So, to see if I follow your line of reasoning: there was only one couple that married on April 18th at Blackfoord, the bride's hometown but had banns posted two days prior on Blackfoord and Crieff, correct?}
The father of the bride was David Clow from that document, right?
However, there appears to have been another marriage on the 16th of April of another James Drummond who married a different Mary Clow but daughter of James Clow from Duchally
Do you agree?
No. sorry, this is a final attempt to help you understand why.
1 SP have very informative help pages athttps://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/help-and-support/guides/church-registers#understanding_contents_church_registers[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.
2 The snippet you originally posted, ref on SP
DRUMMOND JAMES, spouse MARY CLOW/ date 16/04/1749 Parish No 342 Ref 10/176, Parish Crieff
I am assuming you have the entire image page. Look at the heading at the top and it clearly says
Register of
Proclamations in the Parish of Crieff since Nov 1748. These are only Proclamations (intent to marry/Banns), NOT a record of a Marriage ceremony taking place and the Proclamation was made on 16th Apr
Whoever compiled the info for that Red Book took that entry, in error, as the Marriage taking place in Crieff on 16th Apr 1749, but the marriage itself was not entered in the Crieff Register as it took place in the bride's home Parish of Blackford. Its highly likely that both parties paid to only have the Proclamations made/recorded once (see SP notes above)
3 The record of Marriage I referred toref on SP
DRUMMOND JAMES, spouse MARY CLOW/ date 18/04/1749 Parish No 333 Ref 10/255, Parish Blackford
Again you need to look at the entire page image to see its headed
Proclamations and Marriages 1749and that says it was proclaimed Apr 16th pmo (primo -the first time) and the 2nd and 3rd time have no dates making it highly likely that the fee had been paid to have all 3 made on the same day in this parish and then it says married 18th.
The only fly in the ointment was it says her father was David Clow and the Red Book says James Clow.
There is obviously an error in either the OPR or the Redbook but which one has the error is unclear
There is a will for James Clow of Dochally on SP but that James Clow was Mary's brother - who 'was' a Professor at Glasgow
SP Ref
CLOW James, date 28/5/1799 description 'Of Duchally, Professor of Philosophy in the University of Glasgow, Testament, Testamentor and Inventory , Glasgow Commissary Court CC9/7/77
Boo
