Jerry and Susan,
Late last year we had the St. Joe County Archivist speak at our South Bend
Area Genealogical Society (SBAGS) meeting on the St. Joe archives. He touched
on the area of couples that eloped in St. Joe County during the first half of
the 1900s. The couples often were from the Chicago area and rode the train
into South Bend. Upon arrival, they would seek out a Judge or J.P. and go
through the marriage ceremony. They would then receive a certificate of
marriage from the Judge or J.P. The newlyweds would then return to whence
they came, comfortable that they had been legally married. The Judge or J.P.
would however, pocket the money paid for the ceremony, forget to file the
marriage document (he would never see the couple again) and be happily on his
way to perform wedding ceremonies for countless other elopers from Chicago or
wherever.
Is it possible that this could also happen in Angola? Probably.
Does it mean your folks were married legally? Most likely yes, especially
under Common Law. Especially too, if a marriage certificate signed by the
performing person is presentable. Remember too, they (the elopers) were at
the time starry-eyed people in love, who trusted people who were supposed to
uphold the laws of the State. Unfortunately, those entrusted with this power
were often very forgetful or ???.
Eric