>From: "robert douglas" <[email protected]> >Date: Thu, 30 Oct 2003 17:47:10 +1100 > >according to information on grandmothers birth certificate my great >gandparents were married in Coldstream on the 26th. of May 1857. but when I >sent to the GRO Edinburgh for a copy of the Marriage Certificate they said >they had no record of a marriage taking place, I wondered if there was a >record kept of the irregular weddings taking place in Coldstream, any help >wpould be appreciated..............tks. Rob Douglas. Certification was only just getting going in 1857, and some people were missed. However, it's also possible that they made a mistake with the date, or the spelling was eccentric, so I would suggest that you head into Scotland's People and have a look for yourself before you give up hope. In your place, I would check +/- a couple of years, and any likely (and less likely) spellings. If the family moved a lot, I would also check the neighbouring parishes. People weren't as obsessed with dates and records in thoses days, and frequently guessed when faced with an official demanding information (look at how ages vary from census to census). You can imagine the conversation "let's see now, our Jimmy is 5, so we must have married in [year], or was it [year]...... Different officials presided at the Irregular marriage ceremonies, and some were more careful than others about keeping records...... If all else fails, ask the Borders FHS. Lesley Robertson _________________________________________________________________ Help STOP SPAM with the new MSN 8 and get 2 months FREE* http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail