Catholic Marriage Records: Discovering an Immigrant's Place of
Origin Author: George Ryskamp “In the town of Natchez on the
22nd of the month of August of 1793 I Don Gregory White
principle priest of this parish having completed the customary
diligences without any impediments having resulted, wed and
blessed Policarpio Regillo, legitimate son of Jose and of Rufina
Gonzalez native of Lesuza, Province of Tholedo and Margarita
Thomas, legitimate daughter of Elias Thomas and of Catarina,
native of Virginia. The witnesses were Wendelin Piroth and
Israel Lennard and I sign this Gregorio White.” Consider the
marriage record of an Anglo-American bride, a Spanish groom, an
Irish priest and two French witnesses. Nothing better indicates
the immigrant nature of society in Natchez, Mississippi, at the
end of the eighteenth century than this Catholic marriage
record. It is also typical of the detail found concerning
locality of birth for the bride and groom in many, if not most,
Catholic marriage records. This is detail