"A fugitive from church justice"

[Rena]

I want to go back in time and tell that fugitive woman: "Run, Bessie, run!"

Regards,
Josephine

I'm glad you didn't because the only reason I discovered the whereabouts of an errant (pre census) 18th century Yorkshire wife/mother was due to the fact that her name appeared online during a search, which brought up one southern county's records.  She had been accused of fornication and the couple married the next day.

[q98]

I knew, as soon as I read the topic we were going to read about "the Kirk"!
There were 2 good movies made about single mothers and their awful treatment in Ireland at the hands of God-fearing nuns!

1. The Magdalene Sisters - a drama about three teenage girls sent to Magdalene asylums ('Magdalene Laundries') homes for women who were labelled as "fallen" by their families or society.
2. Philomena

[GR2]

At least the kirk was consistent and did not distinguish between the men and the women or between social classes when it came to "the discipline of the kirk".

[Skoosh]

The Kirk had no nuns, good, bad or indifferent. The Kirk-Sessions dealt with the welfare of the folk, the poor, the sick and the education of the weans. The Session clerk was often the school-teacher. The Heritors of the parish were responsible for the maintenance of the kirk but getting cash from them was a perennial problem and money was always short.
 Industrialisation, the famine & epidemics of the 19th century saw the old system unable to cope, hence the Poor Laws. Welfare passed to the Poor Inspectors and institutions of which the Poor House was the most important. The Kirk lost what powers it had over morality, penance etc & the Kirk itself split at the Disruption largely over the dead-hand  of the heritors & their patronage, amongst other things.

Skoosh.

[q98]

My reply was poorly phrased. I did not intend to convey the Kirk had nuns, that particular reference was made to another post.

[Josephine]

I want to go back in time and tell that fugitive woman: "Run, Bessie, run!"

Regards,
Josephine

I'm glad you didn't because the only reason I discovered the whereabouts of an errant (pre census) 18th century Yorkshire wife/mother was due to the fact that her name appeared online during a search, which brought up one southern county's records.  She had been accused of fornication and the couple married the next day.

LOL, I'm so torn, because those busybodies have helped solve a mystery in my extended tree as well.

[Josephine]

At least the kirk was consistent and did not distinguish between the men and the women or between social classes when it came to "the discipline of the kirk".

Let's hope so.

I've noticed the cleric (in the register I've seen) used some discretion while recording disbursements to the poor: almost everyone was named, except for "a certain person" or "a certain family" in the parish. He made note of money or assistance given to "strangers," so I'm guessing it wasn't a case of not knowing the person's name.

(This isn't a criticism, just an observation.)

[GR2]

"Stranger" means someone passing through the parish and not resident there.

[Skoosh]

 @ Josephine, I think there are about 1500 parishes in the Church of Scotland at present so back in the day about the same, (give or take,) session-clerks recording the parish business in the registers.
 Money given to strangers might include soldiers/sailors passing through the parish making their way home, etc, etc, also Bible scholars who travelled the country attending communion services and "gaun-aboot-folk!" looking for a meal and a nights lodging.
 Every parish was different and it looks like a lifetimes study awaits you but I doubt if the lairds son would be disciplined as per the off-spring of a cobbler!

Good Luck,
Skoosh.