FamilySearch Records Search Update February 14, 2010

FamilySearch's Record Search has just added 16 counties to the Arkansas County Marriages. It has also published the Mexico Catholic Church Records consolidating all of the previously separately published Catholic Church records from different areas in Mexico. Records from Durango were also added.

Here is a review of the records added with more detail:

Arkansas County Marriages from 1837 to 1957. This collection is 92% complete. It contains the index and images of marriages recorded in counties of Arkansas. Index and images are currently available for all counties except: Arkansas, Clark, Sebastian, Washington, White, Woodruff. There may be related records included with marriage records. Once an image of a marriage record is located, browse through preceding and following images to check for related records. This project was indexed in partnership with the Arkansas Genealogical Society.

There are three types of marriage records:

• Marriage books are usually large, bound volumes, especially those with printed columns. Entries were made chronologically. Some volumes, especially those for earlier years, were written in paragraph format, often with two or three marriages on each page. When printed pages were introduced later, marriages were recorded in columns, allowing for many entries per page.
• Marriage licenses may be in paragraph format or printed forms.
• Marriage returns are usually in paragraph format. See Wiki FamilySearch.
  

Mexico, Catholic Church Records. Separate books were kept for baptism, confirmation, marriage banns, marriage, and burial or death records. However, in smaller areas, all records may be recorded on one register. The entries were normally made in chronological order. In smaller parishes, most of the marriage banns (informaciones matrimoniales) were included in the marriage entry. In larger parishes, these records may be registered separately. In smaller parishes, the confirmations may have been included with the baptisms or even with marriages. In larger parishes, a separate book of confirmations was usually maintained. The records are in relatively fair condition, with the exception of some older records that may be damaged, and therefore hard to read or missing some information. Most of the older records are handwritten in narrative style and follow a common text with some variations depending on the style used by the priest. Newer records are handwritten in formatted registers, and some are even written in ledger style registers. See Wiki FamilySearch.