> From: viv.dunstan@one-name.org> Date: Fri, 1 Jun 2007 22:17:55 +0100> To: border@rootsweb.com> Subject: Re: [BORDER] Irregular Marriages at Cornhill> > Joan Fraser wrote:> > > Would you please tell me how I might go about looking for an > > irregular marriage for these two? Thank you very much for any help > > at all.> > Have you checked the Church of Scotland kirk session minutes for the > parish(es) where their eldest children were probably born/baptised? > If the couple were married irregularly then normally they would have > been summoned in by the local kirk session and interrogated. This > information - including where/when they said they were married - is > typically only recorded in the kirk session minutes which are quite > separate from the registers of marriages etc. Kirk session minutes > are held in the National Archives of Scotland (http://www.nas.gov.uk) > (next door to General Register Office for Scotland which holds the > pre-1855 parish registers) and given your distance you'd probably > need a researcher in Edinburgh to check them for you. Such a search > is only generally feasible if you can narrow down the likely parishes > very precisely and also the date when the couple probably married, > based on children's births. I'm a bit suspicious because the baptisms haven't turned up either. This makes me wonder whether they were actually members of a non-conformist church (there were a LOT of them in the Borders) - anything from United Presbyterian to Free Church. Some Church of Scotland Ministers recorded such bapisms in their own registers, many didn't. Lesley Robertson _________________________________________________________________ Make every IM count. Download Windows Live Messenger and join the i’m Initiative now. It’s free.  http://im.live.com/messenger/im/home/?source=TAGWL_June07

Dear Viv, Gordon, Lesley and others, Thank you all very, very much for your helpful reply emails to my question about a possible irregular marriage of my ancestors in Roxburghshire. I now have a good number of new places to look for the marriage of my ancestors Andrew Scott and Joan Hope. The following is additional information I have about this couple that I should have included in my first post: Joan Hope was chr 1777 at Gateshaw Associate Secession, Morebattle. All children of Joan Hope and Andrew Scott are listed in book "Scottish Record Society; Melrose Parish Registers 1642-1820" ed by Charles Romanes. Alexander b 1803 Melrose James b 1805 Melrose Robert b 1807 Melrose Margaret b 1810 Newtown Andrew b 1812 Melrose George b 1814 Melrose John b 1816 Newtown (to US in 1854; my direct ancestor) Robert b 1818 Newtonmill (prob to Australia) Does the book listing possibly show that Andrew & Joan went back to regular church after their marriage? Thanks you again so much for your help. Joan Fraser