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Same Sex Marriages Begin in Massachusetts
At 12:01am on May 17th, 2004, Massachusetts joins Belgium, Canada and the Netherlands as the only location where gays can get married.
For genealogists, marriage is one of the best sources of information. Marriage records are kept forever, and usually give details not only about the bride and groom but also about both sets of parents, and the birthplaces of all involved. They list ages and occupations. It is often the marriage certificate that allows genealogists to connect the pieces to work further backwards through the family tree.
Normally the sexual preference of an ancestor can be difficult, if not impossible, to determine. Unmarried ancestors could be gay and unable to marry - or simply not able to find someone they liked enough TO marry. Married ancestors could be heterosexual ... or homosexual but pressured into marriage by their parents or society.
Couples were waiting in line for the midnight opening of the town halls ... those who got court waivers could bypass the 3 day waiting period and get married later the same day. Governor Romney has pushed clerks to only grant marriages to those with at least one Massachusetts resident, but clerks have been giving license to out of state couples for years. Many refuse to change their policies just because some couples are now same sex.
For genealogists, ANY new records on any person is a good thing. In 50 or 100 years, it may be these new records that help a researcher make a vital connection!
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Note - Lisa Shea wrote this content for the genealogy site at BellaOnline.com - you might still find this content there as well. That's fine :) I gave permission!
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