Is this an OPR marriage record?.....

David Douglas · Post by **David Douglas** » Sun Jan 28, 2007 11:12 am

I've just fetched the image for the OPR wedding of John Turner and Janet Marshall in Shotts, Lanarkshire, on 31 January 1801.
The heading on the page is:

Dr. Treasurer for the Poor

and under it is a list of names, with three columns for sums of money for Poor Rates, Manse Offices and Mort Cloths.

In the middle of the page there are six couples listed, each with only a single column on the far right, with an amount which I think is 2 shillings and sixpence. All the others have three columns, further to the left and with much larger sums.

One of these couples is John Turner and Janet Marshall

For 31 January it says:

To John Turner and Janet Marshall

What does this record mean?

Post by **AndrewP** » Sun Jan 28, 2007 11:28 am

Hi David,

My interpretation of these records within financial balance sheet style pages from the OPRs are that the couple paid that sum of money to the church when their mariage banns were proclaimed. It may be as near to a marriage record as you are likely to find for this couple.

Similarly a sum was paid into that fund for the hire of the mortcloth. Often, you will see monies paid out to the poor of the parish amongst these pages.

I am looking at an 1802 page for Shotts with one of my ancestors on it. I think the heading may say Do. Treasurer of the Poor (Do. as in ditto?, ditto of what?)

On an 1837 page from Shotts, the column headings are Poor Rates, Mortcloth Money and Proclamation of Banns. The first column includes a payment from someone's estate.

All the best,

AndrewP

David Douglas · Post by **David Douglas** » Sun Jan 28, 2007 2:06 pm

Thanks, that makes sense.
Isn't is strange though, that no other record of the marriage should be recorded in that parish. Is it perhaps indicating that only the banns were read there, but that the wedding was in another parish?

Here's, by the way, the Dr. or Do. text. It does look like Dr., though there is a ditto sign beneath the raised r.

http://talkingscot.com/gallery/displayi ... ?pos=-1018
<David - I've placed your image in the gallery as it was so large as to make the rest of the page difficult to read- please upload any images to there. Thanks. LesleyB>

ellenavon · Post by **ellenavon** » Tue Jan 30, 2007 1:41 pm

Hello David

The names John Turner and Janet Marshall caught my eye.

I have recently done some research for a friend's mother for her 80th burthday, and John and Janet above, married 31 Jan 1801 at Shotts are her ancestors.

The line is from John and Janet's daughter Agnes, born 1807/20, who married John McLellan in 1840 at Bathgate. John was a distiller and the couple moved to Strathblane in the late 1840's, where John eventually became a part owner of Glengoyne Distillery. Agnes died (I believe either in childbirth or shortly after) between April 1850 and the 1851 census, leaving John to bring up their daughter and 5 sons.

If you are interested in sharing any info, just get in touch.

Kind Regards

Ellen.