Document C.117 · marriage return · transcription: verbatim
Sussex County, New Jersey — the loose marriage return of James Dewitt, Justice of the Peace, five marriages 2 June 1821 – 7 February 1822, dated and signed 18 February 1822. FamilySearch New Jersey, County Marriages, 1682-1956; DGS 004541257 ("Sussex. Marriage Records 1809–1827"), image 1280 of 1,634. The same five marriages the county clerk copied into the register at [C.84] / page 233.
- repository
- FamilySearch — New Jersey, County Marriages, 1682-1956
- collection
- Sussex. Marriage Records 1809–1827 (loose returns); DGS 004541257, image 1280 of 1,634
- date
- 1822-02-18
What is transcribed: One justice's return, complete — heading, five marriages, certificate, date and signature. The sheet carries nothing else.
People named
| As written | Role | Identified as | What this document says |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cooper, Samuel | groom | Samuel Cooper 1795–1871 | residence: 1821, Independence Twp, Sussex Co. (later Warren Co.), New Jersey |
| Balden, Sarah | bride | Sarah (Balden) Cooper 1797–1872 | residence: 1821, Oxford Twp, Sussex Co. (later Warren Co.), New Jersey |
| Dewitt, James | officiant |
What this document records
What it says
"September 15ᵗʰ 1821 I Married Samuel Cooper Of Independen[ce] to Sarah Balden of Oxford all in the County of Sussex." RESIDENCES — which [C.84] states this marriage does not record. The register copy gives names and a date only; the justice's own paper names his township and hers.
What it does not say
Still no parents, no ages, no occupations, no witnesses. NJ's parent-naming returns begin in 1848. ⇒ this does not touch Samuel's parentage, which is what [G.545] t1 is about. And "of Independence" is a RESIDENCE, not an identification. It does not say which Samuel Cooper — only that the groom lived in the township Samuel Cooper lived in.
Transcription and notes
Data from the document [verbatim]
Read at 3× throughout:
Return of Marriages by James Dewitt Since the second Day of June 1821
June 2ᵈ 1821 I Married David M[errill][?] of Oxford township in the County of Sussex to Margaretta Rosenbury of the same place
September 15ᵗʰ 1821 I Married Samuel Cooper Of Independen[ce] to Sarah Balden of Oxford all in the County of Sussex
October 16ᵗʰ 1821 I Married Jonah Howell of Oxford to Mary Freas widow of Knowlton all in the County of Sussex
November 17ᵗʰ 1821 I Married Thomas Hadley to Rosella Skiner both of Oxford in Sussex County
February 7ᵗʰ 1822 I Married John Vanscoder[?] of Walpack[?] to Sarah Adams of Knowlton all in the county of Sussex
I Certify that the aforegoing persons was Married by me on the several Days as above Stated Dated February 18ᵗʰ 1822 James Dewitt Justice of the Peace (signature)
What this adds that the register could not
[C.84] says of the register page, explicitly: "No parents. No ages. No residences. No occupations. The register carries only date, groom, bride, officiant and the recording clause… That is structural, not an omission."
That is true of the REGISTER, and it is not true of the RECORD. The justice's own return names both parties' townships, and the clerk simply did not copy them across:
| [C.84] — the register, p. 233 | [C.117] — the justice's own paper | |
|---|---|---|
| date | Sept 15 | September 15ᵗʰ 1821 |
| groom | Samuel Cooper | Samuel Cooper Of Independen[ce] |
| bride | Sarah Balden | Sarah Balden of Oxford |
| jurisdiction | (implicit) | all in the County of Sussex |
| filed | "Rec[eive]d & Recorded 21[?] Feb 1822" | "Dated February 18ᵗʰ 1822" |
The structural claim needs narrowing, not withdrawing. It is the parent columns that New Jersey genuinely lacks before 1848 — and this paper confirms that, since it gives no parents, ages or occupations either. Residence is the field that was lost in transcription rather than never recorded.
Three of [C.84]'s uncertain readings, tested
| [C.84]'s register reading | this return | verdict |
|---|---|---|
| "Rec[eive]d & Recorded 21[?] Feb 1822" | "Dated February 18ᵗʰ 1822" | consistent — the justice dated it the 18ᵗʰ, the clerk recorded it three days later. The bracketed 21 is well supported. |
| "Margaretta R[osenberr?]" | Rosenbury |
resolved |
| "Rosetta Skiner" | Rosella Skiner |
the two documents disagree on the given name. Neither is corrected against the other — both readings stand where they were read. The surname Skiner, one n, agrees. |
And an argument used elsewhere is now demonstrated in Samuel's own case
[G.545]'s fourth pass graded its Sussex null "moderate, not decisive", partly because "a groom married where the bride lived" — so an earlier Samuel marriage might sit in Morris County rather than Sussex.
This return shows the principle operating. Of the five couples James Dewitt returned, the brides are of Oxford, Oxford, Knowlton, Oxford and Knowlton — he was plainly an Oxford-neighbourhood justice. Samuel is the only groom on the sheet from Independence, and he is on it because Sarah was of Oxford. ⇒ he travelled to the bride's justice, exactly as the fourth pass supposed. That does not make a Morris County first marriage likelier — it makes the reasoning behind leaving the possibility open sounder.
Cross-references
- C.84 — the register copy of this very return, and the entry this corrects
- C.113 — the same justice's next return, register p. 235
- C.115 · C.116 — the 1812 pair that led here
- p.115 Samuel Cooper of Independence Twp Warren · p.2083 Sarah (Balden) Cooper
- [K.55] — the 1831 deed in which "Samuel Cooper & Sally his wife of the township of Independence" release dower
- films/film.004541257.yaml — the loose-return reel