Analyse a marriage record

Marriage connects two families for comparison. Content varies by place, period and register type; never fill an absent fact by assumption.

The method, step by step

1. Record ceremony date, registration date, entry number, reference and image separately. Banns, a contract and the ceremony are different records.
2. For each spouse transcribe stated name, age, occupation, address and marital status. Preserve exact place names and references to widowhood or an earlier marriage.
3. Record parents, their presence or reported death, then witnesses and explicitly stated relationships. A witness sharing a surname is not automatically a sibling.
4. Compare birth records and other known marriages. Log age or address differences in the timeline; search supporting papers only where catalogued.