Marriage OPR word meaning- help please

Bairdie · Post by **Bairdie** » Mon May 28, 2007 3:12 pm

Having received a copy of the OPR for the marriage of David BAIRD and Isabel COCKBURN at Foulden in 1772, after the usual who married whom is "James BAIRD CALNER for the bridegroom John COCKBURN CALNER for the bride"
Question , what is a CALNER, if that be what it says? Spelling of words is slightly different from today
My natural instinct is that I would have expected the word Witness or Father.
TIA Bairdie

LesleyB · Post by **LesleyB** » Mon May 28, 2007 3:23 pm

Hi Bairdie
The word is likely to be "Cautioner" or perhaps an abbreviation of that.

A Cautioner was someone in Scots law who stood in as a surety for a certain action actually taking place, such as a marriage.
See http://heritage.scotsman.com/genealogy. ... 1312432006

In those in my tree, often the cautioner is a relative of the bride or groom.

Best wishes
Lesley

Bairdie · Post by **Bairdie** » Mon May 28, 2007 4:11 pm

LesleyB wrote:Hi Bairdie
The word is likely to be "Cautioner" or perhaps an abbreviation of that.

A Cautioner was someone in Scots law who stood in as a surety for a certain action actually taking place, such as a marriage.
See http://heritage.scotsman.com/genealogy. ... 1312432006

In those in my tree, often the cautioner is a relative of the bride or groom.

Best wishes
Lesley

Hi Lesley, that is magic the meaning of cautioner fits the situation and as an abreviation I can now recognise that it could have read Catner as in one of the instances there is what resembles the cross of a letter t.
Many thanks, I have put the website into my favourites.
Bairdie