The original marriage books of Hamilton County were kept in Harrison, the county
seat, until 1870. Eighteen volumes of the Hamilton County Register, along with
other county books, were seized by Federal troops during the Civil War, at the
home of Anthony Moore, where they had been taken for safe keeping and were taken
to military headquarters in Chattanooga to await orders for disposal. With the
exception of Book I, which has never been found, they were eventually returned
to the county. All records prior to 1857 were lost either during the Civil War
or disappeared during one of the seven moves and two fires. The marriage
licenses from February 24, 1857, to September 9, 1863 are recorded in what is
now Book I of the Hamilton County marriage books. The records break off abruptly
September 4, 1863 and do not resume until April 4, 1864. Chattanooga was under
military occupation from September 1863, and there were no civil officials in
the city. Charles W. Vinson, reportedly the only county official serving, filled
all county offices vacated by other county officials who had entered the
Confederate Army.
These marriage records have been transcribed from microfilm copies of the
original marriage books of Hamilton County Tennessee. The microfilm records are
now kept at the Hamilton County Courthouse and the Chattanooga – Hamilton
County Bicentennial Library. The
original books give the name of the bride and groom, the date the license was
issued, the person who performed the ceremony, and the date the marriage took
place. This transcription contains the names of the bride and groom, the date
the marriage was performed and the book and page number of the original record.
The names contained in these records were transcribed as they appeared on the
microfilm copies of the marriage books. No attempt was made to correct names
that were obviously misspelled. At times, the transcription was very difficult
and every attempt was made to transcribe the records correctly, however with
over 18,000 individuals, mistakes may have occurred. If you notice a mistake please let me know.
(NR) – Not recorded; Not returned (RNU)
– Returned; Not
Used
Transcribed
and submitted by Dennis C. Wilson
DWilson215@aol.com
