Yesterday, I went to my Family History Center to see the films I ordered. What did I find? A marriage record for my great-great grandparents.
Though I had clues to this information via an email from someone else, I did not have the record for myself.
The names of the groom's parents I knew. The groom's father is the subject of my Military Pension series.
The names of the bride's parents (my third great grandparents) are new to me: Joseph Schmitz and Elisabeth Reichsdorf.
The birthplace of the bride is new to me as well. I always joke that she is the lady with many names (Marie, Mollie, Mary, Amalie and last names Schmitz, Baerecke, Hayward and Sutherland) and many birthplaces (London, Belgium, France, Germany, Alsace-Lorraine). This record is the most official one I have (the others are secondary with the info provided by family members). Therefore, I'll list Rachen, Prussia as her birthplace and make notes of all the others.
Naturally, this document that answers so many questions also raises some big ones: where is the Schmitz family in America? Surely my great-great grandmother didn't come here by herself.
I also was hoping to get a death record for the groom. He died five years after this wedding. However, the film went to September 1896 and he died in October 1896. Story of my genealogy life. Time to order another film.
I an really happy to have this marriage record. Now I need to get the citation straight so I can add it to my 100% sourced database. Yay me.
