Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Texas Marriage Records Database

By Ben Dave

With a population in excess of 20 million and second only to California, it comes as no surprise that there are millions and millions of Texas State Marriage Records in one form or another, past and present. Amid the current age of computerization, both public and private databases exist aplenty and the mother of all repositories in Texas is of course The Texas Vital Statistics Office under the umbrella of Department of State Health Services of Texas. Expectedly, it is the most widely patronized center of information pertaining to marriage records.

The Texas Vital Statistics Office began officially filing Texas Marriage Records in 1966 simultaneously with Texas Divorce, Birth and Death Records. There were variations over the various counties and districts especially during the early years but all marriages within the state would ultimately be posted at this office. Erstwhile marriage records in Texas as with other states during that era were administered by the county or district offices where the marriages took place.

Texas County Marriage Records go way back to the mid-nineteenth century as early as 1837 but were all scattered and isolated within their own respective county boundaries. Many failed to survive the ages due to a variety of reasons: fires, floods, accidents, negligence or just plain deficient storage by modern-day standards but for all practical purposes, marriage records upon the surrounding handful of generations (as of 1966) should generally suffice, especially with the high standards todays government public records.

Texas Marriage Records encompass all documentation and articles pertaining to the event such as Marriage License, Marriage Certificate, Status-Verification Letter, Marriage history and even Divorce Decree. The individuals bio-data and personal particulars along with those of his spouse or spouses and the couples parents will be produced from a search. The identity of the conducting official or officiant is usually also included. Except for those covered by special court ruling, all this information is considered public domain under Texan laws. They go under the jurisdiction of the state and are accessible by any member of the public as long as rules and procedures are adhered to.

Different people will have their own preferred way of conducting marriage record search but the clear-cut favorite is the online method. This is quite expected as its convenient, immediate and private. Depending on the needs of the situation, it can even be accomplished free of charge. However, its recommended that professional record providers be engaged as their fees are typically very reasonable anyway and the bona-fide ones offer excellent value for money.

In concurrence with most other states, Texas Marriage Records are the most highly-searched public records. Given the ease and discretion of online searches, it has become common-practice and typical reasons for retrieving marriage records are checking on prospective spouse, applying for Marriage License, Genealogy research and all kinds of investigative work. It might also be worthwhile to conduct a self-check once in a while just be to sure that theres no injustice or oversight against your name. Its such a breeze to get one done nowadays anyway. - 15437

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