Registers of Convicts’ Applications To Marry 1825-1851

Until the 1820s, all marriages were conducted by the Church of England, regardless of the faith of the bride and groom and all marriages required banns to be read out on three successive Sundays in church or the issuing of a licence, for a fee, to guarantee that there was no legal or moral impediment to the proposed union. In the case of convicts, permission had to be given by the Governor and copies of the banns would be sent by the local clergy to the Colonial Secretary. Registers contain details, not just of the convicts wishing to marry but also parties in the marriage who were free settlers. These registers record key details about the parties applying for permission to marry including: their names; their ages; the date of permission or refusal; ship of arrival; sentence (for the party who was the convict); whether free or bond and the name of the clergyman. Some approved marriages did not go ahead so you might find more than one successful application for your ancestor. There are seven registers in the series, some of which have overlapping dates. Four registers have been indexed, covering December 1825 to March 1841 [4/4508-4511]. A further three registers, covering January 1831 to 26 February 1851, are still in the process of being indexed [4/4512-4514].