Wigtown Sheriff court books

I have now started work on my newest project; indexing the Wigtown Sheriff court books. The cases obviously vary in gory detail however here’s one to whet your appetite!

At Wigtown and within the Court House thereof the thirtieth day of June Eighteen hundred and forty seven years

Sederunt Adam Urquhart Esquire Sheriff of the County of Wigtown.

Intran Patrick Hannay labourer Indicted and accused into the instance of Alexander McNeil Caird

Writer in Stranraer PF of Court for the Crime of Assault to effusion of blood and danger of life, in manner particularly mentioned in the Criminal Libel raised against him thereanent.

For the public prosecutor } For the Pannel
Alex McNeil Caird PF } Thomas F Smith Writer Wigtown

The libel being read over to the pannel in open Court, he pleads not Guilty.

The sheriff finds the libel relevant to infer the pains of law, but allows the pannel a proof in qualification and alteration, and remits him with the libel as found relevant to the knowledge of an Assize. Adam Urquhart

The following Gentlemen were there ballotted to pass upon the assize of the pannel Patrick Hannay vizt.

Special Jurors

John McGill farmer Barsalloch

Thomas Murray banker Wigtown

Colin Christison factor Barglass

William Brown tanner Whithorn

William McQween farmer Newmilns

Common Jurors

William Hunter farmer Causewayend

John Fraser farmer Isle farm

John McConnell farmer Grennan

Peter Kevan farmer Airies Knows

William Broadshaw farmer Backbraes

John McCandlish farmer Clauchrie

John McGuffie grieve Barnbarroch

Matthew Martin shoemaker Kirkcowan

John McCulloch farmer Skaith

Robert Kelly farmer Glenruther

At this stage of the proceedings the pannel pleaded Guilty as libelled. In witness whereof his Agent has subscribed this Plea in respect he declares he cannot write. Thomas S Smith p pannel.
The Pannel adduced the following Witness in alleviation vizt.

Samuel Shearman or Shearn labourer in Portlogan being No. 8 of the List of Witnesses appended to the Libel.

The Jury without retiring returned a Verdict unanimously finding the pannel Guilty as libelled in terms of his own confession, but by a majority recommending him to the leniency of the court.

The sheriff in respect of the foregoing Verdict Decerns and adjudges the pannel Patrick Hannay to be taken from the bar and imprisoned in the prison of Stranraer, subject to the rules of that Establishment, for the period of two calender months from this date; and warrant is hereby granted to the Keeper of said prison to receive, detain and liberate the pannel accordingly.

Adam Urquhart


© National Archives of Scotland - reference SC/19/51/1
Transcription © Graham Maxwell, April 2011

Continue reading the Chambers’ Edinburgh Journal

I have now uploaded “today’s” issue of the Chambers’ Edinburgh Journal. So you can take a few minutes and transport yourself to earlier days. This weeks issues contains the following articles:

Fallacies of the Young, Formation of the Scottish Society.

Skryme, The Russian court, Major Weir.

Sketches in Topography (Edinburghshire), The Runaway (an English Tale, By Miss Mitford)

Emigration.

Iron Bridges, Biographic Sketches (Dr. Alexander Murray).

Wourall poison.

Bear Hunting, Turkey, The Vatican, Two useful receipts, Hymn of the British peasant, American musquitoes, Effect of light on plants, Wolves, Number of Stars.

Column for the boys, Use of Cat’s whiskers, Vegetables, Cheese-Hoppers, Astronomy and celestial mechanics, Amsterdam.

Click to read the Chambers’ Edinburgh Journal

Report and State of the Kelso Dispensary

When I was in the National archives the other day I came across some leaflets entitled Report and State of The Kelso Dispensary. I found it useful to help me understand the daily running of the dispensary. Here is a transcription of the front page of the leaflet:

Report and State

of

The Kelso Dispensary

77th Year of the Institution

The Physicians and Surgeons connected with the Institution attend the Dispensary every Sunday before Divine Service, and every Friday form nine to eleven o’clock, to give their advice, and to direct the Apothecary of the Dispensary (who also attends on these days), to dispense such Medicines as are proper for the Patients recommended. In cases of acute, and occasionally in chronic disease, when Patients cannot be brought to the Dispensary, the Surgeons of the Institution are allowed, at the recommendation of a Subscriber, to visit them in the country at the expense of the Charity, in terms of the following rule of the Institution, viz., “That no one be visited in the country who can be brought by any conveyance to the Dispensary without personal hazard; that when in cases of sickness or accident it becomes necessary for the Surgeons to visit a Patient in the country, the visit shall not be repeated at the Surgeon’s discretion for a longer period than till the first ordinary Meeting of Physicians, Surgeons, and other Office-bearers; at which Meeting it shall be incumbent on the Visiting Surgeon to report the case, and after consultation it will be in the power of he Meeting either to order a continuation of visits for a limited time, or a notification to be made to the Patient that he must be brought to the Dispensary in Kelso–it being always kept in view that the expense of these visits, to be borne by the Institution shall not exceed triple the sum subscribed by the recommender.” Patients in the town of Kelso may be visited in their own homes by the Apothecary to the Institution, upon an order from the Physicians or Surgeons to do so. All recommendatory letters to be addressed, “To the Apothecary of the Kelso Dispensary,” who is appointed to deliver the same to the Surgeons in rotation.

No Patient will be visited in the country at the expense of the Institution, unless a visit is solicited by a Subscriber, or ordered by the Physicians. The other regulations under which the dispensary is managed, and the rules by which proper objects of charity are recommended are entitled to the benefit of the Institution, will be furnished by the secretary. 

There is a record kept of the Patients, their ages, diseases, the event of their case, the names id the Subscribers, and the parishes to which they belong. There have been 715 admitted for the year from the 1st October 1853, to the 1st October, 1854.

BATHS

There is one Bath kept exclusively for the Patients of the Dispensary; another, handsomely fitted up with marble for the accommodation of the Public. Baths may be had at one hour’s notice, on application to the Housekeeper, for payment of 1s. Hot Bath, and 6d. Cold and Shower Bath, which sums go toward the support of the Charity.

© Kelso dispensary data - Crown copyright. National Archives of Scotland reference HH71/5.

© Transcription — Copyright Graham Maxwell Ancestry 2011.

Kelso Dispensary Year One PDF

Well I have another treat for everybody today: a full transcription of year one of the Kelso Dispensary patient records is online and FREE. These records are fantastic! They can link families back to the early 1700’s and beyond in some cases, as well as giving some colour to your family tree. What was your ancestor really like? See, for example Agnes Fairbairn of Smailholm, born about 1747 recorded in the register with a case of Hystericks. Alternatively you could be related to Christian Burn who had Flatulent Pains!

From a more genealogical point of view, there are also some dates of death recorded which may well not be recorded elsewhere. A bit of Google searching may be necessary for identify some of the archaic names for diseases.

I hope you find this register as fascinating as we have, once we finish the first volume we’ll make it available in our bookshop. We’re not sure on the cost yet but we’ll keep you all informed.

Here’s the link in full: http://www.maxwellancestry.com/ancestry/resources/kelsodisp1.pdf

Parish register – all on one page

As with our prison indexes we now have all our parish registers listed on one page of our website. I have also included extra information about each so you will know exactly what you’re getting.

As new records become available I will add them to the existing county pages in our standard bookshop and to the standalone Parish Registers page.

This I hope will answer the questions people have about these less familiar parish registers.

Visit our new parish registers page now!

Parish Records available form Maxwell Ancestry

Records which are not available on Scotland’s People or the IGI

I have just realized through all my blogs about the prison and census projects I have forgotten to tell you about the parish registers that we have been publishing.

Why have we been publishing parish registers I hear you ask?

Are these not available on Scotland’s People and is not the index to many available free on the IGI? Well the answer is that most are, but not all! The IGI and Scotland’s People are mainly based on the OPR’s which should be all we need. However, how often do you search and search to no avail? The OPR’s are excellent but by no means complete and this can be a real source of frustration. There are, however, some other places to look for births, marriages and deaths before 1855!

Some (but by no means all) Kirk sessions contain birth, marriage, and death entries in various forms. The Kirk Session records are not at present on Scotland’s People and by and large this information does not appear on the IGI, therefore is inaccessible to many. The Kirk Session records for much of Scotland are kept at the National Archives of Scotland in Edinburgh, although some are held in local archives up and down the country.

Graham thought it may be useful to transcribe and index some of these records. The Castleton Parish register (Roxburghshire) has been for sale on our website for a while now and more are coming. Closeburn (Dumfriesshire) was added last week and one for Galashiels has just been completed. Here is a wee summary for you:

Castleton Parish Register 1707-10 and the Castleton Parish Hearth Tax 1695 £7.99

Parish Register of Closeburn, Dumfriesshire, 1726-1754 £8.99

And soon to be released:

Galashiels Parish Registers: Proclamation Register 1845-1854 and Relief Church Baptisms 1838-1855 £7.99

Our hope is that these will help fill in some of those missing blanks and hopefully help you locate your ancestors.

Here is and excerpt from the Closeburn book to whet your appetite:

19 April 1726

James Kirkpatrick and Agnes Mccaig in Newtown Mains a Son John.

1 June 1726

Archbald Frazer and Janet Kirkpatrick in Auchenleck a Son Daniel.

16 June 1726

James Hainen and Helen Nivison in Kirkland a Daughter Helen.

26 June 1726

Thos. Gibson & Grissel Mcmurdo in Townhead a Daughter Janet.

7 July 1726

Samuel Kirkpatrick & Janet Pagan in Crukup a Daughter Henerata presented by the Mother because of the father's ignorance.

© Kirk Session records — National Archives of Scotland reference CH2/1233/6.

© Transcription and indexes — Copyright Graham Maxwell Ancestry 2010.

Published by Graham Maxwell Ancestry

Cleughside, Kirkpatrick Fleming, Lockerbie, Dumfriesshire, DG11 3NG

info@maxwellancestry.com

www.maxwellancestry.com/publishing