Marion County, Oregon, U.S., Marriage Records, 1849-1900

This database contains details extracted from Marion Country, Oregon, marriage records.

What You Can Find in the Records

Marion County, Oregon, began as the Champooick District in 1843. It was named Marion County on 3 September 1849, which is also the year of the first records included in this database. This database contains details extracted and compiled from nine volumes of Marion Country marriage records held at the Marion County courthouse. The original records included both applications and certificates of marriage. The extracted entries typically include the following details:

• name of bride and groom
• over age ___ (usually 21 for males, 18 for females)
• date of marriage
• where the marriage took place
• officiant
• witnesses
• license number
• page number from the original record book

You’ll find an explanation of the original record books that served as sources for these extracted records in the introductory pages of most of the volumes.

The entries in each volume are listed in the order in which they appeared in the original marriage records books; they are not alphabetical or chronological. Each volume of extracted records does contain an index at the back.

Entries may include details from an application, a certificate, or both. (There may be only one record because couples may have applied for a marriage license in one county and gotten married in another.) Spellings sometimes differ between applications and certificates; when this happens, both spellings are given in an entry, with the spelling from the application sometimes being placed in brackets. The compilers note that there are two different St. Paul’s referred to in the records: a Catholic church at St. Paul, Oregon, and an Episcopal church in Salem.

You may find the following abbreviations used in the entries:

• Aff. - affiant
• Apl. - application
• Bk - book
• C.J. - county judge
• Co. - county
• C.P. - Catholic priest
• J.P. - Justice of the Peace
• Lic. - license
• L.P. - licensed preacher
• m - married
• M.G. - minster of the gospel
• Mult. - Multnomah county
• Pct. - precinct
• P.G. - probably Pastor of the Gospel
• Rec. - recorded
• Wit. - witness
• W.T. - Washington territory

The Williamette Valley Genealogical Society was organized in 1968 to create and foster the study of family history. Formerly affiliated with the Oregon State Library in Salem, Marion County, Oregon, the Society is now associated with the Salem Public Library. The Society’s collection of genealogy materials is cataloged on the Chemeketa Cooperative Regional Library Service and is available to the public at the Salem Public Library. Members volunteer at the Library, providing free research assistance to Library visitors. WVGS can be contacted for other research for a fee.