Article on Old Marriage Records (1913), Ramsey Co., MN

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This article appeared in the St. Paul Dispatch, April 16, 1913. It may 
explain why some old marriage records in Ramsey County may be incomplete.

The following record was obtained from the Minnesota Historical
Society Newspaper Archives.

MINISTERS AROUSED TO DUTY BY NEWS REPORTS
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Clergymen Bring Reports of Ancient Marriages to County Clerk
Will Watch Licenses
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Marriage records at the Court House are becoming more complete than they 
have been for years. Clergymen who have not reported ceremonies they have 
performed are bringing in records of certificates dated far back every day.

"You may as well kill us as scare us to death," said one clergyman today 
as he entered a belated marriage record. "First the papers tell us that 
marriages are void when no return is made by the clergyman performing the 
ceremony, and next we are told that some of us are performing illegal 
ceremonies and are liable to prosecution.

"I never paid much attention as to where the license was taken out, but 
I will in the future."