Amanuensis Monday - Marriage Return of Andrew Hatcher & Sarah Ford, 1869, Scott County, Missouri

This weekly blog post was inspired by Amanuensis Monday, created by John Newmark of the Transylvanian Dutch blog. The word amanuensis means "A person employed to write what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another."                                                         

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This week, I am transcribing the marriage return for my great-grandaunt, Sarah Ford, and her husband, Andrew Hatcher.

Physical Description
Document Type: Digitized 

Document: Handwritten Marriage Return

Condition and Notes:

• A short marriage return handwritten in dark ink.
• The Justice of the Peace is consistent writing the lower case 't' without a crossbar or carelessly crossing the letter mid-air or to the right. 
• No blotches or stains noted. 
• No tears. 
• No mark throughs or illegible words. 
• Original spelling, capitalization, punctuation, grammar, and line breaks have been preserved.

"Marriage waivers for minors: Scott, Marriage Licenses 1866-1874," Book 2, p. 180, marriage return for Andrew Hatcher & Sarah Ford, 24 January 1869; digital image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-897G-519Y?view=index : downloaded on 12 June 2026), image 1038 of 1783, FamilySearch Library IGN #007084712; citing Missouri. State Archives.

The transcription is as follows:

  This is to certify that I on the 24th 

day of Janua[r]y 1869 Joined in the

bonds of matrimo[n]y Andrew Hatcher

and Sarah Ford both of Scott County

Missouri         John. N. Benefield      [postage stamp here]

                         Justice of the peace