Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry through Church & State Records: A Guide for Family Historians. By Chris Paton. Published by Pen & Sword Family History, 47 Church Street, Barnsley, South Yorkshire S70 2AS, UK www.pen-and-sword.co.uk. £14.99. US Distributor: Casemate Publishers 1950 Lawrence Road, Havertown PA 19083. www.casemateipm.com. $26.95. 2019. 162 pp. Illustrations, Index Softcover.
Since 1707 Scotland has been united with the rest of Britain, leading to a more homogeneous approach to worldwide affairs as the British Empire flourished. However, in three important ways Scotland remained independent, first with its own legal system, heavily influenced by Roman Law and the feudal form of land tenure, long abandoned by the rest of Britain. Second, Scotland kept its own state church, which differed markedly from its Anglican equivalent and fought within itself frequently over the issue of control between patrons and members. Third, Scotland kept its own education system, with its own challenges created by rapidly changing demographics during the Industrial Revolutions and the aftermath of the Irish Famine in the mid-nineteenth Century.
All of these issues, and their effect on the records, are addressed in this excellent guide. The material is presented in nine chapters. The first examines the research resources, i.e. where the records are kept and issues researchers will run into, like handwriting and language. The next three chapters focus on birth, marriage and death, examining civil registration, Church of Scotland records, and then other churches. Chapter five, titled “Where Were They?” examines records showing where people lived, covering topics such as census, electoral registers, valuation rolls, burgh assessment rolls, tax records, forfeited estates, maps and more. Chapter six addresses land tenure, where Scots Law is based upon a system established from Celtic, Norse, Roman and Norman practices in place long before the union with the rest of Britain, yet is paradoxically continually evolving to meet current needs. Land tenure is closely connected with the following chapter on inheritance, which clearly addresses the different procedures and records associated with ‘moveable estate’ and ‘heritable estate’ until 1868. The final chapter examines law and order, explaining the various court systems in place and how different crimes were handled.
Mr. Paton writes clearly, based on experience with the records, providing lots of practical guidelines on how to find what is needed in them. He also provides the political or legal background to make the records and their contents understandable. The book itself is laid out for the ease of researchers. The table of contents provides the chapter titles and all the sub-headings, making finding a topic easy. The index itself is more extensive and thorough than most indexes to books in this series, adding value to its usefulness. The book also highlights what can be found online and what researchers will need to research in Scotland.
The scope of the book includes records of the Church and the State, the primary producers of records in Scotland. Researchers at all levels of experience with Scottish ancestors will find easy to follow suggestions and guidance in this book. It is thus highly recommended for anyone doing Scottish research.
Scotland Defending the Nation: Mapping the Military Landscape. By Carolyn Anderson and Christopher Fleet. Published in association with the National Library of Scotland by Birlinn Ltd. West Newington House, 10 Newington Road, Edinburgh, EH9 1QS. www.birlinn.co.uk. £30.00. US Distributor: Casemate Publishers 1950 Lawrence Road, Havertown PA 19083. www.casematepublishers.com. $44.95. 2018. 244 pp. Color Illustrations, index. Hardcover.
Warfare, attack and defense, has shaped Scotland’s history over the last six centuries. From the fifteenth to the seventeenth century, a prevailing ideology of English overlordship of Scotland created: real threats and invasions through the Wars of the Rough Wooing in the 1540s; persistent violence on the debatable Scottish borderlands; and the Jacobite uprisings, which in 1745 came close to toppling the British throne. These events led to a huge militarization of Scotland with new defenses, forts and roads, and armies clashing in battle. Some of these defenses were put to new uses by the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, to counter the very real worries over French invasion, especially on the east coast. By the twentieth century, defenses and enemy threats had shifted focus again, with German seaborne and airborne attacks, particularly during the Second World War. This was followed by new fears over Russian military predominance.
The book uses six centuries of Scottish military mapping to tell this story. It explains military maps produced for different purposes: fortification plans, reconnaissance mapping, battle plans, military roads and route ways, tactical maps, enemy maps showing targets, as well as plans showing the construction of defenses. Many of the military engineers were from overseas, especially the early ones who drafted maps, and the author makes comparisons with early European maps and structures. The book does address, with individual chapters, the big names in Scottish military mapping and their impact – George Wade and William Roy. All these engineers and map makers, European and Scotsmen alike, left a legacy in maps and fortifications. Sometimes the paper military landscape is different from reality, showing what was proposed rather than implemented. The maps themselves, all in color, are striking and attractive, selected for the stories they tell.
The main text tells the story of the history of military mapping in Scotland. However, the maps that appear on almost every page have extensive detailed captions which often tell their own story. Thus, researchers will not only get the big picture by reading the full text, but also through specific information about a period or event from a particular map
For those who want to learn more, the book includes an extensive annotated guide to sources and further reading, arranged by the seven chapters in the book. It is an excellent addition, with very limited overlap, to the other two books in the series – Scotland: Mapping the Nation and Scotland: Mapping the Islands – reviewed here.
Scotland Mapping the Islands.
By Christopher Fleet, Margaret Wilkes and Charles W.J. Withers. Published in
association with the National Library of Scotland by Birlinn Ltd. West
Newington House, 10 Newington Road, Edinburgh, EH9 1QS. www.birlinn.co.uk.
£30.00. US Distributor: CasemateIPM 1950 Lawrence Road, Havertown PA 19083. www.casemateipm.com.
$42.99. 2016. 244 pp. Illustrations, index. Hardcover.
fascinate us. This book looks at the history and geography behind the many maps
of Scotland’s islands. The focus is on understanding the history and geography
of the islands but also in showing how that history and geography has been
realized in and produced through art, the artifice, and the authority of maps.
This is the first book to take the maps of Scotland’s islands as its central
modern expectation is that maps accurately depict size, shape and
relationships. Especially with the case of islands surrounded by water, researchers
need to know where the islands are in relationship to one another, how big they
are, and what their coasts look like.
That information has not always been available on the maps of islands of
Scotland. Some islands are even transient, appearing twice a day depending upon
the tide. For the map makers and their users distinguishing sea from land, one
island from another, what is an island and what is not is vital.
book is not an A-Z gazetteer of islands and island maps, from Arran and Barra
to Zetland, showing maps of each. Rather the book has a narrative focus that is
thematic, following a broadly chronological order. Each chapter addresses the
ways in which an island’s history and geography have been captured in maps over
time. The chapters reflect the sequence in which islands have not only appeared
but also have come to exert their force and ‘pull.’ The sequencing of chapters
reflects the processes by which the islands were peopled, then named, then
navigated to and from (or avoided as hazards), defended, improved, exploited,
pictured and escaped from or to.
book has lavish color illustrations of numerous maps, from all time periods, many
as two-page spreads. All supplement the detailed text of the chapter. At a
minimum the detailed captions provide the source of the maps. More often the
caption draws reader attention to features on the map – e.g. the island being
in the wrong location, the wrong shape, the wrong size, the fact it is missing,
who copied the map from whom, and how the map is different from its
predecessors. These captions thus extend
the story of the main text and embellish the history ‘behind’ the maps in question.
book can be read in the conventional fashion, from front to back, like I did,
with each chapter building upon its predecessors. Alternatively, using the
index, one can look at a particular island, or group, and see how the narrative
of that place changed across time, and how it evolved through the different
types of maps over time.
Highlands and islands are the center of the use of Gaelic in Scotland and its
use is supported by governmental acts and policies. In this book many of the
place names are written in both English and Gaelic, so readers will see
examples within the text like: Western Isles / Na h-Eileanan an Iar; Lewis /
Leòdhas. This is appropriate but makes the text in places harder to read.
knowledgeable authors present the rich and diverse story of Scottish islands
from the earliest maps to the most up-to-date digital mapping in engaging and
imaginative ways. This book is an informative delight to read and view. It
makes a great companion volume to Scotland: Mapping the Nation from the
to Read Scottish Buildings.
By Daniel MacCannell. Published by Birlinn Ltd., West Newington House, 10
Newington Road, Edinburgh EH9 1QS, UK. www.birlinnco.uk. £9.99. US
Distributor: CasemateIPM 1950 Lawrence Road, Havertown PA 19083. www.casemateipm.com.
$14.99. 2015, reprinted with corrections 2017. 224 pp. Illustrations, index.
is a practical book, sized to fit in one’s pocket or purse, unlike many books
on architecture. I wish I’d had it with me on my recent trip to Scotland when I
was taking photographs of many buildings because I would have been able to take
better photographs of many of the features mentioned in the book. In the
meantime, I can use the book to more accurately analyze the photographs I have.
This is where researchers will benefit when examining family photographs that
is not a book about the famous buildings: cathedrals, palaces or royal castles,
which are only mentioned in passing. It is a guide to the curious, attractive,
sometimes even beautiful old Scottish buildings for which there are no plaques,
no websites, no costumed guides or colorful pamphlets or ‘ancient monument’
designations. The book “is intended to provide travelers and residents with an
impartial, brief, clearly illustrated guide that allows them to place Scottish
buildings and groups of buildings with regard to their ages, styles, influences
and functions, as well as the messages that their builders, owners and
occupants intended to convey” (p.9). In this it succeeds. It will help you
determine if you are looking at an outstanding, typical or inferior example of
a building feature, a style, or a period building. The book is designed to
teach a deductive approach that can be applied equally well to Scottish
buildings in any setting, in any region, or originating in any time period. The author acknowledges that
there may be regional variations, and some are touched upon, but the overall
principles apply everywhere.
MacCannell divides Scottish architecture into six style periods, which are
explained and illustrated. The six style periods are: Style before 1540 –
Middle Ages into the Renaissance; Style 1540-1660 – Baronial glory days and the
overthrow of the church; Style 1660-1750 – de-fortification, symmetry and the
emergence of architecture as a profession; Style 1750-1840 – Pan British
Neo-Classical style consolidated, amid increasing scale and the first stirrings
of ‘retro’; Style 1840-1920 – ‘retro’, diversity, mechanization and
unparalleled prosperity; Style after 1920 – ‘retro’ perfected, Art Deco,
Brutalism and green architecture.
following section examines the cross-period issues that may create problems for
the observer, but may, with some knowledge and understanding, aid in narrowing
down dates, such as: dated stones; arms; marks of quality that transcend
periods; symmetry and the notion of ‘Georgian style’; ownership; and how to
read a house built in multiple periods.
next section looks at the individual external features of a building starting
at the roof, and working down looking at windows, walls, doors and all their
multiple variations. You will understand what to look for and how to
distinguish between original and ‘retro’ versions of features after reading
book concludes with a table, designed for quick onsite estimation of time
period. It looks at the observable features and describes what to look for in
each period, knowing that some features go across multiple styles. The style
periods go across the table and the features described like the buildings start
at the top and work down. The table is not a summary of the prior section but
contains significant information not mentioned elsewhere.
is a practical book well worth looking at by anyone interested in Scottish
architecture and the everyday buildings in which our ancestors lived. Users
will come away with better understanding of how designs changed over time.
LostLives, New Voices: Unlocking the stories of the Scottish Soldiers from the Battle of Dunbar 1650. Christopher Gerrad, Pam Graves, Andrew Millard, Richard Annis and ANwen Caffell. Published by Oxbow Books, The Old Music Hall, Cowley Road, Oxford OX4 IJE, UK www.oxbowbooks.com. £20. And Oxbow Books, 1950 Lawrence Rd, Havertown, PA 19083. www.casemateacademic.com/ oxbow. $35.00. 2018. xvi, 368 pp. Color and B&W Illustrations, index. Softcover. Also available as an eBook.
Though this book has a broad context in the stories of all soldiers from the Battle of Dunbar in 1650, its Appendix A will likely be of most interest to the American researcher seeking Scottish ancestors. This is because no passenger list for the Unity that arrived late in 1650 carrying Dunbar prisoners exists, The appendix is divided into four sections: (1) Definite – men who appear in association with the Saugus Ironworks and are not on the John and Sara list: (2) Probable – men who first appear in records shortly after the likely end of indentures, or who have strong associations with groups of Scots in Oyster River, NH, York, ME, or Block Island, RI, or who are founders of the Scots Charitable Society, and who are not on the John and Sara list; (3) Possible – men with weaker associations, with slightly later appearance in the records, who possibly appear on the John and Sara list or where the team has failed to find evidence suggestive of their status as Scots and/or prisoners; (4) Doubtful – men who have been named as Dunbar prisoners in the past, mostly by George S. Stewart, but for whom no evidence seems to show they arrive in New England other than on the Unity, mostly because they appear on the John and Sarah list or they first appear well after 1660. Entries for each individual in the four alphabetical lists provide surnames (with known spelling variations) and forenames, residences listed by state, date of first known appearance in New England records, years of birth and death based on evidence contemporary with the name, and brief notes justifying the categorization or offering other items of interest, followed by sources.
Chapters 7 and 8 will also interest American researchers. They provide context and describe the experience of the approximately 150 Scottish Dunbar prisoners transported to New England in 1650. The majority were destined to serve five to eight-year indentures working in the iron works at Braintree and Hammersmith and in the northern timberlands on the frontiers of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, though others were sold off to local farmers, merchants and craftsmen. The study shows that prisoners’ lives were very different from their former lives in Scotland. Descriptions illustrate, using both archeological and documentary evidence for personal living and working conditions and industrial context of the time. This information is applicable to anyone living in the area at the time, not just the Scots, though they are used as examples.
To get a stronger sense of the people involved and their lives, mini biographies are provided for James Warren, William Furbusch, Peter Grant, William Cahoon, and William Paul. Appendix B, also provides transcripts of New England wills and inventories for Nyven Agnew, Arsbell Anderson, John Berbeene, Alexander Bow, Alexander Bravender, John Clarke, Alexander Cooper, Patrick Fassett, Peter Grant, George Gray, Robert Junkins, John Maccoon, Robert Mackclafflin, Alister Mackmallen, Alexander Maxwell, Micom McIntire, Henry Merrow, James Moore, Finaly Ross, John Taylor, John Upton, and James Warren. These men, and the other Dunbar prisoners, are tied together through family, marriage, and mutual support networks, each illustrated. The men also have an impact on the naming of the places where they settled throughout New England.
The impetus for this book was an archaeological find. In November 2013 two mass burials were discovered unexpectedly while excavating the foundations of a new café at the Palace Green Library, part of Durham cathedral, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Thirty bodies were excavated, with other bodies left undisturbed, under the walls of the surrounding buildings. The goal was then to identify these men. One option, later confirmed, was that they were some of the thousands of soldiers taken prisoner at the Battle of Dunbar in Scotland in September 1650, marched south to Durham Cathedral and held prisoner. In putting this event in context, the book provides context for the battle and its results.
The book also describes in detail the archaeological dig to unearth the prisoners who died in Durham. It makes fascinating reading in explaining why this was a mass grave rather than an old cemetery and examining old maps and construction sites around the cathedral. The discussion of skeleton science showing which bones survived for which skeletons, identifying their preservation, fragmentation and completeness, whether young or mature adults, their dental health, and skeletal pathology (scars, inflammation, sinusitis, hollows, nodes, etc). For a non-archaeologist reader, this was in places technical, but clear and understandable. The scientific analysis of the teeth and bones provided impressive clues about where in Scotland many grew up, but also showed that a significant number had spent time in continental Europe, all under differing living conditions.
The book continues by describing the battle and then what happened to the survivors, of which the New England soldiers were a very small number, though the only group individually identified by name. Other survivors worked in the coal mines and salt pans in the Northeast of England, others were sent as laborers to drain the Fens, as soldiers to France, along with discussion of other places considered but apparently not acted upon – Crete, Virginia, West Indies – mainly because of political leanings.
The book is heavily footnoted, with an extensive bibliography, providing lots of additional options for further research. Certainly, for anyone with known or possible Scots ancestry in New England this book is a must read, but it is also of value to others wanting to understand life in New England. This book combines archaeology, modern DNA studies, and documentary research, illustrating life during the English Civil War, in the context of European and North Atlantic trade.
Online Project to Save Great Britain’s Place Names – Great for Genealogists
Come join the project to identify all the place names in Great Britain. First I will explain what the project is, how it works and then why it is a great way for you to get to know the neighborhood in which your ancestor lived.
The new online project – GB1900 – is calling for volunteers to help make sure local place names can live on and not be lost forever. GB1900 aims to create a complete list of the estimated three million place-names on early Ordnance Survey maps of Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales). It will be a free, public resource, of great value to local historians and genealogists. I will come back to this later.
The project partners include the University of Portsmouth (Great Britain Historical GIS Project: A Vision of Britain through Time); National Library of Scotland; National Library of Wales; University of Wales; The People’s Collection of Wales and the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales.
On their new GB1900 web site, http://www.gb1900.org, volunteers work on digital images of all the 2nd Edition Ordnance Survey County Series maps of the whole of Great Britain, at six inch to one mile scale. These maps show not just every town and village but every farm, hill and wood – and include names for most of them. The site’s software enables contributors to mark each name by clicking next to it, and then to type in the name itself. To ensure correctness each name needs to be identically transcribed by two different volunteers.
The final list of place names will be not just the most detailed gazetteer ever created for Britain, it will be the world’s largest ever historical gazetteer. It will be released under a Creative Commons license, making it usable by everyone without charge.
How the GB1900 Project Works
Go to www.gb1900.org. The first time you will need to register – name, email address and password. In the future when you return to login you will provide your email address and password. As of this morning there are 590 volunteers who have transcribed 440,789 places, and confirmed 42,766 places. What this means is that many more individual places have been tagged by individuals that have been confirmed by a second transcriber. Every place is being identified by two transcribers.
The first time into the system read the brief tutorial. It is easy to understand, but read it carefully. The mistake I made by not reading the tutorial carefully enough is that I was placing the marker on the map at the location of the feature, e.g. farm, mill, etc. This was wrong. The marker needs to go under the first letter of the text for that feature. Having tagged enough places now on the maps I can see the validity of this, especially in the crowded urban areas. Unfortunately, if you put a marker in the wrong place you can’t undo it.
You will see three types of markers. Brown – these are the places you have tagged; Green – these are places someone else has tagged; Purple – these are places tagged by someone and tagged again correctly by a second transcriber. When registered, you place the cursor under the first letter of a place name and hit enter. An entry box appears. Type in the name of the feature and confirm. The marker appears on screen, but you can’t see how it is labelled. If you are confirming a green marker and type in what the other person typed it changes to a purple marker, if you type in something different you get a brown marker. As you do more data entry menus will start to appear on your data entry box as you start typing. This is especially useful if you have common features in your area of interest, e.g. quarries, old mine shafts, foot paths, foot bridges, etc.
Common mistakes that I have made include – apostrophes in the wrong place, or missed; expanding an abbreviation, e.g. street when its only st on the map, which is easy to do especially when the entry box covers up the information on the map; or being too quick and ending up with a marker being placed where there is no feature. Unfortunately, if you make a typing error and immediately spot it, or put a marker in the wrong place there is no way to correct it.
If you log out and then come back into the system, then click on your name you will be told how many entries you have transcribed and how many entries you have confirmed. There is a ranking table for transcribers, and the number selected is the lower of your two numbers. So as of this morning I am number 10 on the top ten user list with 2,021, having transcribed 2,021 names, while I have confirmed 2113 places first marked by others.
As a Genealogist you should get involved.
You should get involved because looking at these detailed 6 inch to the mile maps helps you to get to know the neighborhood in which your ancestors lived. Doing the transcription reinforces in your mind the places names – streets, farms, mills, rivers, woods, all of which are named. But also you will learn about the: wells, parish boundary markers; public houses, foot paths and foot bridges.
The gazetteer on the opening pages seems to use the underlying modern Open Street Map index, so it will not find all locations on the map. It can be used to find a village or town that you want to explore. A slider in the upper right corner of the map can show you how the area has changed between the old 1900 maps and present. For my readers outside Great Britain the find my location button will not work.
For those with Welsh ancestors this project grew out of the Cymru1900wales.org project, so there are more place names already identified in Wales than other places in Great Britain.
For those with Irish connections, the old maps are not part of this project (yet?). However, the modern interactive map of Ireland is available on the opening screen, move the slider in the upper right to the left to see the modern underlying map.
This is a fun way to get to know the area in which your ancestor lived, be involved in a worthwhile project, and most importantly you don’t have to worry about old handwriting issues that you may have with other transcription projects. Come join this fun project, help yourself and your fellow researchers. Learn your ancestral neighborhood.
Chris Paton’s experience as a diversified Scottish genealogical researcher comes through in this book about the down and out in Scotland. Many of our Scottish ancestors at one time or another fell on hard times, at which point society may have worked for them or against them depending upon the situation. In most cases someone was there to record the event and its consequences. It is the recording of these events that can break down the brick walls, or at minimum provide social context for how an ancestor was living or dying. Not every possible situation is addressed in the book, but many are and they will stimulate you to thinking about what else may survive.
In each of the six parts to the book the goal is to highlight some of the areas where records may have been generated. Part one examines family events and relationships focusing on: illegitimacy; foundlings, orphans and adoption; marriage, bigamy and divorce; homosexuality; and death. Part two looks at law and order outlining the many jurisdictions involved and where their records may be found, which includes: the Kirk; the Crown; franchise and burgh courts; criminal prosecution; murder; additional courts; police and prison records; transportation; and execution. Part three explores poverty, for which in Scotland there were distinctions between the ‘deserving poor’ and the ‘undeserving poor’, showing how they are different under the Old and New Poor laws and the records they created. Part four addresses debt, an issue for which it was easy for any of our ancestors to succumb no matter what levels of society, and this section especially seems to have its own vocabulary and sources, all worth exploring. Part five looks at medical problems, examining in particular: hospital records; asylums; suicide; and accidents. The final section entitled them and us, explores the periods in Scottish history when the aspirations of the people did not match those of the state or its many agencies, invariably generating hardship. The periods covered include: the Covenanters and the Killing Time; the Jacobite Rebellions; the expulsion of the Gael (Highland Clearances); and the struggle to vote. The book concludes with a brief bibliography and an index.
This is definitely not a book to begin your Scottish research with. It assumes you have done your basic research and you want to go further, into more depth, and explore the troubled lives of your Scottish ancestors. It will help you understand how Scottish society worked, what records were created, may have survived, and may have been indexed and how to access transcripts or the originals. There is much in this volume that I have not seen in other Scottish guide or reference books, so is highly recommended for those wanting new avenues to explore.
Chris Paton will be speaking with me on the upcoming July 2015 UnlockThePast Cruise to the Baltic seaports.
Here are links to some of Chris Paton’s other books that I have reviewed on this blog.
Early Registration Closes September 15 for the British Institute.
The 2014 British Institute to be held 20-24 October in Salt Lake City is organized by the International Society for British Genealogy and Family History.
This year’s speakers and topics are:
Scottish Research: The Fundamentals and Beyond by Paul Milner
Scottish laws, regulations and records are different from the rest of the British Isles, yet with enough similarities to create confusion for the unwary. This course will address the fundamentals of all the major record groups, examining how to search the indexes, exploring what is and is not available online. Case studies will highlight the research and record evaluation processes to determine next steps. Individual consultations are available to assist each participant with their personal research.
Researching Your Irish Ancestors by David Rencher
This course is designed to help the student of Irish genealogical research, whether beginning or advanced. Strategies for establishing a sound beginning and building on that foundation using proven research techniques will be coupled with an understanding of what records sources are available online, on microfilm and in Ireland. Individual half-hour consultations are provided with the course coordinator to assist each participant with ways to extend their research.
Welsh Family History Made Simple by Darris Williams
Welsh family history is different from other localities in some significant ways. Those differences are not impossible roadblocks. Understanding the peculiarities is a good first step to success. Record knowledge is important but not the key. Understanding how to search, evaluate evidence and collate information will resolve many difficult research situations. This course will provide examples of problems, aw well as strategies and skills for learning more about your ancestors.
From Simple to Complex: Applying Genealogy’s Standards of Acceptability to British Research by Tom Jones
Through hands-on activities, lectures, and discussions, participants will learn how to use widely accepted standards to measure their genealogical work’s accuracy and to assess others’ genealogical conclusions. In the process they also will learn about genealogical research planning, its implementation, genealogical reasoning, and the preparation of credible genealogical products.
For speaker biographies, details on lodging and registration go to www.isbgfh.org
Yes, I am teaching the week long course on Scottish Research so do come join us.
Let’s take a closer look at the Scottish Soldiers wills so proudly announced as being available on ScotlandsPeople in the last post I made so we understand how and why the records were created, collected and how to search them – without wasting lots of money.
What’s there? – There are 32,932 wills in this collection. Approximately 26,000 wills from ordinary Scottish soldiers who died in WWI, another 5,000 from WWII, several hundred from the Boer War and the Korean War, with others from conflicts between 1857 and 1964.
How did they get there? – When a soldiers estate was settled by the Effects Branch of the War Office their wills were no longer required. All documents were then passed along to H.M. Commissary Office in Edinburgh under the Regimental Debts Acts of 1863 and 1893. Later they were deposited with the National Records of Scotland, now in SC70/8.
The majority of the wills, especially those from WWI were the page(s) removed from the soldiers Pay Book (Army Book 64), or an equivalent Army form. Other documents might include personal letters from soldiers, a testimony by witnesses, both of which could be accepted in lieu of a will. The majority of the wills were written by men below the rank of officers, who were domiciled in Scotland. The example is for Peter Trainer of the Queen’s Own Highlanders who died 25 Apr 1918 leaving everything to his father Robert Trainer of 88 Gloucester Str, Glasgow. The will is one of four images in the file, which is common, the other images being of the army’s sheet for the will, plus two envelopes (inner and outer).
It is estimated that this collection of wills represents approximately 20% of Scotsmen who died during WWI and about 17% of those who died during WWII.
The records begin in 1857, but there is only one will for 1857 and that is for Private Roderick Alexander of the 71st Regiment of Foot [71st (Highland) Regiment of Foot (Light Infantry)] and his will is signed 19 Jun 1857 and importantly it is not the date he actually died, that is not stated on the document [SC70/8/7/1].
Performing a Search
You have the options of searching on surname, forename, date of death – from and to, service number, rank, battalion, regiment, theatre, and cause of death. The reality is most of us are going to use surname, in possible combination with forename if we get to many results.
Date of Death – this is a key searching point. If you know you are searching for someone killed in WWI then change the dates appropriately. Generally I would recommend leaving the defaults at 1 January 1914 and 31 December 1948 and it will search everything in the database and include them in the results, even when the event occurs outside these parameters or the date of death is not stated. Change either date and it does limit the search to the period chosen.
Let’s do a search for Hunter without adding or changing anything. I get 134 hits. Viewing the search results is free, so I could look at all 183. Instead I want to limit my options and I type ‘Jo’ (without ‘’) in the forename field and select ‘forenames that begin with’ from the adjoining menu. Now I have 18 options and that is a more manageable number, so I look at the results. Quickly scanning the list shows that I have found multiple Johns, a John Alexander, two Josephs and a Jonathan.
I have 15 John’s, or which 13 John’s died in WWI. At ₤2.50 or 10 credits for each will downloaded that is too many to just randomly pick. So use other options to eliminate some of the other choices. The best place to start, which is free, is the Commonwealth War Grave Commission website and search for the records of each of these soldiers. You are looking to see if there is mention of family members and or place of residence in the comments field. Look at my earlier blog posts for examples and explanation of how to do this (WWI – Finding the Dead – Commonwealth War Grave Commission – part 1 – part 2 – part 3)
Workaround for Results with Missing Dates –
In our results table you will see Jonathan Hunter, rank unstated, of the 91st Regiment of Foot, who died, with no date or place given. We know that regimental numbers were no longer being used by WWI, so we can safely guess that this is a pre-WWI soldier. That however is still a potentially big time period 1857-1914. So how can we narrow down our options to see if it is worth spending the money on getting the will?
Go to the free website of the National Archives of Scotland at www.nas.gov.uk and select Catalogues and Indexes from the top menu, then NAS Catalogue, then Search. You have three search fields – in the search for field type the name of the person you are seeking (surname or both forename and surname if too many results) – in the reference field type SC70/8 plus select the ‘starts’ button and this will search the collection of Scottish military wills – leave the date from field blank.
In my case I am going to search for Jonathan Hunter in SC70/8. I get one matching record which I can display. The full reference is shown SC70/8/2/3 with a title of “Will of 3938 unstated Jonathan Hunter, 91st Regiment of Foot, cause of death: died” all of which is given in the search on ScotlandsPeople. The one additional piece given is 20 Apr 1864, which is the date his will was signed. If this was your ancestor you could then return to ScotlandsPeople and download a copy of the will with more confidence that it matched the time frame for your ancestor.
Will of Jonathan Hunter.
The will on Form of Will, No.1 states “to be used by a Soldier desirous of leaving the whole of his Effects to one person. Jonathan Hunter No. 3930, of the 91st Regiment of Foot, do hereby revoke all former Wills by me made, and declare this to be my last Will. After payment of my just Debts and Funeral expenses, I give to my wife, Isabella Hunter of No. 5 Waterton Street, Mile End, Glasgow, absolutely for her sole and separate use, her receipt being a sufficient discharge; the whole of my Estate and Effects, and everything that I can by law give or dispose of.” The will is then duly signed by three witnesses.
At the bottom of the form there is a Declaration of the Medical Officer. “I declare that I was present at the Execution of this Will and that Jonathan Hunter, the Testator was at the time in a fit state of mind to execute the same.” Signed by a member of the Medical staff.
On the reverse, which is actually the outside of the document when it is folded is a summary – The Will of Jonathan Hunter of the 91st Regt. Of Foot dated 20 April 1864. W.O. Form No. 897.
Written faintly in ink on the side of the form, upper left, is the NAS reference number SC70/8/2/3. Interestingly this is the only place to find it. The reference number is not printed out on the image header. You can however figure it out from the full reference if you save it with full ScotlandPeople reference.
The last wishes of Scottish soldiers at the Front: The National Records of Scotland release Soldiers’ Wills from WW1, WW2, the Boer War, Korean War and other conflicts between 1857 and 1964
The wills of 31,000 Scottish soldiers are being made available online by the National Records of Scotland as part of commemorations of the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of the First World War. The poignant documents include the last wishes of 26,000 ordinary Scottish soldiers who died in the Great War.
The new records contain the wills for ancestors of some famous Scots. For instance, John Feeley, the great-great-grandfather of the Paisley musician, Paolo Nutini, is included. Private Feeley served in the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders and died of wounds sustained during the Battle of Arras on 23 April 1917. Feeley left all of his property and effects to his wife, Annie, who lived until 1964.
Researchers at the National Records of Scotland have also discovered the will of Andrew Cox, the uncle of Dundee-born actor, Brian Cox. A rope-worker before the war, Private Andrew Cox served with the Highland Light Infantry and was killed in the Battle of Neuve Chapelle, aged 22 – sadly, his body was never identified. Like many unmarried soldiers, Andrew Cox left all of his possessions to his mother, Elizabeth.
The records are drawn from all the Scottish infantry and cavalry regiments, as well as the Royal Artillery, Royal Army Medical Corps, Royal Army Service Corps, the Machine Gun Corps and other units, and a few who served in the Royal Flying Corps and the RAF. Almost all the wills were written by soldiers below officer rank, but some wills for commissioned officers are also included.
In addition to the wills from the Great War, there are almost 5,000 from Scots soldiers serving in all theatres during the Second World War, several hundred from the Boer War and Korean War, and wills from other conflicts between 1857 and 1964.
Fiona Hyslop, Cabinet Secretary for Culture and External Affairs in the Scottish Government, said: “These small but powerful documents are a testament to the sacrifice in wartime made by thousands of Scots, not only the soldiers themselves, but also their families and loved ones.”
Tim Ellis, Registrar General and Keeper of the Records of Scotland, said: “We are privileged to be marking the centenary of the start of the First World War by making these remarkable records available. They give us a unique insight into the service of Scottish soldiers during the First and Second World Wars, but also in other conflicts before and since.”
Annelies van den Belt, the CEO of DC Thomson Family History, who enable the ScotlandsPeople website on behalf of the National Records of Scotland, said: “We’re very pleased to add this new set of records to the ScotlandsPeople site. These fascinating documents make for poignant reading and we’re sure that anyone who views the wills will feel a strong emotional connection to those who lost their lives in these conflicts.”
The Soldiers’ Wills are available at www.ScotlandsPeople.gov.uk, at the ScotlandsPeople Centre in Edinburgh, and at local family history centres in Glasgow, Kilmarnock, Hawick and Inverness.