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From:
Subject: Re: [PHILLY-ROOTS-L] Re: Philly marriage-1910
Date: Tue, 2 Jul 2002 11:50:14 EDT

In a message dated 7/2/02 5:29:36 AM, writes:
<< where to obtain and cost of marriage certificate for 1910? >>

Marriage records for only Phila., Oct. 1, 1885 to present: Phila. Marriage
License Bureau (in the Orphans' Court), City Hall, Rm. 415 (located in the
northeast quadrant of city hall), Phila., PA 19107. Phone (215) 686-2234.
Whether or not you have the license number, the cost is $15 if you go in
person to request a copy (in which case payment must be made in cash; no
personal checks accepted in person), and $30 if the request is by mail (quite
a hefty service charge!) plus a SASE. Two SEPARATE checks are required for a
mail-in request (one in the amount of $15 for the copy, and one in the amount
of $15 for the service charge), both made payable to the City of
Philadelphia. (These prices became effective in August 2000.) Include as
much as possible of the following (though a search can usually be done with
only partial information): groom's name, bride's maiden name, date of ma
rriage, marriage license number. If you have the name of only one party,
that person's date of birth would be helpful to narrow down their search,
especially if it was a common name. For the above fee, they will do a 5-year
search (the probable marriage year, plus the 2 years prior and 2 years
following). (City Archives has 1886-1915 marriage records on microfilm,
BUT WILL NOT MAKE COPIES; ONLY CITY HALL WILL.)
Options for copies of post-1885 licenses:
1. The actual marriage license films are available through the LDS (ONLY
TO 1916). Order the film and copy it yourself. It's a 2-stage process: the
years from 1885 to 1916 are indexed, by first letter of surname, on a series
of 7 films, which point to a marriage record. The seven index film numbers
for Applicant for Marriage License by surname are:
Marriage license index 1885-1916 A-Cun......1290579
Marriage license index 1885-1916 Cun-G......1290580
Marriage license index 1885-1916 H-L..........1290581
Marriage license index 1885-1916 M.............1290582
Marriage license index 1885-1916 Mc,N-Sie.1290583
Marriage license index 1885-1916 Sie-W.......1290584
Marriage license index 1885-1916 X-Z...........1290585
The actual marriage license films for Phila. have three items for each
marriage: an image of the outside of the folded papers with names of couple
and license number (sometimes at the bottom of the cover there might be a
notation of a church or denomination); the license application page; and a
return from the minister which will have the marriage date on it.
2. Now that microfilm printers at Phila. City Archives are coin-operated
by the patrons, you could go there and make a copy (ONLY TO 30 Dec 1915) in
person.
3. Next time you are at your local FHC, get a Request for Photocopies
(form #31768), enter the marriage license number (found through the index),
and order a copy (ONLY TO 30 Dec 1915) from the Family History Library in
Salt Lake City. The cost is 25 cents per page -- estimate 3 pages. There is
a minimum $2 charge.
4. Order a copy from the Orphans' Court Marriage License Bureau in
Philadelphia -- obviously, this is the least attractive option because it is
the most expensive, but the only option for post-1915 licenses.

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