>From: Richard Francis <[email protected]> >Date: Sat, 25 Oct 2003 20:47:23 +0200 > >My gg grandparents (John CUNNINGHAM and Janet DAVIDSON) were married in >Coldstream on 18 April 1841, although both were resident in Greenlaw. This >may be related to the fact that John appears to have been illegitimate. > John's illegitimacy wouldn't have mattered. Once his mother (and probably his father) had been hauled before their Kirk Elders and repented, that would have been it. Coldstream was a popular place of 'irregular marriages" (what we would consider today as civil weddings), and it's possible that this is why they maqried there. If this was the case, it might be worth checking the Greenlaw Kirk Session so see whether they were required to explain themselves to the Kirk after the wedding (this often happened once the wife began putting on weight). If you're looking for his parents, and know where he was born, the relevant Kirk session might be helpful - the elders were worse than tabloid reporters.... Lesley Robertson _________________________________________________________________ The new MSN 8: advanced junk mail protection and 2 months FREE* http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail

Lesley Robertson wrote: > John's illegitimacy wouldn't have mattered. Once his mother (and > probably his father) had been hauled before their Kirk Elders and > repented, that would have been it. Would have been what? Would John then have been officially legitimate? Would his father and mother have been deemed to be married? What if his father was unknown? Jim Balmer