Document F.116 · Church and Vital Records · transcription: verbatim
Wyandot County, Ohio Marriage Record — Lewis S. Cooper × Mary Jane Jones, 27 May 1849; license 24 May 1849, certificate returned 4 June 1849, officiated by Benjamin Knapp, J.P. The record does NOT name parents (the standard 1849 Ohio register format has no parents-named clause).
Transcription and notes
Source
| Element | Value |
|---|---|
| Repository | Wyandot County Ohio, Marriage Register |
| Document type | Bound marriage register with license + certificate entries |
| Page | (cursive — possibly 132 left + 161 right) |
| License date | 24 May 1849 |
| Marriage date | 27 May 1849 |
| Certificate return date | 4 June 1849 |
| Officiant | Benjamin Knapp[?] J.P.(Justice of the Peace) |
| County | Wyandot County, Ohio |
| On-disk file | (image held in the family archive) |
| Capture | Maintainer-supplied 2026-05-16 |
Verbatim — marriage record (bottom right entry)
[Lewis S. Cooper &] Mary Jane Jones[License issued for the Marriage of the parties...] May 24, 1849. And thereupon the following certificate was returned on the 4th day of June A.D. 1849 to wit:
I certify that Lewis S. Cooper and Mary Jane Jones were joined in marriage by me on the 27th day of May A.D. 1849.
Benjamin Knapp J.P.
= license #X (number not clearly visible at zoom; likely visible at higher resolution).
What the record does NOT include
Standard 1849 Ohio marriage register format: - No parents named(= standard period; parents only named in some NJ pre-1850 marriage bonds for minors) - No witnesses named - No ages of bride or groom - No prior residence of either party
= the record does NOT directly close hop 3→2 (Lewis Sanford → Joseph 1785) — would require additional evidence (Joseph 1785's will / Lewis's death certificate / family Bible).
Wyandot County context
Wyandot County, OH was formed in 1845 (from parts of Crawford, Marion, Hardin, and Hancock counties). The 1849 marriage was therefore in a NEW county. Tymochtee Townshipin Wyandot Co. was where Lewis's son Andrew Peter would be born in 1858 (per G.131) — so Lewis returned to live in the same county he married in.
Open questions / follow-up
- Verify officiant name "Benjamin Knapp[?] J.P."— possible alternate readings: Knopp, Knipp, Kapp. Cursive zoom verification needed.
- License number— visible in original document but compressed in current zoom; would help cross-reference to additional Wyandot Co. records
- Witnesses / sureties— possibly recorded on the LICENSE APPLICATION (separate document from this register); license application may also name parents/sureties for minors
- Lewis Sanford in OH 1840-1849— pre-marriage residence; possibly enumerated in 1840 NJ + 1850 NJ (per D.266) — but BETWEEN those he was in OH. Did he have a registered residence or land claim in Wyandot OH 1845-1849?
- Mary Jane Jones family in OH— was her family also in Wyandot OH? If so, Joneses-of-OH trace target. If she traveled from PA, that's unusual without family.
- Wyandot Co. land records 1845-1850— Lewis or Jones family land claims would primary-source-lock pre-marriage residence
- Wyandot Co. 1850 federal census— Mary Jane's family possibly still in Wyandot OH in 1850 if they migrated there from PA
- Why Wyandot OH specifically?— Lewis from NJ + Mary Jane from PA meeting in Wyandot OH suggests both families had OH presence
Cross-references
- D.266 — 1850 Green Twp Sussex NJ Lewis + Mary Jane newlyweds (1 year post-marriage; returned to NJ)
- E.5 — 1875 Valley KS Lewis household with Mary Jane + 6 children
- D.267 — 1880 Plevna KS Lewis household
- E.6 — 1885 Nickerson KS Lewis 60 Canvasser
- G.130 — Joseph Benjamin Cooper Find A Grave = first son b. NJ July 1852 (= 3 years post-marriage)
- G.131 — Andrew Peter Cooper b. 1858 Tymochtee Wyandot Co. OH (= Lewis returned to same county he married in)
- G.132 — Charles Franklin Cooper Find A Grave wrapper
- People files: p.42 Lewis Sanford Cooper, p.43 Mary Jane Jones Cooper
Status notes
- Status
[verbatim]— marriage entry transcribed verbatim from 3x crop - License # + page numberpending zoom verification
- Officiant surnameKnapp vs Knopp vs Knipp pending cursive zoom
- High-resolution source: 3832×3088 px image; entry readable at 3x
People named in this source (moved from header)
- (Gen 3 — groom; PRIMARY-SOURCE-LOCKS marriage date + Ohio residence May 1849) p.42 Lewis Sanford 'Louis' Cooper— Groom. Verbatim: 'Lewis S. Cooper'. Marriage date 27 May 1849, Wyandot Co. OH. First primary-source attestation of 'S.' middle initial(consistent with catalog 'Sanford' full middle name per G.132 Find A Grave). Age at marriage = ~22-24 (b. ~1825-1827 NJ per multiple sources). REVISES migration arc: Lewis was already in OH by May 1849 (= NJ→OH migration happened pre-marriage, NOT post-1852 as catalog assumed)
- (Gen 3 — bride; PRIMARY-SOURCE-LOCKS maiden name 'Jones') p.43 Mary Jane (Jones) Cooper— Bride. Verbatim: 'Mary Jane Jones'. Age at marriage = ~22 (b. ~1827 PA per multiple sources). First primary-source attestation of maiden surname 'Jones'(catalog previously had this only at Find A Grave-tier per G.130 family panel). Birthplace PA per E.5 1875 + D.18 1870 — so Mary Jane traveled from PA to OH to marry Lewis OR her family had also migrated PA → OH
- (NEW catalog person — officiant) Benjamin Knapp[?]— J.P. (Justice of the Peace), Wyandot County, Ohio, 1849. Signed marriage certificate 4 June 1849. Possibly the same Benjamin Knapp/Knopp who was a Wyandot Co. OH justice or minister 1840s-1860s; pending county-record cross-reference
Interpretation — relocated
What this entry concluded now lives in p.42 (p.42 Lewis Sanford Cooper.md). An entry holds verbatim source content and navigational pointers; the reasoning belongs with the person, family or thread it is about. Moved 2026-08-03.