Carolina Family Roots: Beware of Misleading, Inaccurate Records

These two records, for the same Couple, gives two distinct date for the marriage of Jeff C. Burton and Amanda C. Davis. The question then becomes which date is the correct marriage date for this couple. To determine that we need to look at the original record.

In the first collection “Hunting For Bears” was the original source. Hunting for Bears, a genealogical publication organization was big business when I first started research in the mid-1970’s. They flourished from 1951 to 2013 with over a thousand publications. I would imagine it will be almost impossible to find the book these marriages were extracted from and entered into this database. Even if you did find the Hunting for Bears publication you would still be short of the original source.

Alabama, Marriage Collection, 1800-1969 about Jeff C Burton
Name: Jeff C Burton
Spouse: Amanda C Davis
Marriage Date: 20 Nov 1869
County: Sumter
State: Alabama
Performed By Title: Minister
Performed by Name: O P Thomas
Source information: Jordan Dodd, Liahona Research
Source Information:
Ancestry.com. Alabama, Marriage Collection, 1800-1969 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006.Original data:
Alabama Center for Health Statistics. Alabama Marriage Index, 1936-1969.Alabama Center for Health Statistics, Montgomery, Alabama.
Dodd, Jordan R., et. al. Early American Marriages: Alabama to 1825. Bountiful, UT: Precision Indexing Publishers, 19xx.
Hunting For Bears, comp. Alabama marriage information taken from county courthouse records. Many of these records were extracted from copies of the original records in microfilm, microfiche, or book format, located at the Family History Library.
Dodd, Jordan R., comp. Early American Marriages: Alabama, 1800 to 1920.
https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/1143447:4192

Jeff C. Burton in the Alabama, U.S., Select Marriage Indexes, 1816-1942
Name: Jeff C. Burton
Gender: Male
Marriage Date: 07 Dec 1869
Marriage Place: , Sumter, Alabama
Spouse: Amanda C. Davis
FHL Film Number: 1293885 V. 2-4
https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/2224506:60000

This second reference will be much easier to find the original source as stated on the Index. The original data source of this Index is the LDS Family History Library Film #1293885, Volumes 2 thru 4. We all know that this film most likely contains the original marriage licensee filmed on-site by representatives of the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. You can find this Film, at their Website, using their on-line catalog.

https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog

This particular marriage license can be found in Sumter County Alabama Marriages, Volume 3, page 305 at this URL

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-89V2-SZJ8?i=318&cc=1743384&cat=197215

We can see at the bottom of this marriage licensee that Jeff C. Burton and Amanda C. Davis were married on 7 Dec 1869 NOT 20 Nov 1869.