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The Virginia Gazette Foreign News January 21, 1737
Richmond, Richmond, Virginia
What is this article about?
After his wife's death, Edinburgh vintner Alexander Herdman took in an old acquaintance, Sarah Stark, overnight; a mob attacked, magistrates intervened, and after hearing the couple's vows declared them married.
Quality green show the numbers
Measured from the scan
— how cleanly the OCR engine read the characters
- Mean ink quality
- 99.0% The length-weighted average confidence across the OCR lines — the mean of exactly the per-line scores whose tails the two figures below report. Typical is 99%.
- Illegible ink
- 0.0% Text sitting in OCR-detected lines that scored below 80% confidence — very shaky reads. Weighted by line length, so one long bad line counts for more than a short one.
- Uncertain ink
- 0.0% Text in lines that scored 80–90% — somewhat shaky reads.
- Matches source
- 96.48% How closely the served text matches the raw OCR of the same boxes, letter by letter, after collapsing spacing and case. This measures agreement, not correctness: the OCR is often wrong and the extractor corrects it, so 100% does not mean perfect, and a low figure usually means poor scan text was rewritten rather than that text was lost (length vs source shows loss).
- Length vs source
- 99.47% Below 100% means text was dropped from the OCR; above means text was added to make it read.
Assembled by the extraction model
— whether the stitched-together text holds up; catches layout and segmentation errors, which the scores above cannot see
- Transcription confidence
- 96.0% (typical 96%) How cleanly the extractor could assemble what it was given. Low here with clean ink scores points at layout analysis — the characters were read correctly but grouped or ordered wrongly.
- Comprehension
- 90.0% Whether the piece reads coherently start to finish. Can stay high while transcription confidence drops, when only part of the component is affected.
Clipping
Full Text
Edinburg, August 12, 1736.
Saturday last died here Jean Aire, Spouse of Alexander Herdman, Vintner, and on Sunday last was interred: On Monday, Sarah Stark (an old Acquaintance of Mr. Herdman's) came to solace him in Affliction, and was even so kind, as to condescend to put up with him all Night; which taking Air, the Garrison was attack'd in form early next Morning by a vast Mob; the Kirk-Treasurer came also to put in his Claim, and the Creditors to secure their Property. In this sad Case stood poor Herdman for some Time, arguing (from within) to the Crowd, That he was actually married to his beloved Sally, that he who marries does well; that he knew no Law nor Impediment, why he might not take a Girl with the one Hand, the Moment he dropt his Wife into the Grave with the other, if 'twas not the Whim of Decency; and finally, that neither his Circumstances nor Inclinations could admit of any longer Widowhood. But how far his Rhetorick was reasonable, could not well be discussed there: They were both carried to the Council Chamber, and, after Examination, Madam was sent to the Guard; and the intended Bridegroom ordered to find Bail: But he strenuously insisting, that they were at least virtually and intentionally wedded, and that if there was still any Formality requisite, he and she were most willing, that their Honours (as Justices) should supply what seem'd wanting to make them Spouses: The Magistrates after seriously weighing the Case, and to prevent Inconveniences, thought proper to cause Miss to be again brought before them; and upon hearing them mutually, seriously, and solemnly, emit their Inclinations, declared them married Persons. Making each a Bow, they returned to their Habitation Hand in Hand, accompanied by a vast Retinue, tho' not of the most complaisant Part of Mankind. However, their Humour seems now pretty much subsided: A Wonder lasts but Nine Nights ----- and their Creditors have superseded Diligence, in hopes their Marriage may, after all, become productive of Plenty. A cross Beginning has often prov'd the Mother of Felicity.
Saturday last died here Jean Aire, Spouse of Alexander Herdman, Vintner, and on Sunday last was interred: On Monday, Sarah Stark (an old Acquaintance of Mr. Herdman's) came to solace him in Affliction, and was even so kind, as to condescend to put up with him all Night; which taking Air, the Garrison was attack'd in form early next Morning by a vast Mob; the Kirk-Treasurer came also to put in his Claim, and the Creditors to secure their Property. In this sad Case stood poor Herdman for some Time, arguing (from within) to the Crowd, That he was actually married to his beloved Sally, that he who marries does well; that he knew no Law nor Impediment, why he might not take a Girl with the one Hand, the Moment he dropt his Wife into the Grave with the other, if 'twas not the Whim of Decency; and finally, that neither his Circumstances nor Inclinations could admit of any longer Widowhood. But how far his Rhetorick was reasonable, could not well be discussed there: They were both carried to the Council Chamber, and, after Examination, Madam was sent to the Guard; and the intended Bridegroom ordered to find Bail: But he strenuously insisting, that they were at least virtually and intentionally wedded, and that if there was still any Formality requisite, he and she were most willing, that their Honours (as Justices) should supply what seem'd wanting to make them Spouses: The Magistrates after seriously weighing the Case, and to prevent Inconveniences, thought proper to cause Miss to be again brought before them; and upon hearing them mutually, seriously, and solemnly, emit their Inclinations, declared them married Persons. Making each a Bow, they returned to their Habitation Hand in Hand, accompanied by a vast Retinue, tho' not of the most complaisant Part of Mankind. However, their Humour seems now pretty much subsided: A Wonder lasts but Nine Nights ----- and their Creditors have superseded Diligence, in hopes their Marriage may, after all, become productive of Plenty. A cross Beginning has often prov'd the Mother of Felicity.
What sub-type of article is it?
Human Interest
Social Customs
What keywords are associated?
Edinburgh Marriage
Herdman Sally Stark
Mob Marriage
What entities or persons were involved?
Jean Aire
Alexander Herdman
Sarah Stark
Where did it happen?
Edinburgh
Foreign News Details
Primary Location
Edinburgh
Event Date
August 12, 1736
Key Persons
Jean Aire
Alexander Herdman
Sarah Stark
Outcome
couple declared married by magistrates after mob protest.