My 2nd great grandparents Colin Mitchell and Nancy Hurley were married on September 13, 1863 at Jeddore by Rev. Robert Jamieson. Above is a photo of the marriage bond filed by Colin and his father Alexander Mitchell.
Wikipedia has a good article on marriage bonds and their use. Basically, they were a means for the man to legally affirm his intention to marry a particular woman and confirm there was no legal impediment to the marriage. If the marriage didn’t go through, he and the co-signer were on the hook for the amount listed on the bond (£100 in this case).
Fun fact. Colin and Nancy were not only husband and wife; they were also first cousins – not an uncommon occurrence on the isolated Eastern Shore of Nova Scotia
Leave a Reply