Milwaukee County Genealogical Society

Additional Milwaukee Marriages

Marriage Records found in Milwaukee County
Created between 1822 and 1876
 

Currently, most of these records have not been located in the Milwaukee County Courthouse
and most are not recorded in the State of Wisconsin Pre-1907 Marriage Records
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Brides
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W  Y

 
Grooms
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W  Y
 
 
In 2009, the microfilms of marriage certificates were digitalized by the Milwaukee Public Library, and these images are available for download on their website:
 
 
Use a combination of both this index and the MPL index, to help search for brides and grooms.
 

 
In 2009, the microfilms of marriage certificates were digitalized by the Milwaukee Public Library, and these images are available for download on their website:
 
 
 
The original 14 rolls of microfilm with the image numbers that match with the ones in this index, as well as the index itself, are avaiable from the Milwaukee Public Library - Periodical Department and from one of the 3,400 Family History Centers worldwide. A paper print out of the index is available at the Librarian's Desk in the Humanities Room of the Milwaukee Public Library. The images and index are also available in CD form at some locations. I believe that a version of the microfilm is available throught the Wisconsin Historical Society. *** There may be other Libraries, Area Research Centers, etc. that make this index available to their patrons. At these locations searching the index online, in its paper form or on CD, you will learn the Film Number, Image Number and/or Tiff Number. The Tiff number is used to match the document on a CD record. And the Image Number will match with the number listed on the Microfilm. (NOTE: *** You will want to check with the Wisconsin Historical Society as to the current location of the film, since they do maintain both Madison Library and Archive facilities as well as Area Research Centers.)
 

 
 
The Marriage Document Index was divided into bride's and groom's last name of record. If the female ancestor you are seeking may have been married before, look for her maiden name as well as her previous married name. If that information was included on the original document, we have included it in this index.
 
The index is arranged alphabetically. Remember, if the name was spelled phonetically it may start with a different letter than is currently used. Try F for a name that is currently spelled with a PH or the reverse.
 
Due to the different ethnic groups that were settling in Milwaukee between 1822 and 1876, think about how someone outside of your ancestors' ethnic group may have spelled the name. We have included all the names as they were written on the certificate. If there were three given names and a surname, that is how it will appear. Did your ancestor 'go by' a middle name? It is not uncommon. In the same vein, sometimes someone always went by a nickname, but on a document a more formal name may be used.
 
Occasionally a last name was not listed on a document, was only partially legible, or the document was an authorization form. The missing information will be replaced on these index pages by a number referring you to another document, an underscore or a word that should explain more about the document.
 
SEARCH: By clicking on the first letter of either the Bride or the Grooms Last Name, you will open that page of the index. Then, press Control and F, to open a Find box a the top of the page, and then type in the Last Name you are looking for. (On some browsers, click on the Edit menu at the top of your Browser Window and go down and click on "Find" or "Find in this page"  Make sure you are at the top of the page, as most "Find" applications are set to search from the top by default.) If you are not sure of the complete spelling, you can type in the first few letters and it will locate that portion of a name anywhere in the page. If you are looking for a particular First Name, it will do the same thing.
 
BROWSE: By clicking on the first letter of either the Bride or the Grooms Last Name, you will open that page. Scroll down the list to see what is in the index for that letter.
 

 
 
Like many documents from the 1800's, there can be a difference between what was recorded by one county clerk or clergy member and another. Many of the documents do list the maiden name of the mother's of the bride or the groom, but not all. Some list the maiden name of the bride if she had been married before, but others do not. Some of the documents have very precise locations when asked for place of birth. Others are general or a place is not listed at all. Some of the early documents used the standard format but do not seem to have been written on standard forms. If the ceremony was a religious one, the church name was often listed or if it took place in a home - the affiliation. With civil ceremonies, sometimes a street address is listed, the homeowner's name and/or relationship. 
 
There are some 'authorizations' included where a parent gave permission for an underage child to marry, an affidavit of there being no impediment to marriage, the closeness of the blood relationship, or written permission for the clerk to hand the marriage license to a third party for delivery. These generally do not have standardized information, but can be quite interesting.
 
We have listed the names using the spellings from the document - including the other handwritting interpretation, if there was a question. Women previously married would be listed under both names if known. Occasionally, the microfilmers did make second attempts on some documents trying to get the image clearer, so there may seem to be duplicates. We are in the process of cross-referencing these records and will update them with additional information.
 

A Brief History of the Marriage Indexing Project

In 1966 the Genealogical Society of Utah (which is the non-profit genealogical agency of the LDS church) filmed a group of Marriage Certificates, Licenses, and permission documentation in Milwaukee. Most of these documents had been created in Milwaukee, but some of them came with immigrants from other locations. Many of the early records were for Waukesha and Washington Counties. These documents were found in a storage box and had been created in the years between 1822 and 1876. They were filmed in no particular order, and were not always in very good condition. The Milwaukee Public library has had copies of these microfilms since 1966 - but without an index it was like looking for a needle in a haystack.

In 1999 letters were exchanged between the LDS group in Utah and the MCGS in Milwaukee so the marriage indexing project began. Copies of the films which had been numbered to enable the indexing process along with paper copies arrived in summer of 2000. There were 14 reels of microfilm that were processed into 19,960 legal size sheets of paper (with sometimes up to twelves records on a sheet).

Roger Cobb with Lois Molitor acted as project coordinators. Many, many volunteers put in uncounted hours working to get the copies out and read. They were checked and double-checked and then rechecked numerous times. The usual - but unanticipated problems occurred - with different numbering and imaging techniques. Repeatedly, with each new attempt, Roger went through the records to make sure that all the components of the index codes matched with the records. These records with their numbering systems were then also created in CD form. This allows facilities that do not either have microfilm or computer resources to use whichever form is best for them. The index itself was included on a CD as well as in paper form.

As a side note, some of the records do appear in the Wisconsin Pre-1907 Index and some do not. Some records can be found or are referenced in the Milwaukee County Courthouse records, and some are not found anywhere else. The original copies that were filmed in 1966 have vanished - whether back in lost storage or gone forever?? So, for some researchers, this may be the only way to remove an important brick in their brick wall.



 
 
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1836-1876 Marriage Index Project Volunteers

I, Bobbie Myles, President of the Milwaukee County Genealogical Society, would like to thank ALL of the volunteers who assisted Roger Cobb in completing the 1836-1876 Marriage Index Project. This includes both the members of the Milwaukee County Genealogical Society and others that are members of the Milwaukee Personal Ancestral File Users Group (MPAFUG). Thanks again to each of the following persons for devoting your time and patience to this valuable genealogy project that will be so helpful to future genealogy researchers.

Leona Anderson - MCGS

Mildred Andorfer - MCGS

Manning Bookstaff - MCGS

Robert Brisk - MCGS

Bruce Butterfield - PAF

Pat Chramega - MCGS

Sam Colon - MCGS

Sandy Colon - MCGS

Charles Dahms - MCGS

Signe Damkoehler - MCGS

Grace Eells - MCGS

Jean Fritz - MCGS

Dolores Gennrich - MCGS

Howard Gennrich - MCGS

Mary Ellen Gigot - PAF

John Goelz - MCGS

Anne Hazelwood - MCGS

Jane Hellen - PAF

Jean Hinz

Nancy Howard - PAF

Neal Hunger - MCGS

Laurel Ingram - MCGS

Jeanette Jerger - MCGS

Adela John - PAF

Helen Kaester - PAF

Leona Kane - MCGS

Al Koester - PAF

Edna Kraschinsky - MCGS

Lois Kuehn - MCGS

Margaret Kurzynski - PAF

Shirley Lamprey -

Carol Lemanyzk - PAF

Karla Millerd - MCGS

Lois Molitor - MCGS

David Nelson - PAF

Dollie Nelson - PAF

Priscella Nelson - PAF

Nancy Nohl - MCGS

Darlene Norman - MCGS

Lynn Nowak - MCGS

JoAnn Peterson - PAF

Maycel Plautz - MCGS

Barb Porzorsky - MCGS

John Porzorsky - MCGS

Fred Riley - PAF

Jeane Satola - MCGS

Nancy Schmitz - MCGS

Joyce Thorson - MCGS

Don Thorson - MCGS

Mary Ellen Timm - MCGS

Bessie Turney - +MCGS

Kay Voss - MCGS

Sharon Worm - MCGS

Norma Zaniewski - MCGS

As included in the May 2003 issue of The Reporter