I was recently doing some research on a Mexican War veteran who entered service from the District of Columbia, and the Clayton Library Finding Aids led me to the library’s microfilm collection of marriage and death notices from the National Intelligencer. This proved to be a very valuable—and easy to use—resource, and I’d recommend it to researchers who are interested in the Washington, D.C. area or who have ancestors with links to that area. Published from 1800 to 1863, the Intelligencer had a wide circulation and served in many respects as a national publication. Its obituary notices are excellent sources of information on Revolutionary War veterans and on individuals who may have been killed in the War of 1812, the Indian Wars, or in the Mexican War. The local subscription area of the Intelligencer included the District of Columbia (Georgetown, Washington, and Alexandria) and the surrounding counties of Maryland and Virginia. However, it is common to find notices involving people in New York, Pennsylvania, and the New England states, and—especially for people of political, literary, or military renown—the Intelligencer frequently included death notices from the Midwest, South and, later, California.

The publication itself is entitled Marriage and Death Notices from the National Intelligencer (Washington, DC), 1800-1850, and it is divided into two volumes contained on three reels of microfilm. The first part of reel 1 contains the 481-page index; the second part contains abstracts of marriage and death notices for the years 1800 through 1834. Reel 2 contains abstracts for the years 1835 through 1846. And reel 3 contains abstracts for the years 1847 through 1850. Altogether, the abstracts form a sizable publication at 2,652 pages (not counting the index). Researchers will be pleased to know that every page of this microfilm publication is fully legible and easy to use. Surnames are in all-caps, and entries are in hanging-indent form. On all three reels, the top of each page is labeled with the year-no need to crank the film back to see what year you are looking at! Following each entry, the compilers have provided, in parentheses, the date (or dates) on which the notice appeared in the Intelligencer. You can find this microfilm in cabinet 37, drawer 10. Look for the word “DC” on the front of the drawer.

The index—by Margaret Elliott Higgins—is one of the best I’ve seen. Every name found in the abstracts is included, and at the end of the name section is a “miscellaneous” section that contains entries for businesses, mills, stores, mines, hotels, factories, boarding houses, etc. that are mentioned in the abstracts. Another very useful feature of the index—one I haven’t seen before—is the inclusion of a special section labeled “??.” In this section, the indexer has included (for women only) those “suspicious” middle names that may, in fact, have been acquired through marriage. So, in the “??” section you will find, for example, Eliza Preston Carrington Benton indexed under both Preston and Carrington. Her Benton name will appear in the main index.

Of special interest in this microfilm set are the numerous obituaries that contain such things as places of birth, military service, life achievements, family relations, and places of residence. The death notice for Richard Dinmore (1811) is an example of one of the more comprehensive ones:

DINMORE, Dr. Richard, formerly of Norwich, Eng., but for many yrs. a resident of this city, died Sept. 26, aged 46. He was born in Norwich, Eng., Dec. 8, 1765. His father was a tradesman in that city and still lives. Dr. Dinmore was educated by his wealthy uncle, who placed him with a country physician to study medicine. He married a lady named Shreeve. At the expiration of his apprenticeship, his uncle having died and left him his money, he was sent to London to complete his medical education. On his return from London in 1788, where he specialized in anatomy, he settled at Watton, in his native country. In 1797 he came to Washington with his wife and only surviving child, which he afterwards lost. He first opened a school, and afterwards operated a grocery store in Georgetown, and later became editor of a paper in Alexandria. His son died in Washington and his wife passed away in Alexandria, leaving him with an infant dau., the 16th child of this union. He afterwards married the dau. of his stepmother, who had been left a widow. (Sep. 21, Oct. 8)

THOMAS, Mrs. Jane, wife of Col. John Thomas, died Apr. 16, aged 91. She was a sincere and spirited Whig. In the year 1779, when the Tories attacked the house of her husband to get a magazine [ammunition] kept there, she cooperated with her son and son-in-law in guarding it. While they fired on the assailants, she advanced in front of them with a sword in her hand and dared them to come in. They were intimidated and retired. (June 4)

OLDMIXON, Sir. John, died lately in the U.S. He retired from England from pecuniary embarrassment about 25 yrs. ago.... One half of his children were born in America and the other half are lieutenants in the British Navy. (Sep. 24)

We find numerous reports in the Intelligencer on the activities of military officers who had family connections in D.C. but who were themselves serving at remote posts in the west. Here are a couple of examples from the years 1846 and 1848, respectively:

PORTER, Lt., was killed by Mexicans April 21, 1846, on the Rio Grande. He had married a short time before his death a daughter of Major Benjamin Lloyd Beall, formerly of this city, now in command of the 2nd Dragoons, in Texas. His wife and daughter are now at Ft. Washita, late station of Major Beall. (May 7, 1846 & May 13, 1846)

PRINTISS, Capt. James H., of the U.S. Artillery, died at Point Isabel Sept. 23, 1848. He entered the service in 1830, after graduating from West Point, as a Brevet 2nd Lt. of the Artillery. He served in the Indian War and the Black Hawk campaign, and subsequently visited Europe. In 1839 he was advanced to Asst. Adjutant General, with the rank of Captain. At commencement of the Mexican War he was a Captain in General Wool's Artillery and was at the operation at Vera Cruz. (Oct. 13, 1848)

Marriage notices in the Intelligencer usually provided just “bare-bones” information. A typical entry will provide the names (and sometimes origins) of the bride and groom, the name of the bride’s father, and the place of the wedding. There are, however, numerous entries that make no mention of the bride’s parents. In the case where the bride is a widow, in general, no mention is made of her maiden name or parentage. The following two entries, the first from 1810, the second from 1844, are typical:

TARRENCE, John, of this city, and Miss Nancy GOODMAN, of P. G. Co., Md., were married Dec. 13. (Dec. 15)

HUGHES, George W., U.S. Civil Engineers, and Ann Sarah MAXCY, daughter of Virgil MAXCY, were married Dec. 16 by the Rev. Mr. Woart. (Dec. 18)

I would highly recommend this microfilm. Since the content spans 50 years, it is often possible to rough out entire family groups using just this source. Also, it is possible in some cases to trace the movements of families or individuals into other parts of the country, as reports of marriages and deaths were often sent back to D.C. and picked up in the Intelligencer.

• Martin, George A. and Frank J. Metcalf. Marriage and Death Notices from the National Intelligencer (Washington, D.C.), National Genealogical Society Special Publication Number 1. Washington DC: National Genealogical Society, 1976. Microfilm (three reels), Clayton Library, cabinet 37, drawer 10.