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Marriage License and Certificate for John P. Greene and Mary E. Nelson, 5 and 9 December 1841

Source Note

Marriage License, for and , with JS Certificate, , IL, 5 and 9 Dec. 1841; printed form with manuscript additions in the handwriting of and ; certified by and JS; notations by ; two pages; private possession. Includes seals and notations. Transcription from photocopy housed at Hancock County, IL, Circuit Court Legal Documents, MSS 1443, BYU.
One leaf, the measurements of which are unknown. A decorative pattern printed in the left margin of the recto identifies “Karnes & Woods, Book and Job Prs. Quincy” as the print shop that created the form. Located in the upper left corner of the recto is a decorative seal depicting two hearts pierced by an arrow, circumscribed by a flower wreath, and crossed by a trumpet. To the left of the certification is embossed the official seal of the state of .
The registration notation on the verso indicates it was filed in the Courthouse on 30 December 1841. At an unknown time, it was removed from the courthouse and came into private possession.

Historical Introduction

and obtained a marriage license in on 5 December 1841 and were married the following day by JS, who completed and signed the marriage certificate on 9 December. Greene, a member of the , Illinois, city council, was previously married to Rhoda Young, who died in January 1841. Nothing is known regarding Greene’s courtship of Nelson other than that both were living in Nauvoo.
Beginning in in 1835, JS frequently performed marriages for church members. In , state laws allowed ordained ministers to perform wedding ceremonies without an additional license issued by the court.
The first portion of the document—the license authorizing a minister or judge to marry and —was completed by clerk in , Illinois, on 5 December 1841. JS used this license on 6 December to solemnize the wedding. The second portion of the document—the marriage certificate—was completed on 9 December by on JS’s behalf and signed by JS, who thereby certified that he had performed the wedding on 6 December. JS officiated at the wedding and completed the certificate likely in , where he and the parties to the marriage lived. The notation on the back of the document states that the completed certificate was returned to the county clerk’s office in Carthage within the required thirty-day window and that Marshall registered and filed it in the county’s collection of vital records on 30 December 1841.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Greene, “Biographical Sketch of the Life and Travels of John Portenus Greene,” 4.

    Greene, Evan Melbourne. “Biographical Sketch of John P. Greene, 1857.” CHL. MS 15390

  2. [2]

    See Bradshaw, “Joseph Smith’s Performance of Marriages in Ohio,” 24.

    Bradshaw, M. Scott. “Joseph Smith’s Performance of Marriages in Ohio.” BYU Studies 39, no. 4 (2000): 23–69.

  3. [3]

    An Act concerning Marriages [1 June 1827], Public and General Statute Laws of the State of Illinois, p. 459, secs. 3–4.

    The Public and General Statute Laws of the State of Illinois: Containing All the Laws . . . Passed by the Ninth General Assembly, at Their First Session, Commencing December 1, 1834, and Ending February 13, 1835; and at Their Second Session, Commencing December 7, 1835, and Ending January 18, 1836; and Those Passed by the Tenth General Assembly, at Their Session Commencing December 5, 1836, and Ending March 6, 1837; and at Their Special Session, Commencing July 10, and Ending July 22, 1837. . . . Compiled by Jonathan Young Scammon. Chicago: Stephen F. Gale, 1839.

  4. [4]

    See An Act concerning Marriages [1 June 1827], Public and General Statute Laws of the State of Illinois, p. 459, sec. 3.

    The Public and General Statute Laws of the State of Illinois: Containing All the Laws . . . Passed by the Ninth General Assembly, at Their First Session, Commencing December 1, 1834, and Ending February 13, 1835; and at Their Second Session, Commencing December 7, 1835, and Ending January 18, 1836; and Those Passed by the Tenth General Assembly, at Their Session Commencing December 5, 1836, and Ending March 6, 1837; and at Their Special Session, Commencing July 10, and Ending July 22, 1837. . . . Compiled by Jonathan Young Scammon. Chicago: Stephen F. Gale, 1839.

Page [2]

<539
Returned Registered & Filed December 30th 1841
Clk> [p. [2]]
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Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Marriage License and Certificate for John P. Greene and Mary E. Nelson, 5 and 9 December 1841
ID #
4173
Total Pages
2
Print Volume Location
JSP, D9:15–17
Handwriting on This Page
  • Samuel Marshall

Footnotes

  1. [2]

    “539” is an identification number. The marriage was recorded in a Hancock County record book under this license number. (Hancock Co., IL, Marriage Registers, 1829–1915, vol. A-1, p. 47, microfilm 954,117, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL.)

    U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.

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