Whether you are married at the courthouse or by a minister, a license is issued. If you know the date of the event, you can retrieve the document itself. In the case of Babe Ruth it was October 17, 1914. We already knew the name of the church and had access to their records. The marriage license will not give us more information than we already have. However, if we did not have the church's records and we suspected that someone was married in Howard County, then the courthouse is the place to go. It receives marriage vitals from all the churches.
Howard County, Maryland is half way between Baltimore and Washington. Up until 1939 Howard County had no waiting period for marriage. As a result, over 90 percent of the marriages were of out-of-county couples. The Historical Society of Howard County holds the actual marriage licenses up until 1939. Volunteers have also created an on-line index that is accessible at this Link: HCHSMD. It is sorted both by Groom and Brides name.
Upon visiting the Historical Society located in Ellicott City, I picked out the Ruth - Woodford License and took a picture. The source is: Certificate of Marriage, George Ruth to Helen Woodford, 17 October, 1914, Circuit Court For Howard County. Howard County Library 8324 Court Ave., Ellicott City, Maryland 21043.
That's one vital record completed. In the next few postings we will complete the other vitals.
LINKS
HCHSMD
NEXT POSTING: New York Death Certificate - George Herman Ruth.
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