Webinar—Marriages Here, There, and Nowhere: Finding Gretna Greens and Borders

Many couples chose to marry in a location away from their home. Often there were reasons why it was a more convenient location to tie the knot. Sometimes, this decision was based on a romantic location or a place that would allow them to marry quickly without a three-day waiting period. These locations are often referred to as Gretna Green, the historic town in Scotland where thousands of English couples ran because of Scotland’s sympathetic marriage laws. We will consider the reason for a different marriage location, alternate sources to determine the location, and a few of the towns known as “Gretna Greens” in the United States.

Presenter:

J. Mark Lowe, CG, FUGA is a full-time professional genealogist, author, and lecturer. While sharing personal experiences that help beginning and experienced researchers gain new skills and insights for research, he specializes in original records and manuscripts throughout the South. Mark lives in Robertson County, Tennessee that lies in northern Middle Tennessee along the Kentucky border.

Lowe also serves as the Course Coordinator for ‘Research in the South’ at  IGHR (Samford University), for the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy (SLIG)  and is Director of the Regional In-depth Genealogical Studies Alliance (RIGS Alliance), learning sessions and hands-on research focusing on original documents and manuscripts at regional archives. Mark has worked on several genealogical television series including African American Lives 2, Who Do You Think You Are? and UnXplained Events.

Mark has published in the Association of Professional Genealogists Quarterly (APGQ), National Genealogical Society Quarterly (NGSQ), the Genealogical Speakers’ Guild SPEAK!, The Longhunter (So. Ky. Genealogical Society), The Middle Tennessee Genealogical Society Quarterly and other local society publications. His own publications include Robertson County Tennessee Marriage Book 2 1859-1873. He formerly was the President of the Association of Professional Genealogists (APG), President for the Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS), and Vice President of the Genealogical Speakers Guild (GSG). He is the former President of the Southern Kentucky Genealogical Society. Mark is a Certified Genealogist and a Fellow of the Utah Genealogical Society, and was awarded the Graham T. Smallwood award by the Association of Professional Genealogists.