A sample page from Torrey’s manuscript
Today we’re announcing a new database, New England (Image only): Marriage Manuscript of Clarence A. Torrey, 1583- 1700. This database contains images of Torrey’s original manuscript. “Torrey,” or Torrey’s Marriage Index, as it’s often called, is a compilation of approximately 37,000 known or presumed marriages that occurred prior to 1700, arranged alphabetically by groom. The work is so huge and so comprehensive (it is estimated that 99% of all marriages are included), that it has become one of the principal resources for seventeenth-century New England genealogy. This new database is a complement to New England Marriages to 1700, the fully searchable, transcribed version of this information. If something in New England Marriages to 1700 does not make sense, you could consult New England (Image only): Marriage Manuscript of Clarence A Torrey, 1583-1700 to see if the original holds the answers to your question.
This database contains browsable images only and is searchable only by Volume and/or Page. Entering a name, location or year range on the search page will result in zero search results. Page images are contained in volumes “A” through “X-Y-Z” and contain the grooms surnames in alphabetical order. To locate a name from the search page, select the appropriate volume from the Volume menu and enter “1” as the page number. (It’s recommended that page “1” be used in initial search attempts, as the volumes vary significantly in length.) Once viewing a page in the volume, use the page forward, page backward or “go to page” controls to manually move through the pages. To move to a new Volume while viewing page images, select that volume from the Volume menu on the image display page.
For more information on this collection (particularly the New England Marriages to 1700 version), you may want to read Alicia Crane William’s Vita Brevis post from February 2017, As Is.
Please note: This database is available to Individual-level and above NEHGS members only. Consider membership.