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INTRODUCTION
I wish to thank Rose White for her assistance in proofing the contents and the bride and groom indexes for this publication, and also for her encouragement during the time needed to complete this work.
The following records were transcribed from the original Marriage Record Book E in the office of the county clerk in the Monroe County Courthouse. Book E contains 640 pages, each of which has space for 3 marriage records consisting of preprinted forms for license and certificate of marriage. Spaces are designated on the license for: name, age, address, county and state for groom; Miss or Mrs., name, age, address, county and state for bride; date license was issued and signature of county official. Spaces are designated on the certificate of marriage for: county where performed; name of person officiating; date of ceremony; date certified; signature of officiant and place where his credentials are recorded; date filed; and signature of the county clerk or deputy clerk.
In some instances some of the above information was omitted. In this publication a blank line (___) is used to note the omission of the age or residence. If the date of the marriage was omitted (no date) is entered in the space for the date. Another date, such as date license issued, date filed, etc., is entered with the record. If the certificate was not filled out, (no return) is entered in the date column and the date of the license is noted in the record.
The numbers at the left of each page contain Book E page numbers. The date at the right is the date the marriage was performed.
In order to conserve space in this publication the county of residence is given only when it is OTHER THAN Monroe County, or if it is the only address given. The state is given only when it is a state OTHER THAN Ark. The county where the marriage is performed is given only when it is outside Monroe County.
In transcribing these records, if the date given for the marriage is an obvious error, other dates are given, such as date of license, date filed, etc., to aid in establishing the correct date.
I wish to point out that nearly all of the entries giving a Cotton Plant address give Monroe County. The Cotton Plant Post Office was in Monroe Co. from 15 May 1884 until 24 July 1889 when it was changed to Woodruff Co. Persons before, during, and after these dates could have lived in Monroe Co. or Woodruff Co. with Cotton Plant as their address.
No attempt was made to correct the improper spelling in Book E, and as the transcribing required interpretation of the handwriting, some of which was faded, there are certain to be errors of interpretation as well as those of the usual nature found in publications of this type. It is therefore suggested that if there are questions, the original record should be consulted.
An interesting feature of Book E is that in addition to Monroe County, grooms and/or brides from Arkansas, Benton, Clay, Craighead, Cross, Jefferson, Lee, Logan, Phillips, Prairie, Pulaski, St. Francis, White and Woodruff counties are represented. In addition to Arkansas, the states of IN, IL, MO, MS, TN, TX and VA are represented.
A map of Monroe County on the inside back cover shows some of the sites of communities mentioned in these records. The map is divided into 1918 political townships, which are not the same as in 1880 and 1890, but are as, near as could be found for this time period.
Certified copies (no photocopies) of these marriage records can be obtained (for a fee) from : Monroe County Clerk, Monroe County Courthouse, Clarendon, AR 72029. Please give book and page number where the record can be found.

Jo Claire English

 

 

 

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