"The second day of Christmas my true love sent to me
two turtle doves..."
The turtle dove mates for life and is an emblem of the Roman diety Fides, the goddess of trust and good faith. The turtle dove has become the symbol of devoted love.
While in Scotland looking for the marriage record of my 4x great grandparents John Mavor and Mary Sangster, I came across a marriage record that "could be" theirs, but probably not. Same place and time, but my John was later listed as a butcher on his sons' death certificates.
"1805, 20th Jan after sermon, sess[ion] met and being constituted appeared John Mavor mason in Balnakedle (Balnakettle in place name book) acknowledged to clandestine marriage with __ he was rebuked & fined 10/ for his penalty."The date is of the penalty record, not of the marriage which could have been any time before. Also name of the wife left blank, so I guess it was a big secret! Intriguing!
I have often told the story of my 3x great grandparents William Porter and Margaret Manley. He was Protestant and she was from a wealthy Catholic family, they eloped c1839 to be together and immigrated from Ireland to Canada. Margaret proudly told this story to her granddaughters many times as they sat at her feet in their cabin in Ulverton, Quebec.
This is a fine example of giving up everything for true love.
I see synergy between our ancestral stories, my parents eloped to marry in 1924 in Richmond, Surrey.
ReplyDeleteIf it’s meant to be, it will be.
DeleteMargaret also went from living in high society to helping her husband clear land and build a cabin in a strange land!
William and Margaret do indeed sound like two turtle doves! It still must have been hard to leave family and homeland behind.
ReplyDeleteEspecially since they didn’t have their parents blessing.
DeleteDo your records indicate whether all ties with their families in Ireland were severed?
DeleteThere is never any mention of either of their parents, and they never mentioned them to their grandchildren. I have story notes and genealogy from one of their granddaughters. Tracing them back to Ireland is near impossible.
DeleteI think the lack mention probably tells the story.
DeleteTrue love prevails. What a challenge for her. She must have been a strong woman.
ReplyDeleteFrom all accounts she was... and passed that trait down to the women in our family.
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