Relying on Others is a Pain

One of the challenges with pursuing one’s family tree is having to rely on others. The most annoying aspect is when miscommunication and lack of clarity cause others to reject your requests for help. 

Recently, I was dismayed to receive negative replies from NJ Vital Statistics regarding two marriages from 1937 and 1970. Both were found in the NJ marriage indexes now available through the efforts of Reclaim the Records. I was hoping to get the non-certified “certifications” that the office offers for weddings of my grandmother’s first cousins. 

The 1937 was rejected because I did not provide the county and location of the marriage. Their own index does not provide that information for 1937 but those making a request must provide it or your Xerox of your ID, your request and your check will be returned. They did provide an envelope and I am deciding whether I want to ask a second time. The bride lived in Jersey City in Hudson County in the 1920 and 1930 censuses. 

I expected that the 1970 would be rejected because the marriage occurred less than 50 years ago. That was not why the marriage record was not searched and provided as requested. They mentioned that I was not a close enough relative which boggles my mind. Marriages are public events and therefore one has zero expectation that the information on a marriage license is private. The license by its very nature exists to prevent fraud and bigamous unions. Therefore, I would argue that current marriage licenses should be open for a full review by anyone.