The marriage usually took place in the home parish of the bride. The pastor recorded the names of bride and groom, whether each was single or widowed, and the date of the marriage. The earliest marriage records give little information about the parents of the couple. In most cases, until the beginning of the 1800s, marriage registers recorded only the names of the bride's parents.

In Mecklenburg-Strelitz the names of the groom's parents began to be recorded after 1810. This practice was introduced in Mecklenburg-Schwerin sometime after 1820. The birthdates of the bride and groom began to be entered in marriage registers during the 1800s. Some marriage registers even give the birthplaces of the bride and groom.

August's birth records show that his father was angeblich i.e. alleged to be, a man named Johann Cansier. He and August's mother, Maria Heiden, did not get married. We don't know the exact circumstances involved. Maria was a madchen i.e. house servant and Johann was an older man.

However, at this time in Mecklenburg, there was a population surplus in terms of people needed to work the large estates. The local dukes or owners of the estates were still held responsible for taking care of their workers so a couple had to get their permission before being allowed to get married. Since there were already too many people around, this permission was rarely granted resulting in a high percentage of the births during the mid-to late 1800s being illegitimate.