Each parish had a kirk session composed of the minister and those who had been chosen elders of the kirk. The session appointed a clerk to record its business in the minutes book and also to write the entries in the parish registers. It was very common for the schoolmaster to be session clerk. It was a paid position, but not a full-time job. Each kirk session also appointed one of the elders to be treasurer and any money would go to him to look after. His main job was usually distributing money to those on the poor roll.
28th October 1715, the day the couple intimated their intention to marry was a Friday. They married on 25th November, which was also a Friday. There were four Sundays between these dates and on three of them the minister would read the banns (announce that the couple intended to marry) to the congregation at the weekly service. That gave an opportunity for anyone to raise any objections to the marriage. Weddings in Scotland very rarely took place in church until the 20th century. They were normally held in the bride's parents' home.
