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Please may I ask for some ideas as to what "B.E. SA.S. I" could mean?

The abbreviation appears in a register entry for a Roman Catholic marriage in Belfast in 1918 and are underlined, with red.

The couple were both from well to do families in Belfast, however, the brides title of a "Lady" should be taken in the context of a woman from a certain class, rather than a titled women.

My thoughts are that it might refer to a medical consultant's rank. Alternatively, a military rank or diplomatic position. These are very much guesses.

Thank you for your time and interest.

Good health, Bill

I wish I hadn't read this before bed as I will be thinking about it for hours!

I can't help much I'm afraid, but I would consider the possibility that the last letter might be an "I" rather than a "J" - compare "HR Irvine" bottom left to "John" in both fathers' names. It could be either I suppose but best to keep an open mind. Sorry I can't help more at the moment.

The red line looks very straight - almost line a line drawn by a computer. I wonder who has done that, and when?

Have you tried looking for newspaper reports of the wedding to see if they give any clues? Is it possible he was in the armed services? Would their records help?

In the realms of guesswork but could B.E. be Belfast East which according to Wikipedia was and still is a Unionist constituency? If so, did he have some political role and the I at the end is Ireland. There is also no full stop after the first S so could the A be "and" making that part S and S? Maybe way off the mark but something to consider.

I'd investigate military possibilities. I've some marriage certificates that have similar opaque abbreviations that turned out to be ranks and regiments.

Any clues from the 2 previous censuses for the family? Any other certificate entries for the couple (children etc)?

I too thought, well just check 1911/01 Census and see what he was, but I can't find the Groom or the Groom's father in any of the (9) Ulster Counties in those censuses (first pass, filtering on Catholic and assuming either Head of Family / Son of Head of Family and married/single as appropriate).

So, a bit of speculation ("initial research thoughts"):

Checking the Belfast Street Directory for 1918 I can't find a Donovan (or Colgan or Byrne - the one witness's name visible on the truncated image) on FitzWilliam Street (similarly blank for 1912 and 1924)

John Colgan is found at Kincora Avenue in the 1918 Directory: "Midlothian: Colgan, J., auctioneer and cattle dealer"

Looking in those street directories for a John Donovan - Merchant by name is not that helpful:
1912:
Donovan, John Thos., solicitor, 22a Donegall Place; res., 2a Lonsdale Street
Donovan, John C., com. traveller, 11 Elaine Street
Donovan, J., grocer, 9 Inkerman Street
1918: No J(ohn) Donovans
1924: Not Indexed by name

This leaves the possibility even probability, that the Donovan's were from "Out of town" - even "out of Province" - and there are a lot of Donovans in Co Cork. Filtering the previous Census searches for Occupation = "Merchant" dramatically cuts the options - possibly too dramatically as Merchant can be used to cover a number of different professions.

How reliable is "Merchant"? I have not seen a woman (particularly a 19 year old) on describe her profession on her marriage certificate as "Lady". Established men of a certain age as "Gentleman", but not the other way round. Might there have been some not so subtle "one up man-ship" going on? Both father's describe themselves as a "Merchant" - but the Bride's father may have been a Cattle Dealer and Auctioner; FitzWilliam Street would be a fairly prestigious street to stay in the night before your wedding - although it is in South Belfast rather than East Belfast (Ballyhackamore).

Might "B. E. Sa. S. I" be trying to dress up a more mundane profession such as "clerk"?

I wonder if it is some form of possibly obscure academic or professional qualification? A "B.E." from the "Sa. S." Institute? How much were Catholics in 1918 Ireland able to study at "University" rather than at some form of college or institute/institution?

Is it 'Sa.S.I' or Sa.8.I' ? Could Sa.8.I be South African 8th Infantry?

LornaCraig wrote: ↑16 Feb 2022 15:08 Is it 'Sa.S.I' or Sa.8.I' ? Could Sa.8.I be South African 8th Infantry?

That's a definite possibility; if you compare that second "S" to the various "8"'s elsewhere on the certificate, the principal difference is a slight difference in weight of stroke (NE-SW).

Looking at what we have thought is the Initial "B", it is not quite as curly as the other "B"'s and lacks the up tick on the bottom stroke; might it be a "13"?

13. E. Sa. 8. I ?

Have you also tried asking the findmypast facebook group. They have some great folks, who may have seen something like this before.

South African 8th Infantry (google) was only formed in 1973. Is South Armagh/ Antrim a possibility? Guessing.

According to some sites it was formed in November 1915. For example https://www.westernfrontassociation.com ... arch-1916/ or https://scientiamilitaria.journals.ac.z ... e/view/831

I guess it was disbanded after WW1 and reformed in 1973.

@Lorna - I think you're correct.

Have you found a baptism for Timothy? It might shed some light on his father and mother and possibly sponsors (if that is the right term).

Not sure that 13 is a possibility as there would be no reason to put a full stop after it.