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After being away in America almost two years, JOHN TAYLOR began a lengthy eastward voyage during 1850 aboard a seaworthy Britain-bound passenger vessel tacking back across the mighty Atlantic Ocean to the country of his birth. The eventual sight of Scotland's shores may have aroused in JOHN's memory the inquiring verse of his oldtime countryman, Sir Walter Scott:
Surviving the inconvenience of a month and a half in the ocean's confinement, JOHN may have eagerly arrived at his Orkney destination just in time for his 54-year-old father's wedding. But primarily, the young Scot had gladly made the long tedious excursion for a nuptial ceremony of his own at the First Congregational Church in Kirkwall. If the usual 19th-century Orcadian practices prevailed, then the sequence of happenings in old Kirkwall presumably went like this: Just after reconfirming the engagement with MARY, on Saturday, June 15, JOHN went to take care of business with the local court. Accompanied by his best man, whose role was the groom's helper, he met with James Craig, Sessions Clerk, to arrange proclamation of the banns at a Kirkwall church on the Sabbath. The next morning, Sunday, June 16, banns were first announced. A week later, on June 23, banns were recited a second time. On Friday, June 28, church minister William Sogre approved the marriage application. The third proclamation of the banns took place on Sunday, June 30, with no objection to the marriage. On Monday, July 1, choir leader John Scarth confirmed the registration and the required three readings of the banns. Perhaps MARY and JOHN had this old traditional quatrain rhyme in mind when they picked Wednesday, July 3, as the day for their wedding:
Several islanders may have converged to witness the happy affair. MARY's mother, ELIZABETH, attended with presumably all MARY's brothers, sisters, sister-in-law Margaret, and friends. Very likely, JOHN's younger siblings, father and new stepmother, cousins, aunts, uncles, his former mentor, Robert Flett, and other acquaintances respectfully observed the proceedings. 24-year-old JOHN TAYLOR, attired most appropriately, probably advanced to a position in front of the kirk pulpit. Nearby stood a young minister, only three years older than the groom, who was likely presiding over services in the First Congregational Church of Kirkwall for his very first time. This day he was ready with one special purpose: Reverend James Wishart was prepared to conduct the wedding ceremony of his beloved younger sister. Eyes of the gathering must have followed WILLIAM LINDSAY WISHART escorting his teenage daughter forward to the altar while melodious tones touched their ears. A veil may have partially obscured the youthful features of a 19-year-old lass becomingly arrayed in fundamental whiteness. Traditionally the bride wore:
A sincere young Orcadian couple vowed openly to permanently maintain a mutually-beneficial bond for as long as God spared them together on this Earth. The groom accepted his bride "for fairer or fouler, for better or worse, for richer or poorer." She promised to be "buxom and bonny" to her new husband. They exchanged rings and embraced with the traditional kiss before emerging from the church into a customary shower of rice cast into the air by wellwishers. The young Orcadian hopeful who caught the bride's discarded bridal bouquet ensured her own prospects to repeat such an act of tossing the flowers. Friends and relatives approved Mr. and Mrs. JOHN TAYLOR with gifts. Reverend Wishart provided his sister a large illustrated family Bible published in 1847 by Richard Griffin and Co., Glasgow. Traditionally, the bride's father presented one of her slippers to the groom at an Orkney wedding, formally conveying authority over the daughter to his new son-in-law. The new husband tapped her head with the shoe, bringing his sanctioned privilege of domination to her attention, and then he took an oath to always treat his wife well thereafter. At a post-wedding feast, the new wife was required to mix a special beverage concoction in a double-handled gallon container. The loving cup full of whisky-spiked ale was customarily known as the Bride's Cog, to be shared among the wellwishers. The bride toted the vessel, which was sometimes called the "leem," while walking about looking for the oldest man in the crowd. The assembly's senior male member took the honorary first drink before handing the Bride's Cog to the guest next to him. Folks of all ages were expected to indulge when the cup was advanced with the bridesmaids' assistance in a clockwise or "sunwise" rotation among the other guests. Few Scots of 1850 recoiled at being offered the golden nectar of the grain, and in Orkney even a pastor's participation was expected on this sort of occasion. The father of the bride provided a customary keg of ale for the celebration. Eating, drinking, chatter, an abundance of music, and dancing normally followed a wedding in Kirkwall.
Repeating an old practice, the groom ceremoniously flung an obligatory handful of silver money into the air, and younger members of the gathering scrambled to claim the falling coins. Bride, groom, best man, bridesmaids, flower girl, and ring-bearer immediately joined the rest of the wedding party in the traditional bridal march. When the bride passed over the threshold with her new husband on their first night, a cheesecloth-type sieve filled with bread and cheese was held over her head. The food was then taken from the sieve and passed amongst the guests. An oatmeal cake was also ritually broken above her head and distributed. The resulting pieces, called "hansels," were carefully wrapped in paper and preserved as keepsakes of the occasion. This ceremony was conducted by the hansel-wife, usually the bride's mother. The diluted summer darkness of their wedding night lasted less than six hours for the just-married TAYLORS. Perhaps fluctuation of the kaleidoscopic Northern Lights decorated the sky to the north. The shifting, ever-changing multi-colored motions of the aurora borealis were fancifully called "the Merry Dancers" by native Scots. JOHN and MARY happily shared their bed as a wedded couple for the first time. The day following a wedding was known as Ranting Day, and for the newlywed TAYLORS it happened to be the 4th of July. While attending holiday ceremonies on that sweltering Thursday at the Washington Monument over in America, Zachary Taylor was hoping to cool down with a tasty serving of ice cream. After ingesting the dessert refreshment, the President complained that he felt not well at all. Customarily, the Bride's Cog was again passed around on Ranting Day for respectful drinkers to oblige. A surrogate preacher was temporarily recognized for the purpose of reading scripture to those assembled. Until this point, the bride was supposed to be in a state of needing purification, and the scripture reading was intended to serve that purpose. Had the bride visited any friend's home since the wedding ceremony, tradition contended she may have inadvertently jinxed the household with an impending plague of moths. The unfortunate circumstance could be alleviated by a designated "midwife" to purge the "uncleanliness" from the bride. MARY stored their wedding certificate safely away. She wanted the document to endure along with a lifetime of happy and fulfilling marriage. The youthful MARY was the most recent of four new brides to change their family name to Taylor during the past six years. William was next of the Taylors to wed, probably about three and a half years later down in Kentucky, preceding younger brother Andrew who later took a Welsh girl for a spouse in 1860 America. Magnus Francis Taylor would stay single until his dying day. Mary Taylor may have taken an Orcadian husband later, but the little sister remained single at least during the first dozen years of JOHN and MARY's marriage. |
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