This unusual record is a "marriage bond." Traditionally, when folks got married, they would "post banns". That meant that their intention to marry would be read in church three times or posted in a public place for three weeks before the marriage took place. This provided an opportunity for someone else to point out a reason why the marriage should not be allowed. However, when one party to the marriage was far away from home, there wasn't any realistic possibility of someone objecting. So, some states made a policy that a stranger marrying in the state would post a bond guaranteeing that there was no reason that his or her participation in a marriage would be invalid. This 1840 bond, in the amount of $200, was posted by Gilman Brown and George Ayres to permit Gilman's marriage to Hannah McPherson (his 1st wife) in the state of Delaware. The amount would be payable only in the event that Gilman was ever found to have been legally ineligible.
Gilman is the 2nd great-grandfather of the Moore brothers. His partner in the bond, George Ayres, would probably have been a relative, and provides a clue in tracing the family tree further back.
Gilman (by his 2nd wife) was the father of Susan Brown Moore. I'm looking forward to investigating him further. Family tradition says that he was a Quaker, and a newly discovered distant cousin has confirmed that idea. The cousin was discovered via DNA matching, but I'll tell that story some other time.