Moyer's Clermont County Ohio Marriage Index 1800-1849

While they held official jobs, the early Clermont County Ministers of the Gospel and the Justices of the Peace also had to clear land, farm, rear families, and establish churches. As extremely busy men, they often waited until they had enough marriages to merit a trip by foot or by horseback to the county seat of Williamsburg (1801-1823) or Batavia (1824 and beyond) for entry into the marriage records. In addition, the era was one in which circuit riders often performed marriages while traveling the rural countryside. By the time any of these men reached the courthouse to officially record the event; the details might not have been totally accurate. This sometimes led to an error or omission. Over two centuries, ink has faded, pages have yellowed, and handwriting has changed, making it difficult to decipher many records. Our ancestors often could not read or write, so surnames were recorded with numerous spellings. Yet, despite all these challenges, the first edition of the Marriage Records of Clermont County, Ohio, 1800-1850 became available in 1979. Researchers quickly became aware of the tremendous value of this first publication of the new Clermont County Genealogical Society. It is still, at the time of this writing, one of the most used books in the CCGS library collection. Despite a second printing, the book has long been out of print and is difficult to locate for purchase or replacement. In 2005, Mr. Moyer began work on this book. this new book contains over 14,000 marriage entries and over 6,000 footnotes on these marriages! If spelling, capitalization or sentence structure seems unfamiliar, it is because, in the interest of historical authenticity, Mr. Moyer has entered information exactly as it appeared to him in the original records. Although the Society’s first marriage book was produced in under a year by a committee of at least fifty, one man worked painstakingly and quietly for seven years to produce this new index, then turned it over to the CCGS Board, without any benefit to himself. In honor of and in gratitude to Mr. Moyer, the Board has named this book, Moyer’s Clermont County Marriage Index, 1800-1849. The Clermont County Genealogical Society is also grateful to the committee that produced the first marriage index so many years ago. These volunteers are all examples of the generous spirit of the genealogical community. May their work inspire all of us to someday “pay it forward.”