Jewish Genealogical Society of Great Britain

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• Jewish weddings were usually solemnised in a Synagogue, but this was not required and in some instances the wedding took place in a private house or a public place.
• From July 1837 civil registration of weddings, including Jewish weddings, was required.

• A Ketubah (plural Ketubot) is a Jewish Marriage contract. The document sets out the obligations of the groom. It is signed by the groom and given to the bride. It also needs to be witnessed. The document is written in Aramaic language using Hebrew characters. Often there is an English translation on the reverse. An example Ketubah of a 1930 London wedding is above together with part of the translation. Often the original Ketubah has been lost over time. However, many Synagogue authorities kept duplicates of the Ketubot in their archives.

• Marriage Authorisations were also granted by the Jewish Authorities (from c.1845) to give permission to the local Rabbi to conduct the marriage ceremony. The Marriage Authorisation usually gives:
  • The proposed place and date of marriage
  • The Hebrew and English names of the bride and groom
  • Their address
  • Their country of origin
  • The names of the bride's father and groom's father
  • An indication of how the couple were proved to be Jewish
  • The names of the groom's unmarried brothers and which ones intend to attend the marriage ceremony.
• If the Synagogue was part of the United Synagogue (Group) then the records are held by the London Beth Din. Contact Beth Din, United Synagogue, 735 High Road, North Finchley, London, N12 0US.
• Many weddings were recorded in Synagogue registers.
• The main London Sephardic synagogue was Bevis Marks. The marriage registers of the Bevis Marks Synagogue have been published (1686-1837 and 1837-1901) and are in many of the larger Jewish/genealogical reference Libraries.
• The main Ashkenazi Synagogues in London pre 1900 were the Great Synagogue, New Synagogue and Hambro Synagogue. There marriage registers were microfilmed by the Mormons (Church of the Latter Day Saints) and copies can be ordered for viewing at any (Mormon) Family History Library.
• Great Synagogue 1791-1865 (reel 0094666)
• Great Synagogue 1865-1885 (reel 0094660)
• Great Synagogue 1837-1862 (reel 0094661)
• Great Synagogue 1862-1879 (reel 0094662)
• New Synagogue 1791-1823 & 1837-1860 (reel 0094668)
• Hambro Synagogue 1770-1905 (reel 0094667)
• Many of the synagogue register entries have also been transcribed by the Mormons and are in the IGI index for the British Isles which can be searched online free at http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Search/frameset_search.asp
• The New Synagogue marriages for 1791-1823 have been transcribed and put onto a CD-ROM (see http://www.eclipse.co.uk/exeshul/susser/newsyn.htm)
• The Great Synagogue Marriage Registers 1791-1850 are available in a book edited by Angela Shire (see http://www.eclipse.co.uk/exeshul/susser/gsmr.htm)
• Civil marriage certificates post 1837 are available.

• To order a certificate it is necessary to look the marriage up in the Marriage Index registers known as the GRO Indexes. The indexes are organised in volumes for each quarter year (e.g. July-September 1863). Within each quarter year, names are listed alphabetically by surname. The names of the bride and the groom are separately listed. These indexes can be accessed at the Family Records Centre London http://www.statistics.gov.uk/registration/FRC/frc_certificate_obtain.asp and a certificate can then be ordered. Alternatively, the registers are available to search at many genealogical and reference libraries on microfilm or microfiche. Once you have the necessary information from the index, the certificate can be ordered by post or phone. Application forms and information at http://www.statistics.gov.uk/nsbase/registration/certificates.asp and details of the fees are at http://www.statistics.gov.uk/registration/certe_w/fees.asp

• An organisation called FreeBMD is currently making the index entries available and searchable on-line using volunteer transcribers. This process is partially complete and you may well find the index entry for the marriage you are seeking on-line using http://freebmd.rootsweb.com/
• A good description of what can be found on a civil marriage certificate and how to analyse it can be found at http://www.dixons.clara.co.uk/Certificates/marriages.htm
• Weddings announcements were sometime made in the newspapers or similar journals, especially the Jewish Chronicle ("JC") and also the Gentlemans Magazine. Some JC entries have been transcribed into Anglo-Jewish Miscellanies and are online at http://www.jeffreymaynard.com/ . There is also a book called The Jewish Victorian - Genealogical Information from the Jewish Newspapers 1871-1880 by Doreen Berger which includes details of the marriage announcements in the JC and other Jewish newspapers of that decade. Published by Robert Boyd Publications Email: BOYDPUBS@aol.com
• In some instances a search of JewishGen's Family Tree of the Jewish People http://www.jewishgen.org/gedcom/ can provide a marriage date which can be useful in ordering a certificate.
• The JGSGB has a number of donated civil marriage certificates held in its Library. These have been transcribed and indexed, and the details are available for Members of JGSGB to search on-line in the Member's Corner of this website.
• For Liverpool Marriages try searching the registers of the Liverpool Jewish Genealogy service which are online at http://www.ljgs.org/
• Index of marriages at the Princelet (Princes) Street Synagogue, Spitalfields 1897 - 1907. snlond1.shtml
• Exeter Marriage Register (1838-1907) http://www.eclipse.co.uk/exeshul/susser/exetermarriagereg.htm
• Plymouth Marriage Register http://www.eclipse.co.uk/exeshul/susser/plmarreg.htm
• New Synagogue (London) Duplicate Ketubot register 1819-1832 http://www.eclipse.co.uk/exeshul/susser/newsyndupket.htm
• Wedding register of Rabbi Ash of Dover 1775-1779 http://www.eclipse.co.uk/exeshul/susser/weddingcircash.htm
• Marriage Register of the Western Synagogue (London), 1826-1843 http://www.eclipse.co.uk/exeshul/susser/marriageregistewestern.htm
• Hambro Synagogue Marriage Register (1797-1837) http://www.eclipse.co.uk/exeshul/susser/hambromarr/index.htm

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