amitymamaThe Attachment Parenting Community

amey · 10-04-2004, 11:12 PM

I know it's an odd request, but we're sort of at a dead end. It's also okay to say "can't help you." I'm on dialup at my moms, so I may be a little slow getting back to you.

Our problem: my mom's aunt Josephine (her father's brother's wife) is trying to collect death benefits from some group who requires a legal copy of Jo and Pete's marriage liscence. Aunt Jo has either the early stage of Alzheimer's or beginning dementia so she's not a whole lot of help. NO one knows the exact wedding date nor city, so they can't get a copy of the certificate since they don't know where to go. I have guesstimates for both.

Is there any way you can help? I don't exactly understand the records that the LDS seem to have access to, so please pardon my ignorance.

Let me know what information I can get to make this at all easier. I have full names and madien names as well as Aunt Jo's DOB (I might be able to get Uncle Pete's from my grandfather, but he's not in the best health, either). My grandparents weren't at the wedding, so they don't know where it was held.

Thanks for your help!

~amey

IBelieveInFae · 10-05-2004, 12:26 AM

Uh, you might be in trouble. Do you know what state it was in, or if it was done at a church?

If there a family bible that might have the date or location?

PoetMom · 10-05-2004, 01:10 AM

Okay, well first, the family history center at your local LDS church is open to the public. Of course, you have to find out WHEN it's open -- but if you look in the phone book and call the Bishop and explain the situation, he should be able to put you in charge of whomever is running the computer room at the church. That person can tell you when it's open and you can run over at your convenience and look it up.

If you DO find something, you'll want to be certain sure you confirm it somehow because, bless them, you have a LOT of amateur genealogists entering info into the records and mistakes are made.

Have you tried ancestors.com? Also, the 1920 and 1930 censuses are both public record now. 1920 is easier to search since it's indexed. Was your aunt alive then? Was your uncle? Finding out where they were living at the time might provide clues to where they were married and give you an idea of when they might have married (if they were both five years old in 1920, then chances are the marriage record isn't 1930, but could have been almost any year after that . . .)

Someone else might be able to help more. I would TOTALLY go do the searching for you, but I'm overwhelmed with work, schooling, and keeping the house from burning down and I don't know when I could get to it.

amey · 10-05-2004, 09:46 AM

Okay. I about figured as much. Aunt Jo was born in 1924, and there's a guess on a wedding date as "maybe july, maybe around the 7th, and i think around 1953" and town as "maybe in or around Whitestone, NY" I had visions of the LDS records being fantastically searchable - perhaps just by Aunt Jo's name (are you laughing out loud? because I may start soon

). Mom's cousin (the primary caretaker in all of this) could go and get a copy of the records from the town, but they don't know which town nor a sure date - and there's nothing quite like standing around in a public records office asking for date after date before switching towns - nevermind that this poor woman does have 3 children at home, one an adult child with some mental issues and a child herself. IT's a party over there.

I'll go check out ancestor.com that was mentioned above and see if I can find anything.

If someone has spare time and wants to hunt things down, lemme know and I'll give you last names.

THanks!

~amey

outsidelookinin · 10-05-2004, 10:30 AM

I am not LDS but my In Laws are and sometimes my M-IL works at the genology library from time to time.
If you have some information you can send me I can pass it on to her and see if she will check it out for you!
You can e mail or pm me with the info!
t.kwolflick@vafb.net
or pm me here!