President Walter George Smith, of the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws, signs the Uniform Marriage and Marriage License Act, giving the states guidelines to legally usurp the previously religious prerogative of marriage into a compelling state interest.  Prior to the passage of this act, marriages, births, and deaths were recorded in family Bibles, and accepted as valid authority: in courts of law.

       Postscript: Within the next seven years every state in the nation passed its own statute requiring marriages to be registered and licensed by the state.

       [added 4/5/2025]