Marriage of Meredith Mannin & Rachel Fugate

Amanuensis[i] Monday
Brown-Mannin(g) Line
By Don Taylor

Intro/source

As is so often the case, when you find a record it begs additional questions. Were Meredith and Rachel married on Valentine’s day or three days later?

Transcription [ii]

Bond for the Marriage of Meredith Mannon [Mannin] and Rachel Fugate

Marriage Confirmation[iii]

Marriage Confirmation – Meredith Mannon [Mannin] and Rachel Fugate.

Willis Moffett & Caroline Stone on the 4th of Jan
Also Rice Burns & Elizabeth Hardin Febr 3rd
Meredith Mannon & Rachel Fugate on the 14th Feb….
….

January the 3rd 1826 – Jonathan Smi…

Discussion

14th or 17th?

The legibility of the “Marriage Confirmed” date leaves something of a question.  It is unclear in my mind if the date is the 14^th or the 17^th. Both dates make sense. There are no other 7s on this page to compare his 7s against his 4s. Meredith and Rachel’s father, Reuben Fugate, signed a bond assuring Meredith and Rachel were able to marry. That they married on the same day makes sense, unless there was a waiting period. If Kentucky had a marriage waiting period in 1825 then their marriage three days later, on the 17^th makes more sense.

Conclusion

I have decided to go with the 14^th because Kentucky does not currently require a waiting period. I’ve tried to find Kentucky Laws in 1825, but have been unsuccessful. If anyone has a source for me to check, that would be a great help. If Kentucky had a waiting period in 1825, then Meredith and Rachel had to have been married on 17 February 1825.

Endnotes

[i] John Newmark started the “Amanuensis Monday” category in 2009 on his Blog,  Transylvanian Dutch, and many bloggers have followed suit using the tag. Google provides the following meaning for amanuensis: “A literary or artistic assistant, in particular, one who takes dictation or copies manuscripts.”

[ii] “Kentucky, County Marriages, 1797-1954,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V5ZH-L12 : accessed 16 September 2018), Meredith Mannon and Rachel Fugate, 14 Feb 1825; citing Bath, Kentucky, United States, Madison County Courthouse, Richmond; FHL microfilm 273,003.

[iii] “Kentucky, County Marriages, 1797-1954,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V5ZZ-J2T : accessed 16 September 2018), Meredith Mannon and Rachel Fugate, 14 Feb 1825; citing Bath, Kentucky, United States, Madison County Courthouse, Richmond; FHL microfilm 273,007.