List Advice Page

If you do not find what you are looking for the first time you visit our site, you may find it worthwhile checking in from time to time, as new entries may well have been added. We have a lot of historical indexing waiting to be completed, so you may be luckier next time!

New entries are uploaded as and when individual indexes have been completed and gone through a fairly stringent checking procedure. While we wish to get as many Indexes on-line as quickly as possible, we cannot guarantee how often this process will occur, due to the very different types of historical material being researched at any one time.

Click on a link below,  or scroll down the page to read about these topics.

General Information

Abbreviations and Signs - Mostly as used in standard English and found in normal dictionaries, but please note the following: -

Almost all references to Commercial Businesses include where appropriate the abbreviations Co. for Company & Ltd for Limited, while & for and is frequently used to save space. Entries including these abbreviations will frequently have been changed from that given in the original documentation

In several Indices, (ms) is used in two ways. Where referring to personal names, it indicates a female Maiden Surname  as given in many Scottish documents :- thus Mary Smith (ms) Jones - or - Smith, Mary (ms) Jones, indicates that prior to becoming Mary Smith on her marriage, she previously was known as Mary Jones. Where referring to a Document Type (ms) means - in manuscript, or hand-written.

In every case, except when used together with a year in the year column, the Sign + after a column entry means that there is more information available.

Where there is any real doubt about the accuracy of any information, then a ? is added. Where this occurs, you should be wary of accepting the information as absolute fact. The level of doubt can vary from being very slight to. See Accuracy.

 

Accuracy / Disclaimer - Every effort has been made to ensure that all indexed entries are accurate in content and spelling, as well as attributing linked details, such as place and county of origin.  However, it is likely that a small but unknown quantity of typographical errors and other mistakes exist within the overall content of our Lists. For these, we apologise in advance.

All indexed information in our Lists (other than ID details, including a variety of  Address and Country listings, comments and approximated dates) are deemed to have been abstracted from original documentation. Scottish Family Heritage does not vouch for the real accuracy of this information, other than in the context of these indexed abstractions.

Should you discover any entry that contains what you consider to be an error, please let us know by emailing SFH on our Contact Page.  We will be only too pleased to amend any errors you discover, but please note that we retain the right to amend, or not to amend such information as we deem appropriate. See Indexing of Entries

In these days of Political Correctness, it is important to stress that a few of our documents and other source material may contain information that could prove of concern to some researchers. Although this is unlikely, please note that none of the information contained in our historical archive in any way reflects the views or ideas of any person connected with Scottish Family Heritage.

   

Address / County / Country -

Address : In general, our listings will only include the main village, town or city appropriate for that entry. Sometimes where no other information is available we will include a house, or other building name, such as a farm or other identifying feature. Please note that for many entries, we have much more information about the address than is given in our Lists. Any additional information about individual entries is available on request. Please don't hesitate to ask, as this service is free. 

County : Where Scottish counties or shires are given, please note that in most cases they have been so designated according to the Shire boundaries as existed during the 19th century. For further details check out our Scottish Counties List page.

         Country : - We have entries relating to every country given in this List. Please note, however, that not all listed countries
         may be on-line as yet. Additional entries will be made to this List in the future.

 

Document Type - Most entries under this heading are self explanatory, however, some are less obvious, particularly those of a Scottish legal nature. Please ask for further details by emailing us from our Contact Page. This may help you decide if you wish to proceed with your enquiry.

 

Indexing of Entries - As far as possible we index 'Addresses', 'Commercial Businesses & Organisations,' 'People' and 'Subjects,' etc., under their appropriate place headings. However, in many cases the original source material gives insufficient information for them to be accurately placed to a city, town, village or county and occasionally country of origin. Frequently many original sources give biographical details indicating multiple geographical connections. Therefore, people, or other subject categories whose precise details have not been ascertained, are placed with the most accurate geographical category deemed most appropriate. If you are able to suggest a more accurate placing for any particular entry, we are more than happy to amend what is currently on display. See Accuracy / Disclaimer

 

Inventory number - This is the ID name / number that SFH has given for each entry in every List. If you make an enquiry about any of our List entries, you must quote the exact details given under this heading to ensure a quick response. This will also enable us to search for the required book or document with relative ease.

Important Note:  In any entry, the following ID's  indicate a particular type of item

107 = a postcard	108 = a newspaper, or newscutting
109 B (a number) = a book, journal, etc.	110 = generally some type of ephemeral publication, e.g. a programme

 

Name Spelling - All names listed are written as found quoted in the original manuscript or published work. This includes miss-spellings, unless it is obvious that these result from genuine mistakes, or typographical errors. In some instances we give a suggested correction or variation in brackets. You should therefore be aware that particularly in documents generally dating from the 19th century and earlier, you may well find frequent examples of surname or place-name variations, some of which can be quite considerable. For example, in one document you might find the surname Saintclair also written as St Clair, or Andearson given for Anderson.  A good example of this sort of spelling problem is the name Houston, which could be written in several different ways, e.g. Houston, Housten, Houstoun, Houstone, Houstene, Houstoune, (also Hawistoune, Hawistoun, Hostan, Hostine, Howstoun, Howstoune, Howystoun, Huison, Huistone & Huston).
N.B. the names in brackets are taken from George F Black's "The Surnames of Scotland."

Where old Monumental Inscriptions are concerned, several letters of the alphabet may be interchanged. For example, the letter J may be replaced by the letter I. Therefore, in the case of names appearing on old tombstones, the name John may have been carved as Iohn, or Janet carved as Ianet. These examples would be indexed as John (Iohn) and Janet (Ianet) for clarity.

 

Occupation / Profession - In most of our Lists, very few references are given to what people did for a living, however, those with a title such as Lord, Reverend, etc., may be recorded. Occupations may also be included where the name or other details are incomplete, or uncertain. Please note, however, that we hold a significant amount of information about the type of work people did for a living, or other designation they might have.  Please ask for further details about the occupation of individual people by emailing us on our Contact Page. This may help you decide if you wish to proceed with your enquiry.

 

Removal of a List Entry - If for any reason you think any particular entry should not be available for public consumption on one of our Lists, please email us with your comments on our Contact Page clearly indicating your reasons. We will carefully consider your comments and act accordingly. In any case of this kind, we will endeavour to satisfy your concerns, but the final decision will rest solely with SFH, unless other factors exist.

 

Source Content - The original sources from which all our Indexed Lists have originated are considerably varied. As a result, the content is not only extremely disparate, but also highly mixed in relation to the quantity, quality of information and detail given about any individual person, commercial business, organisation, place or subject, etc.

All the listings originate partly from our collection of original manuscripts dating from the 15th century to around 1950, as well as a selection of published sources, some of which the average researcher is unlikely to be aware of, or have easy access to.

Each individual enquiry may vary a great deal in the results we discover for you. For example, one enquiry may only lead to the name you are looking for appearing in one small minor document, or published list, while another may yield a response counted in 10's or even 100's of historical documents for your genealogical and historical delectation!

The majority of our listings relate to people connected with Scotland, in particular the main cities of Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Perth and Stirling. However, we do have entries relating to every county or shire in the country. We also have a good smattering of items relating to the other countries that make up the United Kingdom, which include England, Ireland (north & south) as well as Wales, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, although the City of London makes up a good proportion of these non-Scottish listings. A small number of entries also relate to countries outside Great Britain.

 

Year / Date - In general, the year given is that in which the source item (book /document) was produced, not necessarily a time reference to the indexed person or other item it relates to. For example, a historical figure living in the 15th century might have the year 1889 tagged to this entry. This only indicates that the source was written or published in that year.

Where thought appropriate, we may insert an earlier year or time period reference in brackets ( ). Thus an event which occurred in 1728, but was recorded in 1752, may be indexed as 1752 (1728).

Sometimes an exact year of origination is unknown, and where this occurs, we insert our best view as to what this is likely to be.

Year Symbols - The following symbols have the following meanings:-                                                   

	circa	about, or in the region of
	cent.	century / centuries
	- after a date	any time before (generally within a period of 1-30 years)
	+ after a date	any time after (generally within a period of 1-30 years)
	+/-	any time after or before (generally within a period of 1-30 years)
	- between dates	indicates consecutive dates
	/ between dates	indicates the first and last year mentioned for any entry
	(any date in brackets)	generally a date referred to in the text & not necessarily the date the document was written

 

Lists Information

 

Actors, Artists, Authors, Musicians, Painters, Poets, Sculptors, Writers, etc. - Contains all references to the creative arts. In many cases, for example with Authors and Writers, it may not be known where they lived, so the reference given in the address column may only refer to where their work was published or exhibited.

It should also be noted that in some instances references made to writers, may have been included in these lists in error as they could in reality be writers in the legal or business sense only. 

In some entries particularly with actors and actresses, it is uncertain whether the named person is male or female, so where the occupation gives actor, the sex may be in some cases be in error.

 

Address List - Work is still in progress to present this information in the most user friendly way. A fuller information statement about this list will be available when its presentation format has been finalised. This is unlikely to be completed for some time. This comment inserted here on 29/11/2006.

Alves Tombstone Inscriptions (Moray, Scotland) - This list contains the names of every person recorded as having been buried at Alves Churchyard and Cemetery through the medium of tombstone inscriptions.* The parish of Alves is situated a few miles west of Elgin and is adjacent to the parishes of Duffus, Kinloss, New Spynie and Rafford. Further information on these  inscriptions is available at the Moray Burial Ground Research Group's website at www.mbgrg.org or ANESFHS the contact link to the Aberdeen & North East Scotland Family History Society.

* This does not include Buried Tombstone inscriptions. For reference to this category see The Forgotten Tombstones of Moray.

N.B. the term 'nonage' implies some form of minority in children. In tombstone inscription terms it may mean that the child was under 1 year old, or that it was in infancy. Legally used to mean 'minority and pupillarity, now any age under 16.' (see Green's Glossary of Scottish Legal Terms, by A G M Duncan, 1992)

 

Banking, Insurance, etc. List - This List contains references to items relating to financial matters. Not only are major banking or assurance / insurance corporations recorded, but also much smaller bodies and individual occupations are included such as that of those acting in the capacity of a Treasurer of a group or society. Other occupations include for example, those involved with Customs & Excise, Inland Revenue, Rates and other areas of national, county or town collections of Tax of whatever nature.

It should be noted that some designations of job title have been abbreviated. For example, a person described as being a director of of bank or insurance company, may in the original document or publication be described as an 'Extraordinary director', while a manager of a company may be listed originally as a 'General manager.' These abbreviations are meant only as a presentational aid.

It is also worth remembering that where someone is listed as, for example, a director, manager or other category of management of a company, in many cases he will be one of several listed in the original source - meaning that whereas 'John Smith is listed as director of the Bank of Townsville; he may in reality share that position with 10 other co-directors. 

 

 

Baronetage, Peerage & Royalty, non UK List - This is made up monarchs or sovereigns, as well as members of rank or title within the accepted degrees of nobility, mainly outwith the jurisdiction of the United Kingdom. However, it also includes a number of British subjects who have either lived or worked abroad in posts of significant rank. Also included are those holding the title of Lord, Hon, or Rt. Hon., where it is uncertain, or unclear whether these titles refer to a political or judicial connection.

In the Name column, it is important to be aware that some of the names listed are not personal Surnames, e.g. the family name of the Earls of Elgin and Kincardine was and is Bruce.

It should be noted that in the "Order, Title or Rank" column, the premier Rank is listed first, e.g. "Sir : General," contrary to accepted usage, where such Ranks would be given as "General, Sir." 

The Country of birth or main connection with, is listed first in the "Place Living" column.

It should be clearly noted that in the "Year" column, any year given in brackets, relates to an earlier reference to the named individual occurring in the "Source" document or publication (Inventory No.).  Please also note that the first given date relates only to the publication year of the individual document or other numbered source. 

 

Baronetage, Peerage & Royalty, UK List - This is made up monarchs or sovereigns, as well as members of rank or title within the accepted degrees of nobility, inside the jurisdiction of the United Kingdom and colonies. Also included are those holding the title of Lord, Hon, or Rt. Hon., where it is uncertain, or unclear whether these titles refer to a political or judicial connection. Religious Titles have not been included in this dataset.

In the Name column, it is important to be aware that many of the names listed are not personal Surnames, e.g. the family name of the Earls of Elgin and Kincardine was and is Bruce. (It is therefore extremely important to ensure that names and titles are not  misinterpreted from this dataset. For example:- In the entry Campbell, John (Earl of Loudon) it is clear that the Earl of Loudon's personal names were John Loudon. However, in the example "Haddington, Thomas (Earl of (9th), the personal surname is in reality Hamilton. Thus his name and title would be spoken or written of as:- Thomas Hamilton, Earl of Haddington.

It should be noted that in the "Order, Title or Rank" column, the premier Rank where known is listed first, e.g. "Sir : General," contrary to accepted usage, where such Ranks would be given as "General, Sir." Any additional titles given after the premier title should be treated as extra information and in many cases are far from complete. Many titles given are considerable abbreviations for reasons of space, etc. Correct forms of usage such as "My Lord, His Grace, His Most Noble, etc., have not been included. All entries relating to royalty have been give either the Abbreviations:- H.M. = His / Her Majesty, or H.R.H. = His / Her Royal Highness. 

In the "Place Living in or Recorded at" column, this indicates where the person either comes from or has some connection with. In some cases, the connection "may" be to some degree limited or tenuous. Where no place is listed, and where UK is given for the "Country" this may indicate that we have to date been unable to find a precise reference for this person regarding his exact country of origin within the UK or colonies.

It should be clearly noted that in the "Year" column, any year given in brackets, relates to an earlier reference to the named individual occurring in the "Source" document or publication (Inventory No.).  Please also note that the first given date relates only to the publication year of the individual document or other numbered source. 

 

Boarding Houses, Hotels, Inns, etc. - The majority of listed entries are taken from advertisements in booklets and other journals. In some cases it is uncertain what the category the named establishment falls into.   

 

Clubs & Other Organisations List -  This list contains the names of various group categories of people and assorted organisations. In general it does not include Business or Commercial activities. The main content is made up of entries to associations, clubs and societies and other similar groupings where the main object of their existence is not, or was not, commercial. The overall content is quite disparate. This may, however, also include bodies that are made up of people that paid a membership fee or subscription, etc. Also represented are references to government bodies and other similar official groupings.

Some entries refer to castles and other specific places of interest where interaction with the public or other interested groups have occurred. This may mean such simple activities such as hosting visits from members of the public.

It is important to note that some duplication exists between items in this lists where the source is from a wax seal, rubber stamp, or crest, and the same or similar entries which are found in the Seal and Stamp List. At present these have been allowed to exist for the possible benefit of people using the website, who may not be making use of the Search Engine provided. This area of duplication may be removed in the future if it is felt appropriate.  

Commercial List - This List contains Manuscript and Published pre 1960 references to Businesses, or Commercial enterprises, contained in our private Archive and Library. However please note the following points. It is meant to contain only Businesses where the Business Name implies that more than one person is (or was) involved in it.  Names such as John Smith or other similar personal names are not included here.

The majority of references relate to Scotland, but many English or British national companies are also recorded. A few also relate to other parts of Great Britain, as well as outside the UK..

For the most part, only the following categories of Business are recorded in this particular dataset. To qualify, Business Names must include one of the following abbreviations, words, terms or signs.   &, Bros, Brothers, Co., Company, Inc., Incorporated, Ltd, Limited, Messrs, Partner, Partners, Son, Sons, or similar and their their non-English equivalents.

Further categories include

1) The use of  an ' (apostrophe) as in Smith's to indicate a plurality of people, or the use of initials as in BBC for British Broadcasting Corporation .

2) The use of names or words that clearly do not imply a personal individual.

3) Some entries may be included where the Commercial link is tenuous. For example, where a "club" or similar is included, it may have been inserted where it could be inferred that some commercial activity took place under its name, e.g. money changing hands where a bar or cafe was available. In cases of this nature, and where thought appropriate, entries of this type should also be found in the Clubs & Organised Groups List.

Where available, some indication is given in the Name Column as to the type of Business undertaken by each listed entry. This usually includes a reference from the original documentation, but where none exists, we may include a comment of our own where feasible. Some comments may only be partially correct. For example, a firm that is described as follow - Smith, John (bank agent) - may be acting as an agent for a bank, but their actual profession may be that of Solicitors or the like.

Confusion as to the accurate indexing of Business names may on occasion arise in respect of separating different surnames within a complete Business name. For example Gordon Melvin & Jones may be two people,  Gordon Melvin and someone with the surname of Jones. However, it may actually be three different surnames, that of Gordon, Melvin and Jones. Where serious doubt exists we insert a comma in brackets with a question mark - thus Gordon(,?) Melvin & Jones.

Sometimes a reputed Business Name may include the abbreviation - Messrs - for clarity. However, it should be noted that this cannot be taken completely as definitively describing a business. It may in fact only be referring to two or more private individuals.

Standardisation of certain Business Names.  Some names, particularly those of some banks are mentioned in a variety of sources with name variations. For example - The Union Bank of Scotland may be found recorded in several alternative ways such as Union Bank of Scotland, The Union Bank or just Union Bank. Where this occurs, we will choose a standard format so that all reference to this business will be found together. However on occasion this may not prove the best policy to avoid the creation of assumed inaccuracies. For example James Gray, Ironmongers in Edinburgh may also be found listed as Gray's because that is what the original source called it. On many occasions we will not be aware of the connection, therefore, items of this nature will be indexed separately. Many Business names begin with 'The' but this word may frequently be omitted in some sources. Where deemed appropriate, entries will be indexed under 'The'.

 Care should be taken when interpreting certain categories of Business. For example, the old-fashioned term of "Writer" meaning "Solicitor," should not be mistaken for the designation of an "Author." 

   

Country List - This is a quick Check List to help you with your search. If the country you are looking for is not in this List, then you will find no reference to it amongst any of our Lists.

N.B. As all the entries in our datasets relate to a variety of time periods pre 1960, some of the named countries no longer exist. For example Sri Lanka under the British Empire was known as Ceylon, and is therefore listed under that name.  

 

Education - Included within this list are people and subjects connected in one way or another with all aspects of teaching. Also listed are those involved with the administrative, or non-teaching staff, such as directors, secretaries and janitors, etc. These cover mainly scholastic subjects relating to schools, colleges and universities, but also include other items of instruction such as driving, dancing, religious or non-scholastic subjects, where teaching of some description is involved.

 

Factors, Farming, Tenants & Yeomen - This contains all references to land work or ownership. Some other categories of people are also included such as for example Gamekeepers.

Tenants of property, including house or other property dealers are also included. Because some people are simply described as being a Tenant of property that is undefined, it has been decided to include all Tenants including those who lived or used property in urban areas as well as those in a rural setting.

 

The Forgotten Tombstones of Moray (researched and published by The Moray Burial Ground Research Group) - This List contains the names of every person recorded as having been buried at one of several cemeteries, or burial grounds, where either the tombstone has been wholly or completely buried from view, or where access to the general public is prohibited. The latter category is indicated by underlining. Further information on these inscriptions is available at MBGRG's website at www.mbgrg.org

Burial grounds so far recorded or published by MBGRG  include Bellie, Blackhills House, Burghead (old), Dipple, Drainie (RAF Lossiemouth), Essil, Innes House, Kinneddar, Kirkhill (St Andrews-Lhanbryde), Knock of Alves, Lhanbryde (old), Spynie (old) and Urquhart (old). Blackhills House, Innes House and Knock of Alves Monumental Inscriptions have already been published by ANESFHS.

Photography, inscription recording and/or pre-publishing checks are ongoing at several sites including Alves (old), Birnie (old), Dallas, Greyfriars, Knock of Alves and Rafford.

N.B. the term 'nonage' implies some form of minority in children. In tombstone inscription terms it may mean that the child was under 1 year old, or that it was in infancy. Legally used to mean 'minority and pupillarity, now any age under 16.' (see Green's Glossary of Scottish Legal Terms, by A G M Duncan, 1992) 

 

Glasgow, Boys' Brigade, List - This List is made up first of the street names where boys of the 139th Glasgow Boys' Brigade lived between Sessions 1927-1928 to Session 1936-1937. The second list is contains the names of the Officers and other ranks, as well as members of the band and the years they attended.

The original ledger contains exact addresses for each member, but for privacy reasons these have been abbreviated to the street name only. Some of the boys names have been listed more than once during different Sessions, as this indicates that they were living at different addresses. It also includes the number of Drill parades and Bible Classes they went to.
 

For privacy reasons full access to the original ledger is restricted.

 

Highland & Agricultural Society List - This List is taken from "Prize-Essays and Transactions of the Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland, New Series, Vol. IV, 1835.

Considerable effort has gone into trying to trace many of the now forgotten, or little known place-names attached to many of the members, such as (John Ainslie of Maxpofle - now Maxpoffle, Roxburghshire). As many place-name spellings have changed over the years, it has so far not been possible to trace every one of those listed. Some remain untraced, while many names occur  in more than one place or geographical area. It has therefore in numerous  occasions not been possible to determine which one is meant to be attributable to the individual concerned.  

 

Huntly Places & People List : 1936 - No additional comments given at this time.

 

Joseph Mason & Co. List - This company had a large and extensive clientele base over various parts of England from its centre in Derby. The precise history of this firm has not been researched, but clearly it was in business for quite a bit longer than is shown by the dates in this ledger. Its is assumed that most of the names in the original ledger represent businesses, (trade customers), although what proportion of these might possibly only be people without a business connection buying paint or varnish is not known.

 A number of names, both personal and place-names were either not identified at all, or were guessed at, so it is quite likely that some names in these lists are incorrect.
 

Any additional information or history about this firm would be extremely welcome.

 

Law : Legal Profession, etc. - Included within this list are people connected in one way or another with law enforcement or legal interpretation, as well as the criminal fraternity. These include, advocates, counsel, lawyers, solicitors, notaries and writers and Writers to the Signet (in Scotland). Also listed are those in legal employment, such as law apprentices and clerks.

Writer (in Scotland) : care should be taken when researching any person listed as as writer. In the majority of cases, these correctly refer to the old fashioned term for solicitor used frequently in Scotland in days gone by. However, in the odd case, incorrect interpretation may have been made, confusing a writer with an author. The term 'writer' should not be confused with Writers to the Signet,  (W.S.) which is a society of solicitors in Scotland still in existence today.

 

Lawsons Limited List - No additional comments at this time

 

Medical List - This list mainly relates to people who in one way or another have been connected with medically related matters. These include mainly doctors of medicine, physicians, surgeons, nursing staff, patients and other associated occupations or connections.

One area of difficult interpretation within this grouping relates to the title Doctor (Dr). As there are several types of doctorate, such as "Doctor of Divinity, Law, Letters, Medicine and Philosophy," its is possible that a few of the people contained in these lists do not rightly belong there. Research to establish the correct designation of each person has not been exhaustive, mainly due to time constraints, however, every possible care has been taken where possible to ensure that as few errors as possible exist in this dataset.

 

Merchant's List - Everyone mentioned in this list was a merchant of some description. What was being sold may have been from the very small to the very large in size, e.g. cabbages or ships. Where no specific occupation or category of merchant is given in the Business column, this indicates that the person is described in the source material simply as a merchant.

 

Military Force's List - This includes all sections of the Military, including Army, Navy and Air Force personnel , as well as all volunteer or part time forces anywhere in the world. The main percentage of entries come from the UK and its constituent parts, including the countries of England and Scotland prior to the union of the crowns in 1603. 

It is extremely important to note that in the "Year" column, any year which appears in Brackets, e.g. 1881 (1760 +) only indicates that references to the person exist for the dates so quoted. It must not be assumed that it necessarily relates to any time connected to the military force quoted for that person.

The non-personnel section is listed first by the various Military Forces indexed, and also gives the person connected with these, where relevant. The country where the individual Force had its origin is also listed where known.

The Personnel Lists gives the highest military or other rank that person is known to have attained first, followed by any other title or designation they held. To avoid confusion, it is important to note that in many instances, the rank quoted does not necessarily relate to the given Military Force in column 1, as this rank may have been attained when the person was connected to another Military Force. Note that serving members of the armed forces frequently held different ranks in different forces during different parts of their military career.

 One additional area of possible confusion relates in particular to the ranks of Lieutenant and Captain. Both these ranks existed in the British Army as well as in the Royal Navy. Therefore in some cases it is unclear which service a person was in, but if he is known to have served in the Royal Navy, then the abbreviation (R.N.) is given to highlight that fact. The situation with the rank of Captain is further complicated by the fact that a sea-captain could either be in the Royal Navy, the Merchant Navy, or be a practising Master Mariner on any other vessel that sailed the seas. Therefore in some cases, it is likely that some Captains listed here, more properly belong in the "Transport List." However, until additional evidence becomes available, we assume the possibility that they were in the Royal Navy!   

Several other categories of administrative authority or armed control are included here. These include titles such as Lord-Lieutenant and High Constable, etc., as well as listing members of Police Forces. However, these represent only a very small proportion of List as a whole.

 

 

Ministers of Religion List - This is largely made up of ministers of the Church of Scotland and the Free Church of Scotland, although a variety of other denominations are included. Also listed are a few other church office holders such as kirk elders, etc.

It is important to note the following points:-

In quite a few instances, the place, church or other residence listed against an individual minister or other cleric, may not necessarily represent the place where he preached or undertook his ministry from. Due to lack of information, some entries only give the person's home or other address they were connected with, while with others, the place of worship listed may only have been a place the minister was only temporarily connected with.

There are quite a few occasions where the title "Dr" has been inserted, where this designation has not been given in the source document. These titles have frequently been inserted simply on the basis of the individual holding a D.D. or LL.D degree. Many degrees held by individual ministers have not been included, and those that have been, may be incomplete.

Where a minister or other cleric has been connected with more than one church, these additional places of worship may not necessarily be included in these lists.

 

Miscellaneous Scraps List - This List consists of a wide range of people, mainly within the UK, whose only connection is that their particularly entry in our main database contains no immediate or apparent link in respect of address, occupation or relationship that can identify them from a family or local history point of view.

However, great care should be taken with this List when either trying to identify a link to a person or family you are researching, while at the same time you should not dismiss the given information simply from a random glance, or without studying the content as closely as possible. For example, if you find someone that interests you in another List, first check out the Document Type, Inventory number and Year, and you may well find that an entry to the same person, or someone else connected with them is to found in this List.  

Note also that many of the entries will no doubt remain permanently unidentifiable, but have been included in any case. Quite a few entries are known to be identical to people listed in other groupings, but will have ended up in this List simply because the entry contained no other identifiable information.

 

Monarchy Asserted -  This List mostly comprises members of a Parliamentary Committee of 1657, detailed as follows:-

MONARCHY ASSERTED, To be the best, most Ancient and legall form of Government, in a conference had at Whitehall, with OLIVER late Lord Protector & a Committee of PARLIAMENT ........

Thursday the ninth of April 1657.

Ordered by the Parliament, that a Committee be appointed to wait upon his Highnesse the Lord Protector; in reference to what his Highnesse did yesterday propose in his Speech, now reported to the House.
    Resolved, That this Committee have power to receive from his Highnesse his doubts and scruples, touching any of the particulars contained in the humble Petition and Advice formerly presented; and in answer thereunto, to offer to his Highnesse reasons for his satisfaction, and for the maintenance of the Resolutions of this House; and such particulars as they cannot satisfie his Highnesse, that they report the same to the Parliament.

 

People Addresses England, Ireland, Wales & the Islands - The People in this list are in some way or other connected to the address or place name quoted in the individual reference. In some cases the reference may possible be quite tenuous, such as for example people who are on holiday, or visiting business acquaintances and friends. Specific care should be taken on this point when the item the information is taken from is a postcard. Many of these obviously reflect holiday addresses but it is assumed some of the people may have some form of connection to England, Ireland, Wales & the Islands. For people connected to Scotland, please see under that heading.

It should also be noted that quite a few people listed here were very well of and include those who owned large estates or other property. They are listed here as either they were not titled, or had no occupation or other given profession.

Some people may exist in other Lists, and it may be that some listed here only occur here because in the original dataset entry, no occupation or business was given!

 

People Addresses Non UK  - The People in this list are in some way or other connected to the address or place name quoted in the individual reference. In some cases the reference may possible be quite tenuous, such as for example people who are on holiday, or visiting business acquaintances and friends. Specific care should be taken on this point when the item the information is taken from is a postcard. Many of these obviously reflect holiday addresses and it is assumed some of the people may have some form of UK connection.

Some people clearly have dual country connections, and where this is known, the various countries are listed. Some people may exist in other Lists, and it may be that some listed here only occur here because in the original dataset entry, no occupation or business was given!

 

Perth Bridge Subscriber's List - The information in this List has been collated from James Cant's 1774 edition of Mr Adamson's "The Muses Threnodie," which includes a section entitled "A List of the Subscribers ..... Free Gift for building the Bridge of Tay at Perth."

There follows a list of 283 people, or business groups of people, who donated sums of money varying from £1.00 to 11,000. The latter amount was donated by King George III, and the list contains a variety of names from the Peerage, Baronetage, Clergy, the Merchant Guilds and Magistrates of Perth, as well as the landed gentry.

Amounts of each donation is given in the text, but these are not quoted in the List. However, if you would like to know what any one person gave to this project, please let us know, and we will pass on this information to you. 

Please note that personal and place-name spellings are transcribed exactly as in the original text.

Cant tells us that in 1765 "this year the foundation-stone of the new bridge over (the River) Tay was laid by the Right Honourable Thomas Earl of Kinnoul." 

 

Perth Magistrate's List - The information in this List has been collated from James Cant's 1774 edition of Mr Adamson's "The Muses Threnodie," which includes a section entitled "A List of the Magistrates of Perth, with such as happened under their Magistracy."

Also included are several members of the clergy connected with Perth, taken from the section headed "An Authentic List of Ministers of Perth, from the Reformation to the Present time (i.e. 1772). A short biography of each minister is given.

A similar section relates to an "Account of the Rectors of the (Perth) Grammar-School," with entries from 1590 to 1773.

There are several instances of surname spelling variations, where it would appear fairly obvious that different spellings indicate either the same person, or members of the same family are being referred to. Place-name spellings are transcribed exactly as in the original text.

In the "Rank / Position / Business or Profession: column, it is important to note that where the sign / is used (as in 1570 / 1779), this means that other years exist within the original text, and that for reasons of space, etc., we have not given in the List.)

 

Publication List - Part of the idea behind creating this List, is to make some of the Titles and Authors more widely known and appreciated, as many entries are of long forgotten publications, except to the interested archivist, bibliophile, historian, librarian, or those with a specific interest in mind. The majority of entries are gleaned from a variety of published material in our personal Library, but also include some from unique manuscript sources. Please note that many of the listed entries contain a more or less complete record of what is contained in the original source material. However, in some cases we will be able to provide you with a variety of additional information.

Most of these references are pre 1900, but some are of 20th century vintage. Many are found in publishers' or other commercial advertisements. Frequently entries may just be from a plain, printed list of titles, etc., but sometimes they can occur in elaborately designed formats, which in themselves can be viewed as miniature works of art. 


Publication related : Booksellers, Printers, Publishers, etc. - Some of these entries are to be found in other lists, such as Commercial & Trades. It is important to note that where the comment (printer? + : see top of page) is given in the Business column, this indicates that it is not known whether the listed person or business represents a Bookseller, Printer or Publisher, or an amalgam of any of these three Business categories).

 

Scottish County Names - The borders of the County or Shires of Scotland have like many other geographical areas, fluctuated in some cases quite considerably over time, while some like poor old Banffshire have disappeared from modern maps more or less altogether. This list contains all the counties in existence during the 19th century and we have entries for all of them in our main database.  We can also provide information on all the parishes of Scotland.

It is worth noting that several have had dual names by which their geographical land mass has been known. These include Edinburghshire now known as Midlothian, Haddingtonshire known as East Lothian and Linlithgowshire known as West  Lothian. Forfarshire also goes by the name of Angus, while the old Elginshire is now referred to as Morayshire or Moray.

 

Stamp, Crest & Seal List - The following categories are included in this List.

	Book Inscription -	This category in general indicates previous owners of the respective books or other publications they are recorded in. They mainly include personal,  hand-written text, or hand-drawn art-work, as well as other comments and are sometimes dated.
	Book Plate -	Generally a personalised paper label - usually printed - stuck onto the inside front cover of any book or other publication to indicate ownership. Sometimes these may include only the person's name. However, many are highly decorative, including armorial designs with mottoes, as well as a variety of other decorative designs.
	Stamp -	This mainly refers to the impression on documents of Rubber Stamps, which have first been pressed on to an inkpad to create the impression. Generally these are found on Commercial documents as used on Receipts and the like.
	Crest -	Used by a variety of people including the aristocracy, organisations, places such as towns and cities as a mark of cognisance or identification.      Mostly found on letter-headings, letter envelopes and official documents. Generally very small by nature, they are frequently highly decorative.
	Seal (wax) -	An engraved design impressed into hot wax (usually black or red). Frequently used by letter and legal writers to identify themselves or their  authorship. While letter seals can be quite small, document examples can be quite large.

 

Subject List - This disparate list of events is indexed first according to Country / County-Shire / village, town, city, then subject. The information given here lists happenings  great and small, local, national and international, while some are of very minor consequence. The content is limited in quantity, but it is hoped that some items may prove of interest to genealogists and local historians.
 

Subscriber's Book List 1708 - The information in this list is taken from "The Lives and Characters Of the most Eminent Writers (authors) of the Scots Nation," etc. by George Mackenzie, M.D. Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians in Edinburgh. It was printed by James Watson in Craig's-Cloƒs, on the North-side of the Croƒs M.DCC. VIII. (Edinburgh)

Many personal names both Christian & Surname are written with older spellings, so care should be taken when using these spelling to trace ancestors or relatives. Also some place names have not been traced accurately, while others have been guessed at for the modern equivalent.

 

Subscriber's Book List 1721 - The information in this list is taken from "The History of the Sufferings of the Church of Scotland From the Restoration to the Revolution," by Robert Wodrow, minister of the Gospel at Eastwood. It was printed in Edinburgh by James Watson His Majesty's printer in 1721.

Many personal names both Christian & Surname are written with older spellings, so care should be taken when using these spelling to trace ancestors or relatives. Also some place names have not been traced accurately, while others have been guessed at for the modern equivalent.

 

Subscriber's Book List - 1791 -    The information in these lists is taken from "The History of the Reformation Of The Church Of Scotland," etc. at volume 2, pages 580--592.  The Heading for the List is "SUBSCRIBERS NAMES" but it is not known when the subscribers names were taken, except to say that this edition was published at Paisley in 1791. The volumes were printed at Paisley by John Neilson for David Gardner. The book was written by the Reverend Mr. John Knox, Sometime Minister of God's Word in Edinburgh.

Some places remain so far untraced. For example Faranese, Printfield has not been entirely authenticated, while places such as Crawford's-dyke have changed to become Cartsdyke.

Due to the way in which some Surnames have been typed in this book, there is some uncertainty about the correct manner of spelling. This problem is particularly acute with many names beginning with Mc. The c is printed using an '  (apostrophe), and many Mc names are written thus in lower case, e.g. M'indoe, making it very difficult to know whether they should have been written Mcindoe or McIndoe.

 Where subscribers names have been handed in via a third party, it is in some cases uncertain whether the people concerned actually lived in the place named where they were handed in. It is possible unless otherwise stated, these places relate to the third party only.

There is also some doubt concerning some occupations. Use has quite often been made of the abbreviation 'do (or) do do' meaning ditto or, as above. Occasionally in some of sequential listing, 'do's' have been omitted and then reintroduced a few entries further down, making it hard to decipher whether the given occupation for some people is correct or not.

 

Surname List - This is a quick Check List to help you with your search. If the Surname you are looking for is not in this List, then you will find no reference to it amongst any of our Lists.

Please note that all names are given as per the spelling from the original source. As a result there can be frequent spelling variations of many names. You should also be aware that many spellings originate from very old documents, where the name spelling is either antiquated or written phonetically. It may therefore be worth a search through all the multiple spelling variations you can find of any individual name.

 

The Viking Club List -  The names listed here are taken from the club's Subscriber's List as published in the "Old=Lore Miscellany of Orkney Shetland and Caithness, Vol. 5, published in 1913. It includes several people and commercial business that subscribers used either as agents, or as c/o & P.O. Box addresses. These have been included for completeness purposes only.

 

Trades Assorted (not Building, Clothing or Food & Drink Related) - In general, Trade categories in these datasets are meant to imply people who used some form of tool, instrument or equipment in relation to their given occupation or profession.

The content of this dataset is very mixed. Some categories may not entirely be classed as a Trade, such as "Photographer," however, their inclusion here is based largely on the classification statement given above.

 

Trades : Building Related -  In general, Trade categories in these datasets are meant to imply people who used some form of tool, instrument or equipment in relation to their given occupation or profession.
 

Some categories of occupation are rightly considered as professions, for example "Architects or Civil Engineers," but as their type of employment relates to building or construction work in general, they have been included in this dataset. Some Trade categories of work are on the fringes of Building, such as for example Cartwrights, whose job or business was concerned with construction of various types of wheeled transport.

 

Trades : Clothing Related -

 In general, Trade categories in these datasets are meant to imply people who used some form of tool, instrument or equipment in relation to their given occupation or profession.

In some cases it is unclear from the original source whether the person named is an employee or an employer. Some of the entries imply more than one type of occupation or profession, or goods being sold, such as "drapers" who mainly sold various types of cloth or material, some of which would be used in clothing. Another example relates to the production  or use of leather as used in various items of clothing, may also have been involved with other things such as horse fittings, or furniture.  Some entries are also listed under other categories, such as merchants. 

Trades : Food & Drink Related - In general, Trade categories in these datasets are meant to imply people who used some form of tool, instrument or equipment in relation to their given occupation or profession.

In some cases it is unclear from the original source whether the person named is an employee or an employer. Some of the entries imply more than one type of occupation or profession, or goods being sold, such as in the case of "Grocers," who mainly sold food and drink, but also other non food items. Some entries are also listed under other categories, such as merchants. 

Transport List - This is currently mainly made up of ships connected to various parts of the world, as well as a few horse drawn coaches from Scotland. All entries are indexed according to the vessel or other vehicle name.

Where known, the Captain or other person in charge, along with Company name is given. In many cases it is uncertain where a ship hails from. If known, the ports or countries of departure and destination are also listed.

 

UK Members of Parliament List - All entries listed here refer to Members of Parliament, mainly relating the United Kingdom of Great Britain, with a small number being included from the Old Scottish Parliament, pre 1707.

As in some other Lists, Titles of Rank are included under the "Name" column, and  care should be taken to ensure that these are not misinterpreted as actual Personal Surnames. This is particularly the case with entries where a Name, and / or Title, such as Earl or Lord, is given in the  "Order, Title or Rank" column.

Where thought appropriate, a selection of titles have been inserted in the "Order, Title or Rank" column. It is not comprehensive, and many have been missed out entirely. To some extent the inclusion of certain "Titles" is the subjective choice of the Editor of this List, while other are not included mainly through lack of information.

Place names given here, including the word "of" generally indicate a close family interest or connection to the place mentioned, such as in "of Pitfour" or "of Pumpherston." However, where for example a person from Scotland is an MP for a Constituency in England, the word Scotland may be inserted to indicate that the person had a Scottish connection.

Many of the "Constituency" names listed, are not actually given in the original sources  quoted in the "Inventory number." Where this happens, the information has been added from a wide variety of other areas of research. Many MP's of course represented several Constituencies, and some multiple entries are listed, but in many instances these are far from being complete.

Items listed in the "Position or Other Rank" column are largely incomplete. They are only meant to indicate positions of importance held by the person, other than that of being an MP, or that listed in the "Order, Title or Rank" column. These are to some extent again the choice made by the Editor, and must not be taken as being comprehensive.

Many of the blank spaces arise simply from a lack of knowledge on the part of the Editor, time and circumstance not allowing scope for additional research.