Glenbuchat Heritage

94. Robert Murdoch and Church 'Disicpline'

Murdochs of Belnaboth
The Church and morality.

Pictures
1. Church with offenders on stool before the pulpit.
2. Map of Belhinny
3. Map of Glencuie
4. Map of Auchindoir

I received the following entries from the Kirk Session Minutes of Rhynie Church from a relative of the Murdochs of Belnaboth Glenbuchat.
It reflects the morals of the day and the Churches position in Society.

After the extracts, details of the participants and of the Church are highlighted.

The term ‘Compear’ means: “To appear in court as a party to a cause either in person or by counsel.”

The first entry is dated Rhynie, 6 May 1861 -
“Compeared Margaret Henderson in Belhinny and acknowledged herself with child in fornication; and being interrogated accused Robert Murdoch presently Farm Servant in Glenconvie in the Parish of Towie as her partner in guilt and the father of her pregnancy and being farther interrogated admitted that the guilt was committed in the Parish of Auchindon (Auchindoun) Whereupon the kirk session decided taking into consideration the fact that, in a recent similar case, it had been ruled by the Presbytery of Strathbogie, that the discipline belongs to the Kirk session of the Parish where the guilt is committed, refused to admit her to discipline. On this refusal being intimated to her, she craved a certificate and Extracts which were granted and the clerk instructed accordingly”


Rhynie, 3 June 1861 –
“Compeared Margaret Henderson in Belhinny and stated that, agreeably to instructions given her at last meeting of the Session, she had appeared before the Kirk session of Auchindon; and that they had refused to admit her to discipline, on the ground that the discipline belongs to the Parish in which the fama first becomes notour. She was then directed to return for a letter. And in the meantime the Clerk laid on the table ‘Extract minutes from the Kirk session of Clatt (in a case of discipline to be communicated’ which Extract Minutes having been read and duly considered, the Kirk session unanimously requested the Mod[erato]r to lay said Extract from Clatt together with an extract of the minute in reference to the case of Margaret Henderson before the Rev[erend] the Presbytery of Strathbogie, at their first meeting, that their advice may be obtained and the Clerk as instructed accordingly. The said Margaret Henderson was then recalled and dismissed for the present”



Rhynie, 8 July 1861 –
“The moderator also reported that the Presbytery in regard to Margaret Henderson Belhinny were of opinion that under the circumstances, the Kirk session should admit her to discipline”


Rhynie, 7 October 1861 –
“Compeared Margaret Henderson in Belhinny, and acknowledged that she had brought forth a child , in fornication, and being interrogated accused Robert Murdoch, Farm Servant in Glencuie, Parish of Towie as her partner in guilt and the father of her child, After being solemnly admonished she was cited apud acta to attend next meeting of session: and the Clerk as instructed to request the Kirk session of Towie to cause their officer cite the said Robert Murdoch to attend the next meeting of Session to be held on the first Monday of November at 6 o’clock”


Rhynie, 4 November 1861 –
“Compeared Margaret Henderson, agreeably to citation at last meeting and adhering to her former statement. Robert Murdoch being duly summoned by the Kirk Session of Towie at the request of this session was called and appeared, and being interrogated denied the paternity of the child, the Kirk session deferred further consideration of this case, until God in his providence shall give new light.”


The responsibilities of the kirk Session in such delicate personal matters is explored in the flowing extracts from the ‘discoveryourancesters’ web site

https://discoveryourancestors.co.uk/articles/sitting-on-the-penitent-s-stool-61/


“Each parish had its own kirk session, consisting of the kirk's elders and minister, which would hear cases of breaches of church discipline. Among the offences that could be investigated and punished were participation in irregular marriage, antenuptial fornication, profanity, drunkenness, disrespecting the Sabbath, defamation, domestic violence, infanticide, abortion, and even witchcraft. If any decisions and punishments of the session were ignored by the guilty party, the session could call on the local Justice of the Peace for support to help implement a sentence, or refer a case to the burgh court if within a royal burgh. A parishioner wishing to appeal against a judgement by the session could do so through the higher court of the presbytery to which the parish formed a part – the presbytery would also hear cases in the first instance where an offence may have been carried out by parishioners from two separate parishes. Cases could be further referred higher still to the court of the synod, and ultimately (rarely) to the General Assembly.

Once convicted, an offender could be punished in a variety of ways. From the 16th to the late 18th centuries, it was common for the convicted person to be publicly humiliated by being made to wear sackcloth, and to sit on a penitent’s stool in front of the congregation. It would not be until the early 1800s that rebukes would be performed in private, in front of the session alone. Church privileges could also be removed, such as the right to attend service, to have children baptised, and more.

The most common offences were antenuptial fornication, adultery and the births of illegitimate children following 'scandalous carriage''. In such cases the kirk session would haul the accused couple before them to admit the 'sin'' and 'scandal'' of the offence committed. If they did so, they would be fined and rebuked, often on several visits to the session or in front of the congregation, before being absolved. A formalised Act from 1707 outlining the procedures involved is laid out in Acts of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland 1638-1842 (available via Google Books at http://bit.ly/1wp6vJw).

During the course of an enquiry it was not uncommon for a pregnant woman to be visited by an elder in the midst of labour and exhorted to confess the identity of the father, if she had previously refused to name him. If a woman was accused of having recently given birth, and denied the claim, the session could order one of its elders to milk her breasts and, if milk was produced, to use that as evidence against her of guilt. Even in circumstances where a woman claimed to have been raped, the session was instructed to investigate her moral character and former behaviour, and she was to be 'seriously dealt with to be ingenuous''.

At times, cases would result in deadlock, with neither the woman or the man involved in an accusation refusing to budge on their conflicting evidence. In such cases, the putative father could be offered the chance to give an 'oath of purgation'' before the kirk session, presbytery or congregation. This was a solemn oath made before God expressing his innocence, after which he would be absolved of the scandal, as judgement would then have been passed to the highest authority. In cases where an illegitimate child had been produced, failure to give the oath by the father, once demanded, could lead to his excommunication. The mother would again be challenged after such an oath had been given and, if still accusing the putative father of his role, she could be heavily censured”

The people and places involved above are;

Belnaboth: a clachan of houses in Glenbuchat.
Glencuie is a farm between Glenbuchat and Glenkindie, see map above.
Belhinnie is a farm a few miles west of Rhynie.

Robert Murdoch

Robert Murdoch Was the Son of John Murdoch. He was never married to Helen Henderson but their daughter was Helen Murdoch Henderson. He later married Jessie Dunbar and had 8 Children.

Robert Murdoch 1833–1916
Birth 2 Jan 1833 Glenbucket,
Death 14 Mar 1916 Alford,
Parents
John Murdoch 1807–1869
Christina McBain 1810–1894
Spouse
Jessie Dunbar 1842–1906
Children
Christina Jane Murdoch 1868–1948
Alexander Murdoch 1869–1949
Euphemia Murdoch 1872–1944
Mary Murdoch 1873–
Isabella Murdoch 1874–
Robert Murdoch 1876–1971
William Watt Murdoch 1881–1882
Peter Murdoch 1883–1965
Spouse
Margaret Henderson 1837–1923
Children
Helen Murdoch Henderson 1861–1924

According to the Census reports in 1861 he was a ploughman in Glencui farm and employed as a ploughman.
1861 Census
Name: Robert Murdoch
Age: 28 Estimated birth year: abt 1833
Relationship: Servant
Gender: Male
Where born: Glenbucket, Aberdeenshire
Civil Parish: Towie
Address: Glencui
Occupation: Ploughman
Household Members:
Name Age
William Cordiner 42
Agnes Cordiner 65
Ann Cordiner 44
Jane Cordiner 38
Robert Murdoch 28
William Forbes 14

Margaret Henderson

Margaret Henderson was the daughter of James and Margaret Henderson and was born in Rhynie. She is said to have married Thomas Ruxton from Foreran, they then moved down to South Shields in Durham. Margaret had two other illegitimate children then eventually married John Watt and had two children with him. She died in 1923 at the ripe old age of 86. (Spouse in this case equals partner and not necessary husband)

Margaret Henderson 1837–1923
Birth 1 Mar 1837 Rhynie, Aberdeenshire
Death 15 Aug 1924 South Shields, Durham, England
Parents
James Henderson 1799–1883
Margaret Mclean 1806–1880

Spouse
Robert Murdoch 1833–1916
Children
Helen Murdoch Henderson 1861–1924

Spouse
Archibald Reid 1826–1911
Children
Eliza Mary Henderson (Reid) 1865–1907

Spouse
Alexander Proctor 1848–1915
Children
James Proctor (Henderson) 1869–1920

Spouse
John Watt 1820–1906
Children
John Watt 1878–1948
Jean Watt 1879–

In the 1861 Census at the time she knew Robert Murdoch she was working a housemaid in the manse at Auchindoir. The Manse lies a few miles from Rhynie and was the home of The Rev William Reid whose father was the farmer at Baltimore Glenbuchat. This was not far from Glencuie farm.

1861 Census
Name: Margaret Henderson
Age: 21 Estimated birth year: abt 1840
Relationship: Servant
Gender: Female
Where born: Rhynie, Aberdeenshire
Civil Parish: Auchindoir
County: Aberdeenshire
Address: Manse
Occupation: House Maid
Household Members:
Name Age
William Reid 55
Elizabeth M Reid 46
Mary F D Reid 17
John L Reid 15
Alex I F Reid 14
Anen Elizabeth Reid 13
Charlotte C Reid 11
Robert W Reid 9
William Reid 6
Isabella E Reid 5
Charles Reid 3
Elizabeth Carrie 50
Margaret Henderson 21
George Mitchell 24
Isabel Cuthbert 17