Married by the Navy

Question

I am trying to find marriage records for my great grandparents. HARRY E. FOLEY (b. 1897) and KATHLEEN FLAHERTY (b. 1899). I believe they were married sometime around 1919/1920. Harry was likely living in New Mexico and Kathleen was likely living in Arizona. It seems that Harry was serving in the Navy at this time as well. Would their marriage record be separate from the records for the state where he was serving if he was married by the Navy, or on a Navy ship? Note: There is a potential that Kathleen may have had a different last time at the time of marriage.

Patti Schulte · Answer

Kellykronenwetter, 
 Harry E. Foley, Wife last names and daughter link: https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6KWL-72JM 
 1930 Census Link: https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XH17-G8R 
 The only Birth Certificate I could find was for Dorothy (Daugter) Link: https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:8TP3-X9W2 
 Hope this helps a bit. 
 Patti 
 *Family Search is a totally free site you just have to sign up.*

History Hub Info · Answer

Thank you for posting your question to History Hub! 
 You may be able to find additional information about your great grandparents marriage in his Navy personnel file since you feel certain he was still serving at that time. It is not uncommon for service members to submit a copy of their marriage license to their Commanding Officers to place in their records. To get started with your research, we would recommend that you request their Official Military Personnel File (OMPF). OMPFs for Navy enlisted personnel who were separated from the service after January 1, 1886 (January 1, 1903 for officers) are serviced by NARA's National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) in St. Louis. 
 In general, OMPFs for military personnel who were separated from the service between 1912 and 1999 are serviced by NARA's National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) in St. Louis. In many cases where personnel records were destroyed in the 1973 fire , proof of service can be provided from other records such as morning reports, payrolls, and military orders. 
 The good news is that Navy records were not destroyed in the 1973 fire, so your great-grandfather&rsquo;s record should be intact. While there is no guarantee that a marriage certificate will be in the record, if they married while he was in service, there should be some evidence of that in his military record. 
 You'll want to complete a GSA Standard Form 180 and mail it to NARA's National Personnel Records Center, (Military Personnel Records), 1 Archives Drive, St. Louis, MO 63138-1002. If there is any information requested by the form that you do not know, you may omit it or provide estimates (such as for dates), but the more information you provide, the easier it will be to locate the correct file. For more information see Official Military Personnel Files (OMPF) . 
 Veterans and next of kin of deceased veterans may use eVetRecs to request records. See eVetRecs Help for instructions. Please note that next of kin of a deceased veteran must provide proof of death of the veteran such as a copy of death certificate, letter from funeral home, or published obituary. For more information see Request Military Service Records . 
 Military personnel records are opened to the public 62 years after the veteran leaves the service. If fewer than 62 years have passed since the veteran&rsquo;s discharge date (to include any reserve time), certain information in the records is not available to the general public without the written consent of the veteran or the next of kin the deceased veteran. For more information see Official Military Personnel Files (OMPF), Non-Archival Holdings . 
 We hope this helps with your research!