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On the Birth Entries of all 6 of their children it is stated that Archibald & Bridget married in Rothesay, Bute on 7th January, 1881. Yet I can find no record of the marriage on Scotland's People. I've tried every spelling / mis-spelling variation for forenames and surnames I can think of. Can anyone shed any light on this?
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Just posting these details for our benefit, Hugh. Are Matthew and Ann the parents of Bridget?
EDIT Yes they are her parents.
1871 England, Wales & Scotland Census Transcription
Pollocks Hill, Edin & Glasgow Turnpike Road, Bothwell, Holytown, Lanarkshire, Scotland
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Household Members
First name(s) Last name Relationship Marital status Gender Age Birth year Occupation Birth place
Matthew Keaney Head Married Male 57 1814 Labourer Ireland
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Anne Dunlane Or Keaney Wife Married Female 57 1814 Labourer Wife Ireland
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John Keaney Son Unmarried Male 18 1853 Miner Bothwell, Lanarkshire, Scotland
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>.Bridget Keaney Daughter - Female 14 1857 - Bothwell, Lanarkshire, Scotland
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Harry McLachlan Lodger Unmarried Male 40 1831 Labourers Ireland
Archibald and Bridget both state that they are married in 1881.
1881 England, Wales & Scotland Census Transcription
Brackenridge LD, Main Street, Bothwell, Holytown, Lanarkshire, Scotland
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Household Members
First name(s) Last name Relationship Marital status Gender Age Birth year Occupation Birth place
Matthew Keeney Head Married Male 67 1814 Labourer General Ireland
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Ann Keeney Wife Married Female 66 1815 - Ireland
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Daniel Bryce Lodger Unmarried Male 50 1831 Labourer General Ireland
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John Gallocher Lodger Unmarried Male 18 1863 Coal Miner Ireland
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George Dunleavy Lodger Unmarried Male 32 1849 Coal Miner Ireland
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Hugh McLarnen Lodger Unmarried Male 32 1849 Labourer Masons Ireland
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>>>Archibald Bell Lodger Married Male 21 1860 Labourer General Rothesay, Buteshire, Scotland
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Charles Duffy Lodger Unmarried Male 49 1832 Labourer General Ireland
and Bridget is in Bute.
1881 England, Wales & Scotland Census Transcription
Windyhall Farm, Rothesay, Burgh of Rothesay, Buteshire, Scotland
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Household Members
First name(s) Last name Relationship Marital status Gender Age Birth year Occupation Birth place
John McConechy Head Married Male 61 1820 Farmer (Of 150 Acres All Arable Employing 3 Men 1 Girl 1 Boy) Rothesay, Buteshire, Scotland
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Isabella McConechy Wife Married Female 39 1842 Farmer's Wife Rothesay, Buteshire, Scotland
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Maggie McConechy Daughter Unmarried Female 19 1862 Farmer's Daur Rothesay, Buteshire, Scotland
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John T McConechy Son - Male 12 1869 Scholar Rothesay, Buteshire, Scotland
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Archibald M McConechy Son - Male 10 1871 Scholar Rothesay, Buteshire, Scotland
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Peter B McConechy Son - Male 8 1873 Scholar Rothesay, Buteshire, Scotland
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Isabella McConechy Daughter - Female 6 1875 - Rothesay, Buteshire, Scotland
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Alexander B McConechy Son - Male 4 1877 - Rothesay, Buteshire, Scotland
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James R McConechy Son - Male 1 1880 - Rothesay, Buteshire, Scotland
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Archibald McConechy Brother Unmarried Male 54 1827 Farmer Rothesay, Buteshire, Scotland
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Janet McAlpine Relative Widow Female 85 1796 Annuitant Rothesay, Buteshire, Scotland
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Malcolm McNee Visitor Unmarried Male 40 1841 Farm Servant Luss, Dunbartonshire, Scotland
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Archibald Stirling Servant Unmarried Male 16 1865 Farm Servant Kirkintilloch, Dunbartonshire, Scotland
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>>>Bridget Keney Servant Married Female 20 1861 Farm Servant Bothwell, Lanarkshire, Scotland
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Joseph Harrison Servant Unmarried Male 22 1859 Farm Servant Ireland
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John Boag Servant Unmarried Male 21 1860 Farm Servant Rothesay, Buteshire, Scotland
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Daniel Boag Servant Unmarried Male 15 1866 - Rothesay, Buteshire, Scotland
Now married with a family.
1891 England, Wales & Scotland Census Transcription
Row, Bothwell, Holytown, Lanarkshire, Scotland
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Household Members
First name(s) Last name Relationship Marital status Gender Age Birth year Occupation Birth place
Archibald Bell Head Married Male 30 1861 Labourer Rothesay, Buteshire, Scotland
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Bridget Bell Wife Married Female 29 1862 - Lanarkshire, Scotland
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Ann Bell Daughter - Female 8 1883 Scholar Lanarkshire, Scotland
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Mary Bell Daughter - Female 4 1887 - Lanarkshire, Scotland
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Malcolm Bell Son - Male 2 1889 - Lanarkshire, Scotland
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Janet Bell Daughter - Female 0 1891 - Lanarkshire, Scotland
1901 England, Wales & Scotland Census Transcription
Gilchrist's Land, Bothwell, Holytown, Lanarkshire, Scotland
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Household Members
First name(s) Last name Relationship Marital status Gender Age Birth year Occupation Birth place
Archd Bell Head Widower Male 41 1860 Plasterer's Labourer Rothesay, Buteshire, Scotland
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Mary Bell Daughter - Female 14 1887 House Keeper Holytown, Lanarkshire, Scotland
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Malcolm Bell Son - Male 12 1889 Scholar Holytown, Lanarkshire, Scotland
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Janet Bell Daughter - Female 10 1891 Scholar Holytown, Lanarkshire, Scotland
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Elizabeth Bell Daughter - Female 5 1896 Scholar Holytown, Lanarkshire, Scotland
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Archd Bell Son - Male 0 1901 - Holytown, Lanarkshire, Scotland
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John Keeney Boarder Married Male 45 1856 Coal Miner (Retired) Holytown, Lanarkshire, Scotland
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John Keeney Boarder Married Male 20 1881 Coal Miner Holytown, Lanarkshire, Scotland
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Janet's baptism.
Name: Janet Bell
Gender: Female
Birth Date: 23 Mar 1891
Birth Place: Holytown, Lanark, Scotland
Father: Archibald Bell
Mother: Bridget Keeney Bell
FHL Film Number: 255133
Reference ID: v 625-2 p 51
I'm afraid I can't find any marriage for them either :-( :-(
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Alviegal, yes, Bridget's parents are Matthew Keeney & Ann Dunleavy.
I concur with all the data shown in the 4 censuses, although I usually calculate each birth date as 1 year earlier as the censuses are held in late March / early April.
I'm pretty certain Achibald is the lodger in the 1881 Holytown census - living with Bridget's parents. Also, I believe Bridget (Keney) is his spouse shown in the1881 Rothesay census as a Farm Servant although I have confirmed her birth as 17/01/1858 in Chapelhall (1 mile from Holytown) and where I know her parents lived at the time. So her stated age is slightly out.
Thank you for typing all this up. Sadly, I'm no nearer solving the mystery of the marriage. Are you connected to the family? - as I have some more recent data on the marriage and children of daughter Mary Bell.
Regards, Hugh.
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No Hugh, I'm not related to the family. Just trying to solve this puzzle but can't understand why the marriage is not showing unless they didn't marry? Perhaps there was some reason they couldn't marry? Sorry, not being any help here at all. :-(
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In 1881 Scotland, there were several ways to contract a marriage. The churches called ones outside the church "irregular" - perhaps the best known example is the marriage "over the anvil" by the Gretna village blacksmith. It was the responsibility of the couple to register the marriage, but most didn't bother. Marriages between catholics and protestants often took this form, as the registrar was only able to conduct marriages according to the forms of the established church.
By 1920-ish 15-20% of marrs were irregular. This really wasn't viewed as satisfactory, and the law was changed in 1929 (I think), and most irregular forms were abolished. The last irregular form, called common-law marriage in England (where it wasn't a legal marr anyway) was abolished almost ten years ago. Scotland never had a common law - it was usually called marriage by cohabitation and repute.
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Alviegal, your efforts were not in vain as you alerted me to the existence of daughter Ann Bell (born Holytown 16/02/1883) and whose Birth Entry I now have.
All 6 childrens' Birth Entries now show the Marriage of Archibald & Bridget as 07/01/1881in Rothesay.
Regards, Hugh.
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mgnv, thank you for your comments. You make a valid point in that Archibald was a Protestant and Bridget a Catholic (this was often referred to as a mixed marriage).
This may well have been frowned upon by one or both families and might explain why a marriage did not take place in the bride's home parish as was usually the custom.
However, a Registrar did not conduct marriages according to the forms of any Church - such marriages were purely civil matters. The Catholic Church at that time would have difficulty in conducting such a marriage. The Church of Scotland would do so according to their forms, as I have come across several examples.
As to 'Irregular Marriages' - the technical definition of this in Scotland (as shown on Marriage Entries of that period) was a marriage performed in a Registry Office by the couple declaring their vows in the presence of 2 witnesses, in effect marrying themselves. A Registrar would be present to ensure it was properly conducted but did not actually conduct the marriage. This also required a Warrant from a Sheriff.
This type of marriage was no longer legal from 01/01/1939.
I'm not sure if another form of 'non-regular' marriage was performed outside of Gretna.
I'm slowly concluding that the 'marriage' may not actually have taken place and the couple may have given the same marriage date each time for the sake of the children rather than have them recorded as illegitimate. Alternatively a Registrar or Clergyman may have been very remiss in not registering the event. A final possibility I thought of was that the Register has been lost and is not in the hands of the NRS however a search shows they have records of 56 marriages in Rothesay for 1881.
Regards, Hugh.
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I have checked the Marriage Index of all 56 Marriages in Rothesay for 1881 and none of the names remotely match Archibald & Bridget. I have also searched a few years either side using just initials (forenames / surnames that begin with) also with no close matches. I have concluded that no marriage was registered (even if conducted - Regular or otherwise).
Regards, Hugh.
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Very occasionally, births, deaths and marriages were inadvertantly missed when indexing records for SP.
In other words, the record does exist and it is hiding somewhere on SP, but unfortunately there's no way to access it as it wasn't indexed when the records were digitised.
I found this recently with a death.
The deceased left a will. The will clearly shows exactly when and where the person died but, there is no corresponding death record.
The death was missed when indexing, it cannot be located.
The staff at SP are currently trying to locate the original record so it can be indexed.
If you were to call SP explain that you believe the marriage indexing was missed.
Give them the exact details from the birth records and they will arrange to locate it from the original record.
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