Source Information

Ancestry.com. Utah, U.S., Select Marriage Records, 1860-1944 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.
Original data: Marriage Records, 1860–1944. Microfilm publication, 19 rolls. Utah State Archives and Records Service. Salt Lake City, Utah, United States.

About Utah, U.S., Select Marriage Records, 1860-1944

In this database are Utah marriage licenses, applications and certificate record books dating from 1860 to 1944 for the counties of Box Elder, Carbon, Davis, Iron, Juab, Kane, Utah and Weber. The regulatory legislation for marriage ceremonies and records in Utah was defined by the Edmunds-Tucker Act of 1887. Although primarily meant to end polygamy by requiring a territorial license for marriage filed in a probate court, these records provide us with valuable information today.

The Territorial Legislative laws of 1888 are the first to record who could legally perform marriage ceremonies: “Ministers of the gospel or priests of any denomination, in regular communion with any religious society,” as well as, “Probate judges, justices of the peace and judges of the district and supreme courts” (Compiled Laws of Utah, Vol II: 2589, 1888). Previous to this law a marriage officiator could be anyone of legal or ecclesiastical authority including in some cases the fathers of the parties involved.

Information in this database:

  • Names of bride and groom
  • Ages
  • Birth dates
  • Parents’ names
  • Marriage date and place

Related Website

Utah State Archives