor.
- Try a given name search (leave out the last names)
- Expand the date range of the search.
- Try searching with the state name only instead of by county.
- If your ancestor's name is common, try adding more information to narrow the search.
Marriage in a different place - Gretna Greens
Why the record may not exist
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Known Record Gaps
Records Start
Records Published
Collection coverage tables show the places and time periods of original records published. Check the coverage table for the collections you searched which did not include your ancestor. Gaps in the online collection may require searches in other records or original birth records at an archive.
- County marriage holdings, Florida
- Florida Marriages, Coverage Table - FamilySearch Historical Records
Marriage in a different place - Gretna Greens
