Monday, March 30, 2020

10 Types of Marriage Records for Family History

10 Types of Marriage Records for Family History The different types of marriage records that might be available for your ancestors, and the amount and kind of information they contain,  will vary depending on the location and time period, as well as sometimes the parties religion. In some localities, a marriage license may include the most details, while in a different locality and time period more information might be found in the marriage register. Locating all available marriage record types increases the chance of learning additional information- including confirmation that the marriage actually took place, the names of parents or witnesses, or the religion of one or both parties to the marriage. Records of Intentions to Marry Marriage Banns - Banns, sometimes spelled bans, were public notice of an intended marriage between two specified persons on a particular date. Banns began as a church custom, later proscribed by English common law, that required the parties to give advance public notice of their intention to marry over three consecutive Sundays, either in church or a public place. The purpose was to give anyone who might have an objection to the marriage, to state why the marriage should not take place. Usually, this was because one or both of the parties was too young or already married, or because they were more closely related than allowed by law.Marriage Bond - a monetary pledge or guarantee given to the court by the intended groom and a bondsman to affirm  that there was no moral or legal reason why the couple could not be married, and also that the groom would not change his mind. If either party declined to go through with the union, or of one of the parties was found to be ineligible- for example, already married, too closely related to the other party, or underage without parental approval- the bond money was generally forfeit. The bondsman, or surety, was often a brother or uncle to the bride, although he could also be a relative of the groom, or even a neighbor of  a  friend of either of the two parties. The use of marriage bonds was especially common in the southern and mid-Atlantic states through the first half of the nineteenth century. In colonial Texas, where Spanish law required colonists to be Catholic, a marriage bond was used in a slightly different fashion- as a pledge to local authorities in situations where there was no Roman Catholic priest available that the couple agreed to have their civil marriage solemnized by a priest as soon as the opportunity came available.Marriage License -   Perhaps the most commonly found record of a marriage is the marriage license. The purpose of a marriage license was to ensure that the marriage conformed to all legal requirements, such as both parties being of lawful age and not too closely related to one another.  After confirming there were no impediments to the marriage, a  license form was issued by a local public official (usually the county clerk) to the couple intending to marry, and granted permission to anyone authorized to solemnize marriages (minister, Justice of the Peace, etc.) to perform the ceremony.  The marriage was usually- but not always- performe d within a few days after the granting of the license. In many localities both the marriage license and the marriage return (see below) are found recorded together. Marriage Application - In some jurisdictions and time periods, law required that a marriage application to be filled out before a marriage license could be issued. In such situations, the application often required more information than was recorded on the marriage license, making it especially useful for family history research. Marriage applications may be recorded in separate books, or might be found with the marriage licenses.   Consent Affidavit - In most jurisdictions, individuals under the lawful age could still be married with  the consent of a parent or guardian as long as they were still above a minimum age. The age at which an individual required consent varied by locality and time period, as well as whether they were male or female. Commonly, this might be anyone under the age of twenty-one; in some jurisdictions, lawful age was sixteen or eighteen, or even as young as thirteen or fourteen for females. Most jurisdictions also had a minimum age, not allowing children under the age of twelve or fourteen to marry, even with parental consent. In some cases, this consent may have taken the form of a written affidavit, signed by the parent (usually the father) or legal guardian. Alternatively, the consent may have been given verbally to the county clerk in front of one or more witnesses, and then noted along with the marriage record. Affidavits were also sometimes recorded to affirm that both individuals were of legal age. Marriage Contract or Settlement - While much less common than the other marriage record types discussed here, marriage contracts have been recorded since colonial times. Similar to what we would now call a prenuptial agreement, marriage contracts or settlements were agreements made prior to marriage, most commonly when the woman owned property in her own name or wished to ensure that property left by a former husband would go to his children and not the new spouse. Marriage contracts might be found filed among the marriage records, or recorded in the deed books or records of the local court.In areas governed by civil law, however, marriage contracts were much more common, used as a means for both parties to protect their property, regardless of their economic or social status. Marriage licenses, bonds,  and  banns all indicate that a marriage was  planned  to take place, but not that it actually happened. For proof that a marriage actually took place, youll need to look for any of the following records: Records Documenting That a Marriage Took Place Marriage Certificate  - A marriage certificate confirms a marriage and is signed by the person officiating at the marriage. The downside is, that the original marriage certificate ends up in the hands of the bride and groom, so if it hasnt been passed down in the family, you may not be able to locate it. In most localities, however, the information from the marriage certificate, or at least verification that the marriage actually took place, is recorded at the bottom or on the back of the marriage license, or in a separate marriage book (see  marriage register  below). Marriage Return / Ministers Return  - Following the wedding, the minister or officiant would complete a paper called a  marriage return indicating that he had married the couple and on what date. He would later return it to the local registrar as proof that the marriage occurred. In many  localities,  you can find this return  recorded at the bottom or on the back of the marriage license. Alternatively, the information may be located in a Marriage Register (see below) or in a separate volume of ministers returns. The lack of an actual marriage date or  marriage  return does not always mean the marriage didnt take place, however. In some  cases,  the minister or officiant may have simply forgotten to drop off the return, or it wasnt recorded for whatever reason. Marriage Register  - Local clerks generally recorded the marriages they performed in a marriage register or book. Marriages performed by another officiant (e.g.  minister, justice of the peace, etc.) were also generally recorded, following receipt of the  marriage  return. Sometimes marriage registers incorporate information from a variety of marriage documents, so may include the names of the couples; their ages, birthplaces, and current locations; the names of their parents, the names of witnesses, the name of the officiant and the date of marriage. Newspaper Announcement  - Historical newspapers are a rich source for information on marriages, including those which may predate the recording of marriages in that locality. Search  historical newspaper archives  for engagement announcements and marriage announcements, paying special attention to clues such as the location of the marriage, the name of the officiant (may indicate religion), the members of the marriage party, the names of guests, etc. Dont overlook religious or ethnic newspapers if you know the ancestors religion, or if they belong to a specific ethnic group (e.g. the local German-language newspaper).

Saturday, March 7, 2020

Project Management Company The WritePass Journal

Project Management Company 1.0  Ã‚   Introduction. Project Management Company ).   There are several types of organisational culture (Drafke Murtaugh, 2009), of which the main ones are: Clan culture. These are family like and tend to focus on mentoring, nurturing, and creating a workforce that feels comfortable and works well together. Power Culture. Key to this is firm control by a few high ranking members, and tends to be found in either smaller companies or discrete sections of larger companies, since it would be difficult to run a large company with such a culture. Key elements mean that decisions can be made quickly making the culture highly reactive. Adhocracy culture. Sometimes referred to as forward looking cultures, these tend to be entrepreneurial and dynamic, and promote an air of risk taking and innovation. Companies with this culture tend to pride themselves on being market leaders and attempt to do something new ahead of possible competitors and the market in general. Role Culture. This type focusses on assigning individuals specific roles with a certain job description and does not allow much scope to step out of that role.   They tend to be rigid and are renowned for being very task-focused.   Cultures such as this are found in companies that specialise in high technology or businesses where roles are determined by knowledge, making it difficult or someone without specific skills to be able to step into certain roles. Market culture. The market culture companies are highly results-driven organisations that concentrate on achievement and completing the task in hand. Hierarchical Culture. These are high structured and controlled businesses that concentrate on creating an efficient company that does the right thing. They tend to be run with a well-defined management structure which feeds information down through it and accepts reporting back through the same lines. The project management company planned by Charles will start with a smaller number of employees but they will have highly specialised tasks to carry out – such as detailed project management – therefore the Role culture is likely to be the best fit for his business.  Ã‚   Since there is only a few employees to start with, the feeding out of information can be handled via team meetings, making communications easy and fluid. Business perception relates to the way in which people – either employees, competitors, or customers relate to a company, which can affect how they interact with that company (Schnaky, 2008).   How a company is perceived may impact on how others work with the company which in turn can affect their long-term profitability and their ability to operate in the market. 5.0   Organisational Strategic Objectives. This report has outlined some of the areas that Charles, the business owner, should examine in order to establish a successful company and gives indication of the type of culture he should aim for.   However, rather than simply indication certain aspects of the business, it becomes important to define particular strategic objectives for Charles to establish. It has been suggested in section 2.4 that Charles strongly consider establishing his business as a limited company, as that will give him extra credibility in the business world, and he is likely to be able to attract the right calibre of technical staff to 5.1 Strategy Roadmap. Charles’ company is expected to follow a specific pathway to success, built on his company’s specialist knowledge of project management and innovative work systems.   This means that the corporate strategy needs to be based on a culture of innovation and the highly-desirable skillset that his employees have.   The structure of a corporate strategy built on innovation is shown in figure 1, below. Figure 1: Charles’ Corporate Strategy. With the company firmly seated in the high-skills, technology, and innovative work streams, Charles can build up a suitable processes that reflect the kind of business that thrives in highly specialist markets such as detailed project management.   The second layer of the strategy is based on the fundamental processes that the company will employ every day to deliver customer excellence.   These processes will encompass innovation in deliverables in which the project management element will keep abreast with the current practices in the field, and project management practitioners kept fully trained as appropriate. Operations process will dictate how the technical staff will interact with customers, while business growth will be the focus of sales and marketing processes. The goal of the sales and market department will be to grow the visibility of the company and create a customer experience that entices return custom through a positive experience in all dealings with the company.   Customer feedback will further allow the company to innovate and to modify their services based on what customers actually want rather than their own perception of what customers need.   By delivering the correct product and service, Charles’ company can experience substantial growth through returning customers as well as picking up new business through the correct marketing strategy and customer recommendations. 5.2 Managing the Strategy. With the correct strategy in place, the management becomes easy since all members of the company understand what is required of them and departments that they deal with to streamline all operations.   As already stated, it is suggested that Charles adopt a Role culture into the company so that people are aware of what they need to achieve within their work sphere, but are able to take direction on other tasks as necessary.   This means that self-management is carried out to the greater extent, with Charles and his senior management team – which is expected to comprise himself as chairman, a Finance Director, and a Sales//Operations Director – offering overall direction for the company, leaving day to day management to area managers and individuals, empowering them to stretch goals (Vandeveer and Menefee, 2010).   This will add a flexibility to the company that is attractive to potential customers, which, together with the obvious innovative ethos of the company, w ill help boost sales enquiries. The management system and strategy set out for this company does not have to be binding, and with future growth, it may be necessary to consider different strategies and management styles that will be more befitting the organisation as it grows.   This means that Charles will need to assess the company on a regular basis to assess whether a new direction in strategy and style may be of greater benefit. 6.0 References Adeniyi, M. (2007) Effective Leadership Management. Authorhouse, Bloomington, Indiana. Alversson, M. (2013) Understanding Organizational Culture. Sage Publications, London. Deming, W. (1993) The New Economics for Industry Government, and Education. MIT Press, Boston, Massachusetts. Drafke, M. and Murtaugh, J. (2009) The Human Side of Organizations. Prentice Hall, New Jersey. Gov. UK (2015) Choose a legal structure for your business. [Online] Available from https://www.gov.uk/business-legal-structures/overview. [Accessed 11th December 2016]. Robbins, S. Judge, T. (2014) Essentials of Organizational Behaviour. [Online] Available from http://bba12.weebly.com/uploads/9/4/2/8/9428277/organizational_behavior_15e_-_stephen_p_ robbins__timothy_a_judge_pdf_qwerty.pdf. [Accessed 11th December 2016]. Schnaky, K. (2008) Perceptions of Organizational Culture by Employee Level: A Case Study. [Online] Available from http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.591.2797 rep=rep1type=pdf. [Accessed 11th December 2016]. Stoner J., Freeman R., and Gilbert, Jr. D. (2003) Management. Prentice-Hall of India, New Dheli. Vandeveer, R. Menefee, M. (2010) Human Behavior in Organizations. Prentice Hall, New Jersey