It Can't Be a Marriage Debt-Transcribing an 1780 Marriage Entry from New Jersey.

My work on these marriages from the Zion Lutheran Church in Oldwick, New Jersey, brought home the importance of copying more than just the item of interest.

The temptation sometimes is to copy or scan "only what I need" instead of a larger portion of the record. That's a mistake.

This image comes from two facing pages in the marriage register of the Zion Lutheran Church in the 1780s and was made from the Family History Library's microfilm copy of these records. My goal was not to transfer the enter set of records, but rather to focus on just one. Copying multiple entries lets me see how the entry of interest is the same as other entries and how it is different. That's useful information in performing any analysis of the information.

But there's one abbreviation that I do not understand. It looks like "debt," but I don't think that's it.

My thoughts on the notations after the names of the couple:

• most of these marriage references use an abbreviation for "published," which I'm taking to mean that the banns were published or announced in church.
• A few entries (with blue rectangles) reference an indemnification bond--which I'm taking to be a marriage bond like those used in more Southern locales.
• A few (underlined in red) reference a marriage license.
• The green boxes--I'm not so certain.

Of course, the marriage of interest is one with the word I cannot quite determine and is shown in the green box in the larger image above.

It is the marriage on 12 April 1784 between Elam Blain and Catharine Reid. Apparently the banns were published for this marriage and there is that word after it--the one that looks like "debt."

Catharine Blain could not remember when or where she was married when she applied for Revolutionary War widow's pension in Ohio in the 1840s. But that's another story.

I'm hoping that the "debt" is not some obvious word that I'm going to kick myself for not immediately knowing.

Abraham's Wife is the key

We've discussed the Revolutionary War pension file of Elam/Alam Blaine before, but the testimony of Abraham Wickizer/Wickiser makes several key points about indirect proof and determining "why" that I thought I would discuss it again.

Testimony of Abraham Wickizer given in widow's pension application of Katharine Blain, widow of Revolutionary War veteran Alam Blain, obtained digitally on Fold3.com  from NARA microfilm series M804--pension W. 5834.

[begin transcription]
Also Abraham Wickiser of lawful age being first duly sworn by me as herein after certified deposes & says that he was Married to the oldest Daughter of Alam Blain deceased late Pentioner of the United states on the 9th day of November 1802 & that his wife was then said to be at little upwards of 18 years of age Also he says that his [illegible] William Blain did word for [Rychard?] on Richard Inman's farm soon after he was Married  Says he never heard the relation of Husband 7 wife ----- between Alam Blain & Catharine deputed by any person & further deponent saith not [signed] Abraham Wickizer]
[end transcription]

The image below shows the source information for this statement which comes from the pension file of Alam Blain:

The statement by Wickiser was made along with several other statements in January of 1848 in Delaware County, Ohio. The family's movement from Hunterdon County, New Jersey into Wilkes-Barre County, Pennsylvania and eventually into Ohio is well-documented in the pension application.

In other testimony, the oldest daughter of Alam and Katharine/Catharine Blain is stated to also be named Katharine. Taken together the statements provide indirect evidence that Abraham/Abram Wickiser married Katharine Blaine, daughter of Alam and Catherine Blaine.

No other child's marriage is mentioned in the pension of Alam Blain. Daughter Katherine's is likely mentioned because her age (over 18) at the time of her marriage gets at her own parents' date of marriage which the widow could not find an actual record of and which was needed for her Revolutionary War pension application.

There's usually a reason why certain people provide information and others do not. Try to determine that reason. In this case the testimony of two people was needed to prove the actual relationship of the daughter to the parents. It was a fortunate discovery as researchers had been stymied on the parents of Katherine/Catherine/Catharine/Katharine Wickiser/Wickizer for years.

And never neglect the possible gold mine of pension records.

Note-American Revolutionary War pensions are completely every name indexed on Fold3.com.