Genealogy Chat

Can anyone explain under what circumstances someone would be described as a sojourner on a parish marriage record? I realise that they are not from that area, but why would it not state where they are actually from? How usual is this?

just googled "parish records meaning of sojourner" and this came up:

A sojourner “just means someone who is a temporary resident, but in Parish Registers its meaning is a little more precise. When the Hardwicke Act was introduced in 1754, clerks were required to enter the parish for each party to a marriage. If they had been resident for more than 3 weeks then they were shown as “o.t.p.” (of this parish). However, for someone who had only taken up residence in lodgings to avoid the necessity for banns fees, this was frowned upon and the word “sojourner” was added to the entry to indicate that they had met the letter of the law but didn't really belong.”

Thank you Helen, that's pretty comprehensive! How I wish that they could have anticipated my interest and written where he was before though!