St. Cuthberts Edinburgh marriage register on Scotlands People - no original?

[Forfarian]

I am not sure if or when the practice of marrying in the Manse or a private home stopped in Scotland.

I was the bridesmaid at a wedding ceremony in a private home in 1978.

[melba_schmelba]

It is still legal in Scotland for a woman to keep using her maiden name. If you are looking at the index on scotlandspeople for the death of a married woman it is listed under her married name and her maiden name but with the same reference number.

An example of this is my mum who died in 2010. If you enter Doris Small (her married name) it comes up as reference 731/101 but if you enter Doris Patrick (her maiden name) it comes up with the same reference.

The information given on a marriage/death certificate is only as good as the knowledge of the informant especially way back in the late 1800's.

I am not sure if or when the practice of marrying in the Manse or a private home stopped in Scotland. I have a marriage as late as 1941 taking place in the manse. I believe it is now up to the individual minister of registrar to decide if the intended place of marriage is suitable. Lots of weddings now take place in hotels.

Dorrie

Thanks Dorrie, I hadn't realised the use of the maiden name was still common practice. Do we know why or when or if England and Scotland diverged in this practice? Did England ever habitually refer to spouses under their maiden names?

[melba_schmelba]

I am not sure if or when the practice of marrying in the Manse or a private home stopped in Scotland.

I was the bridesmaid at a wedding ceremony in a private home in 1978.

Interesting to know, I think because of Covid, England is considering also relaxing the rules!

[Elwyn Soutter]

I think the law about marriage in England usually required the location to be licensed or approved for marriages (churches,  register offices etc). Scotland never required that. The person conducting the marriage had to be approved (if that's the best term) but no restriction on location. So you could marry almost anywhere. A blacksmiths shop in Gretna Green for example.

[Skoosh]

Marriage in the Church of Scotland is not a sacrament but a contract, the Anglicans have given it a significance which was lacking in the early Protestant churches!

Skoosh.

[Forfarian]

I think the law about marriage in England usually required the location to be licensed or approved for marriages (churches,  register offices etc). Scotland never required that. The person conducting the marriage had to be approved (if that's the best term) but no restriction on location. So you could marry almost anywhere. A blacksmiths shop in Gretna Green for example.

I am not even sure of that. If you were married by a religious ceremony the officiating clergyman had to be approved or licensed or whatever, but you could marry without benefit of clergy by declaring yourselves to be married in front of witnesses. AIUI that is the basis of Border weddings - the legal element was the declaration before witnesses and the blacksmith or whoever it was was just providing a bit of ceremonial.

[David LL George]

My 6x Scottish grandparents were married irregularly but eventually in 1759 went to a church to be married. 

The Doddington Church record reads:
 'Alexander Greig and Helen Aitchinson, irregularly married, were rebuked and declared married persons and gave to the poor'  The amount given to the poor was recorded as one shilling and sixpence.

The irregular marriage required two witnesses and was done verbally.  It was usually a Blacksmith and his assistant or wife, as the witnesses had to be Scottish citizens, and only Scottish citizens could be Blacksmiths as they could make weapons of war, swords, shoe horses, etc.

[Gadget]

I think this has been mentioned before on other threads but this is a good potted account of birth, marriage and death in Scotland

https://www.gla.ac.uk/schools/socialpolitical/research/economicsocialhistory/historymedicine/scottishwayofbirthanddeath/introduction/

(use side panel to step through)