Abbreviations in UK parish registers

[Eve45]

Hi all,

I've just been looking at some of the UK parish register transcriptions at Ancestry and wonder if someone can give me a hint about an abbreviation they use. I can figure out most of them (a.d.n. = a daughter named; a.s.n. = a son named; w.= witness, etc.) but in some of the marriages there is "c." followed by a third name at the end of the entry. Examples:

James Shiel in Selkirk m. Janet Smail; c. Walter Murray
Robert Mercer m. Elizabeth Shiel; c. George Mercer
Thomas Shiel in Lauder m. Janet Scot; c. Robert Scot
James Shiel in Earlston m. Agnes Cochrane; c. John Cochrane

It's not on all entries. In most cases the third name is the same as one of the marrying parties but not always, so I don't think it stands for clergyman or anything like that. It's not consistent either - sometimes the third name is related to the bride's name and sometimes to the groom's and sometimes to neither. I thought it might mean "child of" but I'm not sure - if that were the case it would be more likely to say "son of" or "daughter of".

It's probably something really obvious but I've gone totally blank!

Thanks,
Eve

[Lynn H]

I'm almost sure that it stands for "By Certificate"   

[Elizabeth Revel]

Could it mean the parental consent to the marriage of a minor child?

Beth

[DudleyWinchurch]

Hi,

This is pure guesswork, but if it's a marriage entry, could it mean "with the consent of"?

The name would then relate to whichever of the couple was under age, and, where no relationship is obvious, could maybe indicate a stepfather (presuming that even a young widow would no longer be subject to her father's consent).

Although, in that case, you'd expect the occasional c. followed by two names, I suppose.

Edited: Beth, you beat me to it!

[daval57]

Any chance you could post a couple of examples Eve?
Dave

[JAP]

My suggestions is that it could well stand for Cautioner i.e. a person who stood security for the parties (that the marriage for which the Banns were being proclaimed would actually take place).

JAP