Kerr marriage in Greenock

[frenchdressing]

I'm trying to find the marriage of my ancestors William Kerr and Mary Jane Currie.
They were both born in Ireland but married and had children in Greenock. I have the birth certs. for their children and on them all it says that William and Mary married on 9th September 1853 in Greenock.
I've looked on the parish records on Scotland's People but can't find their marriage. Does this mean that they were married in a non-conformist chapel or what? Is there anywhere else I can look?

Thank you for any suggestions.

Regards

French

[tidybooks]

Hi French,

Does the childrens birth certificates not give any clue as to where baptised etc. I note that on IGI some of the children are given as Middle or New Parish, Greenock to parents William Kerr and Mary Jane Currie, all extracted records. I hope this is correct parents.

I have done some searching on ancestry and not coming up with anything, cannot find family so far on any census.
Any other clues?
Tom

[frenchdressing]

Hi Tom,

Thanks for looking. The entries on the IGI are the correct parents. The birth certs. don't give any indication of where the children were baptised.

Fanny (1856)and Eleanor(1857) a were born 11 Princess St. Greenock. Fanny died at the same address a month after her birth. James (1867) and William John (1865)were born Main Street Cartsdyke ? Greenock. William was born 1859 in Central District Glasgow.
According to the IGI, Eleanora was registered twice. Once on the 25 May in Greenock  (4 days after her birth) and once on the 2nd June at Springburn, Lanarkshire. (On Scotland's People I found the mention 'transcribed at Springburn Lanarkshire June 2nd. Born Greenock'.
 On her birth cert. I have, in the column 'signature and qualification of informant...' is written, William Kerr  father not present.
The only children born in Scotland who survived were Eleanora (Ellen) and William John.

I have never been to Greenock so don't know that area at all.

William and Mary Jane went back and forth between Greenock and Birkenhead and had other children in Birkenhead before finally settling in Atherton Lancashire. They are on the 1861 and 1871 census in Birkenhead and after that in Atherton.

That's all I have.

French

On the 1851 census there's a William Kerr aged 19 in Greenock New or Middle but there's no image so I don't know if it's him.

[RJ_Paton]

The OPR (Old parish Records) currently available on Scotlands people are the records of the Established Church of Scotland.

The church in Scotland went through several phases of splits and recombinations and it is possible that your ancestors belonged to one of those groups who broke away from the main church. These records are not yet available online although some are maintained in the National Archives in Edinburgh.

Another possibility is that they were of the Roman Catholic Church and again these records are not yet available online.

The third possibility is that Scots Law (but not the church) recognised several forms of "irregular marriage" and there are few if any records of these.

[frenchdressing]

Thanks for info. Falkryn.
The Kerrs were not Roman Catholic. Their descendants were either Methodist or Anglican.
It seems as if I'll have to persuade my hubby that I need a holiday in Scotland. Shouldn't be too difficult as the French like Scotland.

Regards

French

[RJ_Paton]

This link

http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/sct/ChurchRecords.html

explains where to start looking for some of the various records .... if the descendants were Anglican another possibility is the Scottish Episcopalian Church.

[frenchdressing]

Thanks for the link.

French

[weemary]

I have a Thomas Kerr married to Elizabeth McDougall in Greenock

11 Princess St. Greenock

this would most probably be 11 Prince's St -  have never heard of Princess st in Greenock

you may like to email the Watt Library -   they have indexed all the BMD that appeard in the local newspaper from 1848 onwards

[weemary]

below is a site of old photos of Greenock

http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://www.greenock-town.co.uk/images/Main-Street---Cartsdyke.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.greenock-town.co.uk/streets_from_k_to_m.html&h=431&w=636&sz=13&hl=en&start=1&um=1&tbnid=ScgOe5nMXs-DsM:&tbnh=93&tbnw=137&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dphoto%2BMain%2BStreet%2BCartsdyke%2B%26svnum%3D10%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN

if you scroll down you will see a photo of Main St Cartdykes -  I was brought up in that area of the town -  totally different now