Article summary: The Internet has spawned a new way for people to look for county vital records. This is a more efficient way to look for a marriage record.


County vital records such as birth records, divorce decrees, marriage certificates and death records are required to be filed in the United States. Genealogists search this information regularly to learn more about a family’s heritage or a community they are researching. Professional genealogists would arrange family trips around a search for county vital records in an area that is far from their home. Historians have spent hours in dusty rooms in old courthouses looking through worn books for marriage records to prove that someone really did marry royalty or to prove some other historic claim.

Visionaries at some of the 3,141 county courthouses across the United States saw an opportunity when the Internet boomed in the 90s. Creating online databases for marriage records and other information would allow genealogists and other professionals to search for these county vital records from their home or office computer, eliminating the need to drive across the country to do research. Genealogists have also embraced this new technology and started forums online that directed their colleagues as to what county a vital record could be found.

Many counties, even more than a decade since the Internet became mainstream, still have not computerized their records. And many people just wanting to trace one record are not aware of even how to begin a search. Online records databases are a way to help anyone trying to find a marriage record. These online search companies compile these county vital statistics in one place. These databases have several advantages to doing it ‘the old fashioned way.’

• You can search for the marriage record discreetly without leaving your home. You may be snooping on your daughter’s new boyfriend and you want to find out if he has been married before. But if you go down to the courthouse, you will have to deal with your daughter’s friend who will likely tell her what you are doing.
  
  
• Online databases contain records from all 50 states. If you don’t know where the marriage record was filed, you don’t want to waste you time calling from Maine to Arizona. And if the person was married in another country, you will run up a hefty phone bill making inquiries. The information is at you fingertips when you use an online database search company to help you find the marriage record.
  
  
• These searches are inexpensive. Most searches cost less than $50—even if you need unlimited access to county vital records. If you are searching for just one marriage record, you could spend as little as $5. This saves time and money for anyone needing to find out where a record is fast.

Many people think using an online records database is too complicated. However if you know just a little bit of information, you can find a marriage record easily. Just type in the correct information in the lines provided and you will see a list of records available. You will be able to pick out that record from the list.