Skeletons in the Closet and Other Family Secrets

Several years ago, I was verifying family records to complete a class assignment. I began to search county marriage records, to locate the marriage of my maternal grandparents. My records indicated that they were married, 11 December 1919 in Provo, Utah, Utah, but a careful search of the county records for that date produced no results. I began to search a month before and after the recorded date, but found no listing for the two individuals. My mother suggested that I should check Juab county records, but again no entry was located for this marriage.

I was intrigued by this mystery. A quick check of the 1920 census for Eureka and Goshen located both of my grandparents. My grandfather was living in Eureka with a younger brother. Grandfather was listed as a single male. My grandmother was living in Goshen with her parents and was also marked as single. Census records are often faulty, but it would be very unusual to find the same error in two individuals located in two towns. Another phone call to my mother produced the following response, “Oh, Mother must have been visiting her parents.” I didn’t believe a word.

So, according to available records, they were not married in 1919, and were in fact, single in January 1920 when the Federal census was taken. Back in the library, I pulled the marriage records for Utah County and began a careful search for the months following the date of the census enumeration. Finally, I found the entry for the marriage dated, 11 March 1920.

So, why the deception? It seems that the first child was born in September 1920, only six months after the wedding. Did Mother know that her parents were not married in December? I believe so. The dates on the marriage certificate have been changed—the handwriting just does not match. Clearly, a family secret perceived by some as a bona fide skeleton. So, who changed the dates on the certificate?