In the January 03, 2010 edition of this newsletter, I reported that a 90-year-old woman inherited the 1805 marriage license decades ago, after her uncle claimed to have found it outside a Tennessee courthouse. The county asked her to return the marriage license, claiming that it was stolen and is still county property. The woman refused.
Now, thanks to the hard work and persistence of officials in Jefferson County and the Tennessee State Library and Archives in Nashville, the document has been safely returned to the Jefferson County Clerk’s vault.
Now, thanks to the hard work and persistence of officials in Jefferson County and the Tennessee State Library and Archives in Nashville, the document has been safely returned to the Jefferson County Clerk’s vault.
"This important historical document has now been returned to its rightful place in the public domain,” said Secretary of State Tre Hargett, who oversees the State Library and Archives. “I am grateful for the role our dedicated staff played in securing this item.”
The marriage license was featured on the Antiques Roadshow television program in 2005, where appraisers estimated its value between $25,000 and $50,000 to collectors. However, Assistant State Archivist Wayne Moore said it remains public property under state law.
Moore has become a national authority on the subject of Replevin laws, acting as chairman of a national task force for the Council of State Archivists which is dedicated to stopping the trafficking of government records
For more information about the return of this marriage license, look at http://www.chattanoogan.com/articles/article_173834.asp
For more information about the Replevin law and public records in Tennessee, go to: http://tn.gov/tsla/aps/replevin/replevin.htm
