Document C.159 · marriage index · transcription: verbatim
New Jersey State Archives, Index of Marriages in New Jersey 1920–29, BRIDE index, surname range L–O, image 684 of 700 — the typed index page carrying the line for Orpen, Emma.
- repository
- New Jersey State Archives, Trenton, New Jersey — Marriage Indexes. Consulted as Ancestry 'New Jersey, U.S., Marriage Index, 1901-2016' (collection 61253), record 902257366, image 48618_b428667-00683 (image 684 of 700).
- collection
- Index Type: Bride · Year Range: 1920-1929 · Surname Range: L - O
- date
- 1921
People named
| As written | Role | Identified as | What this document says |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orpen, Emma | bride | Emma (Orpen) Cooper 1901–1997 candidate | |
| FC | groom | Fredrick Driscoll Cooper 1894–1954 candidate |
What this document records
Record
One line of a typed statewide bride index; the marriage return itself is not here.
Printed headings as they read
INDEX OF MARRIAGES IN NEW JERSEY; 1920-29; SURNAME OF WIFE BEFORE MARRIAGE | CHRISTIAN NAME | HUSBAND'S INITIALS / PLACE MG. | DATE | VOLUME AND PAGE | BINDING
The row: surname of wife before marriage
Orpen
The row: christian name
Emma
The row: husbands initials
FC
The row: place mg
52
The row: date
11 15 21
The row: volume and page
8 139
The row: binding
[blank]
🗓️ the date is 15 november 1921
The DATE column is month–day–year throughout the page (its neighbours read 7 20 22, 4 5 22, 10 30 22, 3 22 26), so 11 15 21 is 15 November 1921. This is an exact day where the catalog had only a month. [L.130], the Ancestry tree, said "Nov 1921" and the FamilySearch tree said "ABT 1921" — both tree-tier. The State's own index now gives the day, from the returns themselves.
📌 volume 8 page 139 is the point of this record
The VOLUME AND PAGE column is a pointer into the New Jersey marriage returns held at the State Archives. ⇒ Volume 8, page 139 is an orderable citation, and the return is the record that would carry what this index does not: both parties' ages, residences, occupations, birthplaces, the officiant — and both sets of parents.
🔢 place mg 52 is not decoded
The PLACE MG. cell reads 52. It is a code for the place of marriage and the catalog does not know its key; the number is recorded exactly as printed and nothing is inferred from it. A neighbouring Orpen row (Mary · JS · 52) carries the same code.
What this document does not say
It does not name the groom. It gives two initials, FC, and nothing else about him — no given name, no surname, no age, no residence. It also carries no parents of either party, no ages, no birthplaces, no officiant, no witnesses, and no place in words.