| • | Over 12,000 Marriage Bonds (1763-1864) have been digitized, fully indexed, and are online now. The bond was an optional document sometimes taken out before a marriage, to indicate the absence of any legal impediments to the intended ceremony. Although only a small minority of grooms (maybe 1 in 12) took out the optional bond, the survival of these records nevertheless provides a rich and significant resource for family-history research. Researchers whose ancestors did take out a bond are in for a real treat, thanks to the opportunities offered by digitization and the Internet — the documents are presented in full colour, they're visually stunning, and they provide that sense of 'immediacy' that links us directly and tangibly to the past. |
Print version