John Lockie

MS248 reel 17, Vol. 76, page 24
Waterloo County Marriage Register

Extracted from a list of marriages solemnized by Robert Acheson, a minister of the United Presbyterian Church, Galt, for the year ending 31st December, A.D. 1865.

John Lockie, 24, born and residing Dumfries. Parents John (Lockie) and Jane Milroy.
Annie Scott, 22, born Scotland, residing Dumfries. Parents Alexander (Scott) and Annie Seal.
Witness Thos. S. Rutherford of Burford.
On May 25, 1865.

The Waterloo County branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society has a transcription of marriage notices which appeared in the Dumfries Reformer at Galt for the years of 1860-1865, the the Reformer edition of 31 May, 1865, throws us a bit of a curve.

This tells that John Lockie and Annie Scott were married on 25 May, 1865, which agrees with the marriage registration, and then goes on to tell that they were married at the manse in Galt.

This would be quite reasonable, for though they both lived in North Dumfries Township, they evidently attended church in Galt and their church was First Church. The Reformer notice then goes on to say that they were married by Rev. J. A. Miller.

The marriage was returned to the county registrar by Rev. Robert Acheson as being one of his own and a First Church history makes it clear enough that Rev. Acheson was the minister at First Church during this era. The marriage appears in the marriage records of First Church (see GS2987 or United Church Archives reel LCM-30). The church used the same form for the record as the county clerk used to record the various returns and the information on both is identical. It may be that the church had a secretary that made the entries, but, certainly, if the entries were made by Rev. Acheson, the handwriting is the same throughout. At some level the entry of the Miller name as the clergyman is probably an error.