Roxburgh Kirk Session entry - Hog/Waldie

[arthurk]

I only came across In Retentis today, so I'm not an expert. However, it occurs to me that maybe the elders were suspicious as to their reasons for going to Coldstream Bridge to be married, so, rather than illness, perhaps they kept a copy of the certificate in case it was needed as evidence if/when a child was born less than 9 months later.

[DudelsackHogg]

Thanks for your that. Well they were correct with their suspicions. 8 months after the irregular marriage their son Andrew was born and Willam and Mary were admonished for antinuptial fornication. I guess the elders were good at their jobs.

[arthurk]

Yes, you mentioned the child in reply #3, which was what made me think of it. Of course, it may simply have been that they liked to have a record of all marriages just in case a child popped out a bit early; usually they'd have this in the church's own register, so in this case they hung on to the document instead. But the use of an irregular marriage venue may well have made them extra suspicious.

Edited to add:
Re-reading the thread, I see that in reply #4 GR2 had already suggested that it was to do with keeping evidence in case it was needed. Credit where credit's due etc.