Kurt A. Sanftleben, LLC
The Blanford Family
1798 – Two documents related to the marriage of a Kentucky couple: a parental consent certificate and a marriage bond
$100
Item Details
Garrett County, Kentucky, 1798, Unbound
Very good
1798 – Two documents related to the marriage of a Kentucky couple, a parental consent certificate and a marriage bond
The first document, datelined “May the 2nd 1798,” in which the bride’s mother attests with her mark," +, " which is witnessed by the bride’s father. It reads in part:
“The the Clark of goarot [Garrett] County this is to certify that my Daughter fanny is of age, and that I have given my Concent to this to William Blanton [signed] '+' Lucy Blanton / test Jesse Blanton”
The second document, a manuscript marriage bond that is also datelined “the 2nd Day of May 1798,” reads in part:
“Know all men by these present that we William Blanton and Joshua Blanton are held and firmly bound unto his Excellency James Garrard esqr Governor of Kentucky in the just and full Sum of Fifty Pounds Current money which payment will and truly be made. . ..
“The Condition of the above Obligation are such that whereas the above the above bound William Blanton hath obtained a Licence . . . for marriage intended between himself & Fanny Blanton now should there be no Lawfull Case to absent (?) Said Marriage. . .. [signed William Blanton / Joshua Blanton / Tst Stess (?) Perkins”
In 1798, before a Kentucky clerk could issue a marriage license, the groom was required to post a financial bond, frequently fifty pounds, with state. If the groom could not afford to do so, a local guarantor could co-sign the pledge. Often, as in this case, the bride’s father stepped in and did so. This money was not actually paid as a fee; it was a pledge to guarantee that the groom would not renege on his proposal and that no legal impediments (like bigamy, consanguinity, or lack of consent) existed. It would only be collected if one of these things happened or was later discovered.
Tape mends of some of the marriage bond's storage folds with what appears to be archival tape or tissue.
Kurt A. Sanftleben, LLC
Kurt Sanftleben
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