Gretna Green Marriages are marriages performed in locations that offer weddings with few restrictions. Named after a city in Scotland, Gretna Green was a popular wedding destination because of lax requirements for marriage; the couple only had to be over 16 years of age and declare themselves husband and wife in front of witnesses. Gretna Green was the first post along the route from England to the Scotland border, so it was convenient for eloping couples.[1] Today, "Gretna Green" refers to the Scottish location and any place where a couple may have married due to a few wedding restrictions.
Why couples choose Gretna GreensWhy couples choose Gretna Greens
Gretna Greens are places where couples "run off" to marry. These locations can be in a nearby city, county, state, or even an adjacent country. Gretna Green locations are sought after by couples because they have fewer requirements and restrictions for who can marry than other locations. For example, a Gretna Green may allow a couple:
- To marry at a younger age without a parent or guardian's consent
- Not require a waiting period between obtaining a marriage license and the marriage ceremony
- Not require a blood test or medical screening
Government restrictions regarding marriage can change over time and impact the necessity for a Gretna Green-like location. For example, 20th century US "Gin Marriage Laws" placed a waiting period between when the couple applied for a marriage license and when they could marry. This waiting period, often 3-days, was considered a way to ensure the couple would not divorce later. Legislatures thought the waiting period ensured the couple was making a sound decision and not rush into a marriage. Couples who did not want to wait eloped to a Gretna Green location where they could marry that day instead of waiting. This was especially popular during wartime when the groom may leave for military service.
Learning more about the marriage laws of the time and place where your ancestors lived may help provide clues if you cannot find a marriage record where you would expect to find one.
Examples of Gretna Green marriagesExamples of Gretna Green marriages
One of the most famous examples of a Gretna Green in the United States is Las Vegas, Nevada. In the latter 20th century, Las Vegas became a place for couples to run off to get married quickly, cheaply, and with few rules. But it’s not the only Gretna Green in the United States. To find other Gretna Greens, consider large cities near where your family lived, consult marriage laws, and search historical newspapers for possible stories. Searching online can also help you find specific Gretna Greens that may be close to where your ancestors lived.
ConsiderationsConsiderations
We assume that a couple married where they or another family lived, but that is not true for couples seeking a Gretna Green. The problem with finding the marriage record for a couple who ran off to marry is that the location where they married may not be evident to the researcher. Knowing about local Gretna Greens may help to enlarge the search area to find possible records. In some cases, Gretna Green may be in the couple’s home state, maybe even the next county over, but in other cases, it may be out of state, in a bordering state, or further. Neighboring countries should also be searched for possible Gretna Greens. Couples may have traversed country borders to marry and only to marry.
When researching an ancestral marriage, if you cannot find the record in the location you would expect, enlarge the scope of your search to include nearby states or countries. General searches in online marriage record collections without narrowing by a location may help find an ancestral couple who married outside their hometown.
Research your ancestors on MyHeritage
See alsoSee also
Explore more about Gretna Green marriagesExplore more about Gretna Green marriages
- Marriages Here, There, and Nowhere: Finding Gretna Greens and Borders webinar at Legacy Family Tree Webinars
- A SHORT HISTORY OF GRETNA GREEN MARRIAGES
- A List of New York Gretna Green Marriage Locations
References
- ↑ Probert, R. (2009) Marriage Law and Practice in the Long Eighteenth Century: A Reassessment (Cambridge: CUP) ch. 7