Rutherford County, Tennessee was erected in 1803 from Davidson County and at one time occupied territory extending all the way south to the Alabama state line. With the exception of a few deed books, destroyed during the Civil War, most of the old records of Rutherford County are extant, and most–like the marriage records–can be found at the courthouse in Murfreesboro. What is singular about the Rutherford County marriages is their extent: they are among the largest bodies of marriage records we have seen. This present work–to lend substance to the claim–contains abstracts of 11,000 marriages!

The marriage records published here are arranged in three sections, some in alphabetical order, some chronological. Each entry contains the names of the bride and groom, the date of issue of the marriage bond or the license, and, sometimes, the name of the person who stood surety to the bond, usually a relative of the bride or groom. Nearly 25,000 persons–brides, grooms, and sureties–are listed in the index to the work.