Documenting the Marriage of John Molyneux Barnes and Eleanor Wilson

Clues often lead to good information; but don't stop there. Always search for the original records.

Challenge: Resolve conflicting and incomplete information recorded and replicated by many descendants regarding the exact date and place of marriage for John Molyneux/Mullanics Barnes and Eleanor Wilson.

My grandmother's Book of Remembrance records a marriage date of 1852 in Salt Lake City, Utah for her maternal grandparents. The information came to her from a distant cousin who was also an accredited researcher, so...it must be correct. Right? However, no written records created in the Utah Territory could document the marriage as having taken place there. Perhaps this information was just passed on verbally or simply lost to memory through subsequent generations. Maybe they were too busy trying to survive in the harsh desert valley to take the time to record this important event. Or maybe the original records were lost or destroyed.

Check compiled records--see what someone else has already done. Did they cite their sources? A good researcher always leaves a trail for others to follow.

Clue: A respected historian and descendant posts to the internet and cites the following:

"The Frontier Guardian [Newspaper], Pottawatamie County, Iowa 1849 - 1852, Marriage Notices, listing John Barnes and Elnr Wilson."

Family Tree Submissions, www.rootsweb.com, Entries: 7686, ID Number 1470, Eleanor Wilson. Contact: Jon Stewart Baxter jonbaxter@hotmail.com, updated 30 Jun 2001.

Indexes are great finding aids. They can save a lot of time. Be cautious of omissions or errors. Your ancestor might really be in the original record but missed in the index. Or you might see a variation in the spelling of their name.

Another Clue: An online index of brides and grooms lists John Barnes and Elnr Wilson.

Marriage Notices from the Frontier Guardian 1849 - 1852, http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~iapottaw/FGmarriages.htm.

Don't stop with the index. Locate the record referenced by the index.

Good Information: A title search of the Family History Library Catalog (FHLC) at http://www.familysearch.org/ reaps rewards. This book is in the FHL collection. Books by locality for the U.S. and Canada are located on the third floor of the Library. They are grouped regionally by state and then by county. Many records relating to Pottawatamie County, Iowa will begin with the same subject call number. They will be located on the same shelves.

"John Barnes and Miss Elner Wilson, both of Pottawatamie County, Iowa, 18 March 1852, at Little Pigeon Branch, by Thomas C. D. Howell. (The Frontier Guardian, 25 March 1852)."

Notes: "A compilation of death and marriage notices taken from the Frontier Guardian, surviving issues of the Western Bugle, and the Pottawattamie High Council Minute Book. With few exceptions, the individuals named were Mormons." Valuable information in preface and list of Mormon settlements in Pottawattamie County, Iowa.

Lyndon W. Cook, Death and Marriage Notices from the Frontier Guardian, 1849-1852 (Orem, Utah: Center for Research of Mormon Origins, 1990), Marriages: Kanesville, Iowa, 1849-1852, page 38, Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah, FHL US/CAN Book 977.771 V2c.

Message boards and online indexes simplify the search. But there is nothing like reading the names of your ancestors in the handwriting of the original record written in their presence on the day of their special event.

Use the Family History Library Catalog at www.familysearch.org to locate original records. They may be in the format of a book, microfilm, microfiche, or a digital image. If the FHL collection does not have the record you need, ask a consultant to help you find where the original records might be located.

Do a locality search for the county, then from the list of subjects select Vital Records to learn what records can be accessed. Earlier records may be kept at a town level, later records will be recorded by the state.

Original Records:

"State of Iowa, Pottawatamie Co. SS [Sworn Subscriber]. Marriage License issued March 15, 1852 to John C. Barnes, aged 22 years, & Ellen Wilson, aged 19 years on Recommend of her father Elijah Wilson. Signed T. Burdick, Co. Judge"

Pottawattamie County (Iowa). Clerk of the District Court, Marriage Records, 1848-1930, Salt Lake City, Utah: Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1960-1999, FHL Film 1476888, part 1, page 115, No. 34, Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah.

Read the catalog description to better understand the records. Make sure you don't miss anything. In this case, part 1 is the marriage license and part 2 is the marriage register, two records created three days apart.

More original records:

"1852 March 18. Married by Elder T. C. D. Howell, Mr. John Barnes to Miss Elenor Willson both of this County."

Pottawattamie County (Iowa). Clerk of the District Court, Marriage Records, 1848-1930, FHL Film 1476888 part 2, page 64.

Brick Wall Solution: Mystery solved! John [John C.] Barnes and Eleanor [Elnr, Ellen, Elenor] Wilson were married in Pottawattamie County, Iowa on the 18th of March 1852. Shortly thereafter they journeyed on to Zion as young newlyweds to establish their home and family, building the foundation for an extensive posterity.

Don't stop now! Record and then share what you have learned. Use this new information as a springboard to understanding your ancestors in the historical context of their times. Learn more about the pioneer settlements of Winter Quarters, Council Bluffs and Kanesville. When did they leave Iowa to make the journey west? What company and with whom did they travel? Did they or their traveling companions keep journals? When did they arrive in the Valley of the Great Salt Lake? Keep asking those questions and seeking the answers....

...Lest we forget