On the NB Provincial Archives website, they have a searchable
database for marriage bonds, and the introduction explains purpose
of the marriage bonds, and under what circumstances they were entered
into.
It says: "Marriage bonds, which were required when banns were not
read in the churches or when the clergyman did not know both of the
parties, guaranteed a payment of £500 from the would-be-groom or his
co-signer if the proposed marriage did not take place. The bonds are
especially valuable to genealogists, demographers and other
researchers since they provide the names and residences of the
proposed groom-to-be and the co-signer(s) in addition to that of the
bride-to-be. The names of all prospective brides and grooms, along
with all co-signers to the bond have been included in the index. Some
co-signers appear several times, probably because they were
professional bonders collecting fees for their services."
Here's the link:
http://archives.gnb.ca/APPS/GovRecs/RS551A/Default.aspx?culture=en-
CA&PageLoad=Intro
If for some reason the link doesn't work, go to www.archives.gnb.ca
and look under "search" / "births, marriages and deaths" / "marriage
bonds" / "introduction"
Cheers,
Dawn
--- In Marriage Bonds
- From: "xbluenoser" <xbluenoser_uid1157@yahoogroups.com>