This volume brings together, for the first time, the two types of records which exist for early marriages in Bath County, Kentucky: marriage bonds from 1811 to 1850 and marriage returns from 1811 to 1852. Marriage bonds, in early Kentucky, were roughly equivalent to the modern-day marriage license. They constituted a legally binding contract of marriage, with at least two parties (usually the groom and a male relative of the bride) agreeing to pay a fine if the wedding did not take place. Marriage returns were sent to the county clerk after the wedding by the person who had performed the...