Two of Candler County's earliest record books, Marriage Book A and Marriage Book B have been refurbished and restored. These record books date back to 1915 and represent the official recording of the earliest marriages for the county. "The two early record books were looking pretty ragged after nearly a century of use and it was time for them to be rebound," said Probate Court Judge Tony Thompson. After a review and consultation with bindery specialist Tommy Castleberry a plan was devised to rebind the books onsite.

"Some of the tabs were missing in the books and the sewing was coming loose. Father Time was taking a toll. Mr. Castleberry was able to rebind the books and make them more durable and accessible. All while keeping the original records onsite. So, we're very pleased with the process and the result," said Thompson.

Marriage records are multipart documents. There is the original marriage application which contains a variety of information about the prospective bride and groom which is not recorded in the Marriage book but is stored in a separate record area. After a marriage license is issued, the license is signed by the official who performed the ceremony and returned to the Probate Court where it is then recorded in the appropriate marriage "docket" or "record" book. The book number and page number of the become part of the official "recording" of the marriage along with a marriage supplement report which is sent to the State Department of Vital Records. The records in the marriage book are what most people look for when they seek out marriage record data for genealogy purposes. For personal use, most people request a certified copy of their marriage license and possibly their actual application, too.

Resources about Common Legal and Government Issues Available

Community members can learn more about typical legal issues that they may encounter with the help of special materials now available from the Carl Vinson Institute. Candler County Probate Judge Tony Thompson recently announced procurement of the materials for the Candler County L.C. Anderson Memorial Library and the Candler County Law Library.

The Law and Government Education Project consists of 22 DVD tutorials with legal information related to a wide variety of topics such as marriage and divorce, immigration, eviction, buying a car or home, personal finance, protective orders, the criminal justice system, and more. Each presentation lasts approximately 30 minutes and concludes with a list of legal services providers or referral resources.

The tutorials may be viewed in English or Spanish. The information is both narrated and written on the screen, making it accessible for hearing or seeing impaired viewers or those with limited literacy. The materials at L.C. Anderson Library will be in the reference section and available for viewing inside the library as soon as they are processed. The materials at the Candler County Law Library will be available for members of the local bar association.

The Law and Government Education Project is a partnership between the University of Georgia’s Carl Vinson Institute of Government and the School of Law, with support from the Georgia Bar Foundation and the Georgia Civil Justice Foundation. The presentations are intended for information purposes only and should not be considered as legal advice.

“These tutorials offer an excellent starting point on general legal issues but they do not take the place of legal counsel. The educational benefits however are obvious. We are grateful to our Librarian Maxine Griffin and the Vinson Institute’s Betty Hudson for helping make these materials available for our community”, said Thompson.

Probate Court Judge Tony Thompson delivers Law and Government Education DVD resources to Candler County Librarian Maxine Griffin.