Gretna Green Marriages

[buckhyne]

In all my years in genealogy I have never ever come across a marriage from Gretna Green.
Is there such a place genealogically.
I searched on Familysearch for marriages in Gretna Green.
There were none in the indexed IGI and there were only 20+ in the contributed IGI.
A lot of those marriages appear to be lost geographically.

Name: John Smiley
Birth: 1706, Lakeshire, , , Scotland
Death: 1780, of Carlisle, Cumberland, Pennsylvania
Spouse: Margaret Buchanan
Marriage: 1735, Gretna Green, Ireland

Name: Sarah Anne Child
Death: 9 November 1793
Father: Robert Child
Mother: Sarah Jordell
Spouse: John Fane
Marriage: 18 May 1782, Gretna Green, London, England

Name: George Alcock Nixon
Birth: 1805, of, Enniskillen, Fermanagh, Ireland
Death: 21 May 1853
Spouse: Frances Willoughby Yates
Marriage: 11 November 1847, Gretna Green, , Ireland

Name: Frances Willoughby Yates
Birth: 1826, Gretna Green, Dumfries, Scotland
Spouse: George Alcock Nixon
Marriage: 11 November 1847, Gretna Green, , Ireland

I googled Gretna Green and this is what Wikipedia says about the place

Wikipedia
Gretna Green is one of the world's most popular wedding destinations, hosting over 5,000 weddings each year
in the Gretna/Gretna Green area, and one of every six Scottish weddings.
My note: If that is true then wow!
It has usually been assumed that Gretna's famous "runaway marriages" began in 1754
when Lord Hardwicke's Marriage Act came into force in England. Under the Act, if a
parent of a minor wishing to marry (i.e., a person under the age of 21) objected, they
could legally veto the union. The Act tightened up the requirements for marrying in
England and Wales but did not apply in Scotland, where it was possible for boys to
marry at 14 and girls at 12 with or without parental consent (see Marriage in
 Scotland). It was, however, only in the 1770s, with the construction of a toll road
passing through the hitherto obscure village of Graitney, that Gretna Green became
 the first easily reachable village over the Scottish border. The Old Blacksmith's Shop,
 built around 1712, and Gretna Hall Blacksmith's Shop (1710) became, in popular
folklore at least, the focal tourist points for the marriage trade. The Old Blacksmith's
 opened to the public as a visitor attraction as early as 1887
The local blacksmith and his anvil have become the lasting symbols of Gretna Green
weddings. Scottish law allowed for "irregular marriages", meaning that if a
declaration was made before two witnesses, almost anybody had the authority to
conduct the marriage ceremony. The blacksmiths in Gretna became known as "anvil
priests", culminating with Richard Rennison, who performed 5,147 ceremonies.

[buckhyne]

I then clicked on an Ancestry link
http://search.ancestry.co.uk/search/db.aspx?dbid=1636

Under the Marriage Act of 1753 (also known as Lord Hardwicke’s Marriage Act),
clandestine or common-law marriages in England were made illegal. All marriages
were required to have an official ceremony performed by a Church of England priest,
 unless the couple was Jewish or Quaker. The Act also required parental consent for
parties under 21 years old and enforced the publication of Banns. This Act also
applied in Wales. However, it did not apply to Scotland or Ireland, as they were under
their own legal systems.
Couples wanting to get around these laws (for example because of no parental consent
or personal objections to marrying in a church) often fled to Scottish border villages
 in order to get married where the English laws did not apply. Gretna Green, Scotland
 was one such destination. Located just over the border, it was one of the first villages
encountered by elopers heading north. To this day, Gretna Green is still a very
 popular wedding destination.

About this Collection:
This data collection contains what has become known as the Lang Collection of
Gretna Green Marriage Registers, being named after David and Simon Lang, a father
and son duo who were “priests” and performed many marriages in Gretna Green
between 1794 and 1828.
The entire collection covers the years 1794 to 1895, with a few earlier references.
Since Gretna Green marriages were not exactly formal, the record keeping was not
regulated, nor was it centralized. The Lang Registers make up approximately 50% of
all Gretna Green marriages performed during the specified time period. The Lang
Registers is the largest single collection of Gretna Green marriage registers and
includes over 10,000 records.
Sometimes marriages were recorded on scraps of pieces of paper. Other times they
were kept more formally and recorded in a book. The amount of information
recorded could vary as well. However, you’ll generally be able to find the following
information:
Names of bride and groom
Their counties of residence
Marriage date
Witnesses’ names

In the search box I entered Lawrie and got the following.

                              Thomas Lawrie
In the Gretna Green, Scotland, Marriage Registers, 1797-1895

Name:                       Thomas Lawrie
Residence:               Scotland, Dumfries, Dumfries
Marriage Date:       11 Sep 1875
Spouse:                     Margaret Beauly
Spouse Residence : Scotland, Dumfries, Dumfries

Scotlandspeople do not have this marriage.
I’m puzzled with that.
I thought EVERY marriage had to be recorded after 1854.
If they had kids would the Gretna marriage show up in birth certificates?

There must surely have been some marriages done ‘normally’ in Gretna Green and be in the OPR or the statutory marriage register post 1854.
Where are they ?

[Rosinish]

Buckhyne,

Not sure if I'm misunderstanding you....

"and one of every six Scottish weddings"

That to me means for every 6 weddings at Gretna 1 was a Scottish couple rather than elopers.

Interesting there's none on SP, not something I've had to consider..yet 


Annie

[Rosinish]

Are those missing marriages not simply under Dumfries?

Annie

[buckhyne]

My reading of that is that a sixth of all weddings in Scotland are performed at Gretna Green.
If that is true then wow!

I thought that every marriage since 1855 must be officially registered yet I cannae find Thomas Lawrie & Margaret Beauly (1875) in SP.
I've tried just surnames and soundex turned on 1870-1880.
No Thomas Lawrie but three Bells and a Boyle.

[Rosinish]

Have you tried searching with only surname initial?

May be transcribed wrongly 'Lowrie' as opposed to Lawrie, who knows?

Maybe the Gretna marriages haven't been added yet?

I would email SP to ask as it does seem odd.

Annie

[Rosinish]

"If they had kids would the Gretna marriage show up in birth certificates?"

Yes, there's no reason why not as marriages in Ireland etc. are recorded on births.

Annie

[RJ_Paton]

I thought that every marriage since 1855 must be officially registered yet I cannae find Thomas Lawrie & Margaret Beauly (1875) in SP.

Every "Regular" marriage should be officially registered. The problem is that Scots Law still recognised several forms of "irregular"  marriages although mechanisms existed where couples could have such marriages officially registered this was purely a personal decision of the couples involved.

See the National Records of Scotland website for information about irregular Border marriages

https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/research/guides/birth-death-and-marriage-records/irregular-border-marriage-registers

[buckhyne]

Have you tried searching with only surname initial?

May be transcribed wrongly 'Lowrie' as opposed to Lawrie, who knows?

Maybe the Gretna marriages haven't been added yet?

I would email SP to ask as it does seem odd.

Annie

I'm no really concerned, just curious.
If one marriage isn't on SP then presumably all the other Gretna Green marriages are missing as well.
Surely EVERY marriage since 1855 in Scotland has to be registered irrespective where in Scotland the marriage took place.

In the (SP) drop-down box for Districts in Dumfries there is no Gretna Green but there is Graitney or Gretna.
In 1875 there were 12 marriages (according to SP).
This one is an example.

BEATTIE   ANN    MCKINNON THOMAS    1875   Graitney or Gretna

So it looks like there is no district called Gretna Green and the marriage of Thomas Lawrie & Margaret Beauly in 1875 was not officially recorded.