Howard County Marriage Licenses
This site contains bride and groom information taken from minister's returns of marriage licenses, unused returned applications, and courthouse ledgers of marriages performed in Howard County, Maryland, between 1860 and 1939. There was no waiting period in Howard County and over 90 percent of the marriages were of out-of-county couples. Although these records are incomplete, this site contains records of over 38,000 marriages. If you find the couple you are looking for, contact the Howard County Historical Society, P. O. Box 109, Ellicott City, Maryland 21041, for a copy of the marriage license. There is a $10 fee for each mailed photocopy. If you visit the society's library, there is no fee to research and each photocopy is 25 cents. Hours are listed on the society's Contact Us page. In addition to what is displayed on this site, a license normally contains state/country of birth, race, previous marriage status, occupations, name and title of minister, town of marriage, and consenting parents if the groom was under age 21 or the bride was under age 18. Additional marriage license information may be obtained by visiting the Maryland State Archives (on microfilm) or by visiting the Howard County Courthouse Records Division at the Dorsey Building in Columbia, Maryland. Pre—1851 marriages were recorded in Anne Arundel County, Howard District, Maryland. Additional Information: Phone: 410-750-0370, Email:
Information@hchsmd.org, Please check alternate spellings as project volunteers had difficulty reading the handwriting of some ministers.
Scan down to select groom and bride surnames. |
