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Anniversaries WNC 1890 – 2014

Introduction

This index of 15,000 names was obtained from marital anniversary announcements that were printed in newspapers of Buncombe County and others in Western North Carolina (WNC). The index was compiled by the Old Buncombe County Genealogical Society (OBCGS) to provide a database for genealogical research. The actual newspaper names were not recorded because the clippings were usually sent in without the newspaper name, only the date.

Volunteers of the OBCGS began regularly collecting articles published in local and regional newspapers in the late 1980s and also included occasional announcements from older papers donated to the library. The publication dates for this index begins with 1890 and continues through 2014. The newspaper articles were clipped, filed by published date, scanned, and are available by mail order (see below).

The index was made by typing names, dates and marriage locations into a computer spreadsheet. The individual bride and groom names were then merged into a single column (like a telephone directory of names) and then sorted alphabetically so the user doesn’t have to look in two sections of the book for information.  In addition to bride and groom, many articles provide information on the pastor performing the marriage and names of the couple’s children and grandchildren. When the bride’s maiden name was not given, her married name was used.

The anniversary celebration date may not be the marriage date. When the number of years, but no actual marriage date was given in the article, the publication date of the newspaper was used instead, with 01 as the default day of the month. Be aware, because some marriages actually took place on the first day of the month, it could be the actual marriage date and not the default date.

Some announcements were missing information, such as date of the marriage. In that situation an asterisk (*) was used to show that information was taken from another announcement. With the exception of Montana and Alaska, this index has at least one marriage in each of the 50 states. North Carolina, followed by South Carolina and Georgia, were the major locations for marriages.

Click Here for the Anniversary Index: Anniversary Names

If you would like to order a copy of the actual clipping, download the order form,

Anniversary Order Form

and fill it out with the names of the couple and the date of the clipping, insert a check made out to OBCGS and mail it to the OBCGS office at P. O. Box 6068, Asheville, NC 28816. You can also personally visit the OBCGS Library to retrieve a copy of the newspaper clipping.

Permanent link to this article: https://www.obcgs.com/research-resources/anniversaries-wnc-1890-2014/