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| As "responsible adults", blacksmiths conducted marriage ceremonies in Gretna Green. It is still a popular custom to get married "over the anvil" |
According to Merriam-Webster, a
marriage mill is "a place where it is possible to marry with a minimum of formality or delay"
Historically, Gretna Green in Scotland was supposed to be the first and the most famous of the "Marriage Mill" towns. It is believed that it started with Lord Hardwicke's Marriage Act of 1754 which made the marriage laws of England and Wales more restrictive than the laws of Scotland. In Scotland, males as young as 14 and girls as young as 12 could get married without their parents' consent. They just needed to declare their intentions in front of a responsible adult. So, it allowed for anyone to conduct the ceremony as long as there were two witnesses.
The United States has its share of "marriage mill" towns too, though none as famous as Gretna Green. Greenup, Kentucky, right across the Ohio river where my father's family lived was a very popular marriage destination for Ohio elopers. And I have heard from various genealogical resources, that Ashtabula once was popular.
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| One of the many wedding chapels in Las Vegas. This one specializes in weddings officiated by Elvis Presley |
Basically, any town on the border with a state that had more restrictive marriage laws could become a "Gretna Green." Some locations played up their reputations offering package deals that would include meals, flowers, rings and in some cases, a motel room.
The article went on to list these marriage mill towns:
Arizona - Yuma
Arkansas - Marion, Crittenden County
Idaho - Coeur d'Alene
Indiana - Angola, Crown Point, Jeffersonville
Iowa - Nashua in Chickasaw County
Kansas - Belleview, Johnson County
Kentucky - Greenup
Maryland - Chesterton, Elklton, Rockville, Garrett, Hartford, Howard, Kent
Minnesota - Moorhead in Clay County, Waukegan in Lake County, Winona County
Missouri - Liberty, St. Charles
Mississippi - DeSoto
Nevada - Washoe County
New Mexico - Curry County
New York - Harrison County
Ohio - Bowling Green in Wood County
Okahoma - Love County (maybe just for the name?)
Virginia - Alexandria, Fairfax, Arlington
Washington- Clarke and Skamania Counties
West Virginia - Wellsburg, Brooke County (though I have found a number of West Virginia relatives who went upriver to Gallia County, Ohio to get married)
So if you are having difficulty finding a marriage record for your research, consider that hey may have headed towards a "marriage mill" town...
Map of Marriage Mill Towns
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| Map of Marriage Mill Towns from FamilySearch's Wiki |
Woohoo, my hometown in Idaho made the list. Believe it or not, the place people would go to get married quick is called The Hitching Post (which sued the city recently after they were dinged for refusing to marry same-sex couples...) We had to drive by it to get to the beach!
ReplyDeleteYes, I had read of Gretna Green years ago but would have been unable to explain it today except that it had to do with something nefarious. Thanks, as always, for your digging around and making history come alive! I know that marriage laws vary from state to state but did not have any idea of all of this.
ReplyDeleteMore info. on Coeur D'Alene's woes...
ReplyDeletehttps://www.inlander.com/Bloglander/archives/2016/05/03/hitching-post-lawsuit-settled-by-city-of-coeur-dalene
and
https://www.inlander.com/Bloglander/archives/2016/05/03/hitching-post-lawsuit-settled-by-city-of-coeur-dalene
As a newbie genealogist I ran into this problem trying to find marriage records for three couples in my husbands family tree. Two couples went from Cabell County WV to KY, another went from Gallia County to WV. I wish I knew why they didn't get married in their home neighborhood but I guess they had their reasons - LOL! All I know is it drove me crazier than I already am until I realized what they had done. I learned that lesson the hard way!
ReplyDeletePS: My BIL is from Greenup, KY. Another small world moment.
Pat