Archibald Ferguson (abt. 1738)

Born about 26 Sep 1738 in Old Dailly, Ayrshire, Scotland

Husband of Ann (Unknown) Fergusson — married 30 Nov 1767 in Isle of Mull, Scotland

Descendants

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Archibald Ferguson was a brewer, resident at Leidag, Mull at the birth of his eldest child Allan.

Biography

There are no records for prior to 1766 for the below Parish and many other parishes on Mull so unable to confirm birth place of either Archibald or Ann.

KILNINIAN and KILMORE, a parish, in the district of Mull, county of Argyll; comprising the late quoad sacra districts of Tobermory and Ulva, and part of Salen. These two ancient parishes, now united, and the names of which respectively express to what saints the churches were dedicated, chiefly occupy the northern part of the island of Mull. There are two churches, about seven miles distant from each other, the one situated at Kilninian, and containing 300 sittings, and the other at Kilmore, having 350; they were both erected in 1754, and thoroughly repaired in 1842. In the year 1827, two quoad sacra parishes were formed by the parliamentary commissioners, with a church and manse to each; and a part of the parish was added to the new quoad sacra parish of Salen.

Archibald was born about 1738. Archibald and Ann Ferguson were married on the Isle of Mull. ^[1]

Sources

1. ↑ Old Parochial Register (OPR) Kilninian and Kilmore 544/1 shows marriage.

The Old Parish Registers (OPRs) comprise the records of births and baptisms, banns and marriages and deaths and burials kept by individual parishes of the Established Church (Church of Scotland) before the introduction of civil registration in 1855.

The parish minister or the session clerk usually assumed responsibility for maintaining the registers, but since there was no standard format employed, record keeping varied enormously from parish to parish and also from year to year. As a result, the information may be sparse, unreliable and difficult to read. The oldest register dates from 1553 (baptisms and banns from Errol, Perthshire), but although there was a requirement from 1552 that parishes record baptisms and marriages, many did not commence until much later, and some more remote areas only have registers from the early 19th century. Some registers have been lost or destroyed and the condition of the surviving 3500 is variable. The National Records of Scotland holds the surviving original registers.

Registration in the Church of Scotland's registers was costly and unpopular, so many people did not bother to register events at all. Although details of some non-conformists can be found in Established Church registers, many members of other religious denominations chose to have events registered in their own churches. In addition, rapid urbanisation during the 19th century contributed to the diminishing influence of the Church and a decrease in registration in these areas. It was estimated at the time that as few as 30% of events actually occurring were being recorded for some urban parishes.

Banns and marriages The proclamation of banns was the notice of contract of marriage, read out in the church before the marriage took place. Couples or their 'cautioners' (sponsors) were often required to pay a 'caution' (pronounced 'kay-shun') or security to prove the seriousness of their intentions. Forthcoming marriages were supposed to be proclaimed on three successive Sundays, however, in practice, all three proclamations could be made on the same day on payment of a fee. If the bride and groom lived in different parishes, the impending marriage was proclaimed in both parishes, although not necessarily on the same days, therefore the dates in each register may be different. You may also find that one register may show the proclamation date and the other the date of the marriage itself.

Do not expect too much from banns and marriages records. The amount of information recorded can be variable and most entries contain very little detail. At best you might find: date(s) of the proclamation of intended marriage and/or date of marriage, names of bride and groom and their parish of residence, sometimes the occupation of the groom and occasionally the name of the bride's father. At worst you should find the following: the names of the bride and groom recorded along with the fee paid in caution.

Registers of Neglected Entries compiled for each parish by the Registrar-General after statutory registration began in 1855, contain a small number of marriage entries proved to have occurred between 1801 and 1854, but not entered into the parish registers. These are indexed in a similar format to other OPR entries.

Bear in mind that 'irregular' marriages, by exchange of promises before witnesses, by betrothal and consummation, or by cohabitation and repute, were forms of marriage recognised by Scots Law, yet may have taken place without any official record of the event.

For further information on Scotlands records see the below link. https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/guides/record-guides/church-registers