Genealogy Chat

The scan i added is taken from a long (1885) marriage cert.

My marriage cert is also a long one. Like I said it has all our real signatures on it - hubbies is very distinctive, I can recognise my own old sig., and my Mum was a witness, I would know hers anywhere. It was given to us before we had left the church. I can remember signing at least two things. This was in 2001.
I can remember hubbie being given it in the church because he had no where to put it and so like a typical man he folded it up and put it in his breast pocket. You can see it on some of the photos poking out the top.

All certificates are supposed to be copies of the original entry in the Register. Churches often get the couple marrying to sign the certificate as well as the Register. This presents a slight anomaly as the member of the clergy signs the certificate to say it is a copy of an entry in a Register in his/her custody when clearly not everything on the certificate is 'copied'. You will not find this happening in Register Offices.
Each quarter, members of the clergy copy out the recent entries in their Registers and send to their local Register Office. Without any additions, these copies are sent to GRO. This means that the clergy may have mis-transcribed something in a marriage entry, not the local register Office.
All marriage certificates are long and green, and have remained almost unchanged since 1837. Birth and Death entries have moved from 5 to a page to 2 to a page and since 2006 1 to a page, and since 1969 have moved to A4 size.

I have in front of me several marriage certificates issued at time of marriage.The older ones are signed over a penny stamp.Each certificate is totally in the same hand.
Each church certificate is perforated on the left side so they have been removed from a pad or book.
I am sorry JMW but one from 1904 is quite a bit smaller and is cream with black printing/lines.

I wonder how many GR members have got original marriage certs and how old they are? It would be interesting to compare the size ,shape, colour

nudge

I have had quite a lot of certs in actual copy from from the relevent register office .
When i have had a handwritten one its always been correct.but its still nicer to see the actual signiture of your ancestors.

I have just looked at my parent's original marriage certificate ... Manchester 1937.
All the certificate, including where it says, "This marriage was solemnized between us." .. followed by their names; is written in ONE flowery hand!
"In the presence of us," is different handwriting, different pen but both 'signatures' look the same! In fact they look like the handwriting of The Rector, who has signed the certificate twice; once after "by me," and then at the very bottom of the page, across an original, red, one penny postage stamp. So, other than his, there are no signatures on this original certificate.
Carole