State of Tennesee }
Sevier County } ss
I P. N. Toomey Clerk
of the County Court of said County
do hereby certify that after diligent
search for the marriage license and
record of John McGee and Esther
Clindenning, none such can be
found in my office.
I further certify that a great many
of the Marriage Licenses and Bonds of
my County have been lost or destroyed.
Witness my hand and Seal
SEAL of Office at Office in
Sevierville, the 1st day of
December A.D. 1852
P.N. Toomey Clerk
He couldn't find the marriage in Sevier County's books because
Sevier County wasn't formed until 1794. John and Esther were married in
Jefferson County in 1794 about the same time that Sevier County was formed
from Jefferson County, but the record is at the Dandridge Courthouse.