Old Scots Words: Hagbut or Hakbuit

I seem to be getting through the alphabet very quickly!  These posts are going to move to a monthly slot now in order to leave some space for some on other topics too.

Today's 'H' word is one that I have come across a fair few times in various documents:

Hagbut or Hakbuit

This word has a huge variety of spellings and I list a few below - these variations can all start with 'Hak' 'Hack' 'Hag' 'Halk' or 'Hawk' (and a few other variations too!):

Hakbut

Hakbutt

Hakbute

Hakbuit

Hakbusch

 

This is not a specifically 'Scots word' as it is simply a variation of the French haquebute and usually refers to a type of musket which must have been commonly used across many countries.  the Dictionary of the Scots Language (DSL) has a few examples of its use dating mostly from the 1500s and 1600s and we can assume that it's use was mostly concentrated in these centuries.

There are also numerous examples of these weapons being referred to in original documents:

for example, a 1610 letter from James Campbell of Laweris, Ford[-], to the laird of Glenurquhay in the Breadalbane Muniments held by the National Records of Scotland records [NRS ref. GD112/39/21/25] states that the writer had "met Allister McKeindowy who shot a hagbut at them"

and another document from the same collection [NRS ref. GD112/10/1/1] records a tack by the laird of Glenurquhay to Patrick Dow, his son, "of two merkland of Corricharmish with grazing thereof, in Glenloquhay, for one year, he being diligent in keeping forest of Mamlorne, and shall not shoot with gun nor hagbut at deer, roe nor blackcock, neither himself nor those of his company, 19 April 1612".

So this odd looking word does crop up reasonably frequently in a variety of places and is worth remembering - especially when working with records dating from the 16th and 17th centuries - perhaps some of the more 'tumultuous' periods of Scottish and British history. 

Old Scots Words: Fewfermorer

Today's letter is 'f' and we have a word that is often seen as a designation in older documents:
 

'Fewfermorer' (or 'Fewfirmorer')

As usual, there are a fair few different ways of spelling this one, it can be 'feu' or 'few' at the beginning and the vowels at the end can be 'o's or 'i's or 'e's but it is usually quite easy to spot it. 

It simply means someone who holds a fewferm.  Which then rather begs the question 'what is a fewferm then?'.  Well, a fewferm is defined by the Dictionary of the Scots Language (DSL) as being:

'The tenure of land or other property in feu.'

or

'The payment made by the tenant of a feu.' 

so the 'feufirmorer' (however you see it spelled) will be the individual who holds a specific property in feu.

The DSL has examples of this word being used from the early 1400s onwards: indeed the following example from the Newbattle Charters is thought to date from c.1400:

'Landis quhilk he haldis in few ferm of the abbot'

[lands which he holds in feu ferm of the abbot] 

and as late as 1749 the term 'feuferme' is found in the papers of the Earls of Morton (ref. GD150/1720: held at Orkney Archives):

Feuferm charter in favour of Harry Miller, notary in Stromness, of lands of Appihouse and Neitherbiggin and Heyvell in parish of Stennes, 19 Sep 1749

Being in active use for as long as that, you will probably come across this word at some point in your research.

Old Scots Words - Custumar

Today is week three of my list of old Scottish words and so today we are on to the letter 'c':

'Custumar[e]'

This one is slightly more familiar to the modern eye than the words from our previous weeks have been.  A 'custumar' is a customs officer, and the word appears very frequently in records from the 1300s onwards.

You might see it used to describe an individual who fulfilled this role, as it does in this record from the National Records of Scotland (NRS):

NRS E73/3 'Abstract account of George Archibald, custumar' Nov 1620-Nov 1621

or in this example from the Treasury Accounts from 1491 when it appears as a plural:

'to charge the schireffis, balʒeis and custummaris of Stirlingschyre to the Chekar'

[to charge the sheriffs, bailies and customs officers of Stirlingshire to the Exchequer]

The Dictionary of the Scots Language has examples of its use dating from the 1300s to the 1600s, and if you ever delve into the Exchequer Records at the NRS, then it is a word that you will see a lot of.

Old Scots Words - Bahuif or Bawhufe

Today's 'B' word is a truly strange looking one:

'Bahuif' (or 'Bawhufe')

I had never come across this one before, but found it when looking at a list of the items belonging to James V, King of Scotland (pdf available here).  It refers to a large chest or coffer or trunk and King James had a few of these:

ane greit bawhufe into the palzeon houses and ane bawhufe into the tapestry house and the third into the pantrie hous.

[a great chest in the tent house and a chest into the tapestry house and the third into the pantry house]

The Dictionary of the Scots Language has examples of its use dating mostly from the 1500s and quotes its use in the Treasury Accounts of 1535:

'for keping of the kingis gracis claithis, twa balhoyis'

[for keeping the King's graces clothes, two chests] 

It can appear in more humble settings too - but watch out for bizarre spelling variations - I have seen it as 'balhoy', 'bawhuvis', 'bahouuis', 'behewuis', 'balhuves' - you need your wits about you sometimes to spot this wee word!

Old Scots Words - Afaldly or Afauldly

Today is the first in what will be a (semi) regular look at some of the more unusual words that I have come across in my research.  It makes sense to start with 'A', so today we have:

'Afaldly' (or 'Afauldly')

An odd looking word to modern eyes, but it crops up quite often in some older texts.  It means something along the lines of 'sincerely' or 'honestly' or 'faithfully' and you might find someone swearing 'afaldly' to abide by something.

You might see it used in a sentence like the following from the Aberdeen Burgh Records from 1494:

'the aldirmane, balʒeis…schew that tha wald ayfaldly defende thair landis and heretage'

[the aldermen, bailies,...show that they would sincerely defend their lands and heritage] 

or in this example from a bond of manrent from the charter chest at Gask: September 5th 1471 (full extract available here):

'sal serf hym afauldy in peise and in vayr for al the tym and spaise befor vrittyn'

[shall serve him faithfully in peace and in war for all the time and space before written]

It might crop up in all sorts of places, especially in earlier documents.  The Dictionary of the Scots Language has examples of its use dating from the 1400s to the 1600s, so it is one to look out for in those early records. 

Wordless Wednesday - Images of the Construction of the Forth Bridge, 1886-87

Works at Inchgarvie from wind gauge on castle ruins

General view from North Queensferry hills depicting the three cantilevers

Queensferry cantilever from end of Hawes Pier

Images are from the NLS collections and are available under a Creative Commons License.

These and many other images can be viewed on the NLS website.

Tombstone Tuesday - Soldiers tending WWI graves

The National Library of Scotland has, as well as world class library and archival collections, a great photostream on flickr - I frequently get side-tracked on there when looking for something else entirely.

Their collection includes this striking images of soldiers tending the graves of fallen comrades, the original photograph reads: 

'OFFICIAL PHOTOGRAPH TAKEN ON THE BRITISH WESTERN FRONT. Soldiers during their spare time collect plants and flowers to decorate the graves of our heroes.'

So this one image is really representative of the many, many other tombstones and the unmarked resting places of the brave souls who fell in the war, and also a memorial to their comrades - who cared enough to labour at their graves.

You can see this image and other fantastic historical images on the National Library of Scotland's flickr photostream or at their own digital archive of WWI images.

Old Scots Words: Abilʒement / Abulʒement and the 'yogh' letter

When looking at some older Scottish documents there are words that keep popping up from time to time which look completely unfamiliar to the modern eye.  Some even contain letters that have long since vanished from our own alphabets.  One of these that anyone who spends much time working with older Scots wills and testaments will probably notice is the word Abilʒement or Abulʒement.

This strange looking word has a variety of spellings according to the Dictionary of the Scots Language [DSL], including: 

abilʒea-, abilyheament, abilliament, abillement; abulʒie-, abwlʒe(abolʒe-), abullʒement (abulʒemont), abulʒea-, abulʒia-, abuliament, abuliment; abuilʒe-, abuilʒie-, abuilʒea-, abuilʒiament.  

The strange looking letter 'ʒ' is what is called a yogh and is often represented as a z or a y when transcribed, but the sound was originally closer to a gutteral 'yh' or 'gh' sound - this letter is the reason that the name 'Menzies' is pronounced 'Ming-us' rather than 'Men-zees' by Scots - the 'z' in the name is actually an old yogh letter which changes the way that the word is pronounced.  You can find out lots of information about this little letter at the Scottish Handwriting website.

Image: Grant Cochrane / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

So the strange word Abilʒement would have been pronounced as 'ab-ul-ghi-ment' (or something close to that!) and it is actually a rendering of 'Habiliment' or 'clothing/apparel/equipment'.  So when you see this word (often in a list of someone's goods or belongings in a will) then it is often referring to the personal apparel of someone - it's an odd looking word, but a good one to know about... 

Kirk Session Records: more than just illegitimate children...

If you have ever heard of the Scottish Kirk Session records, then you may have first been drawn to them due to their research potential for finding out about the fathers of illegitimate babies born in the 19th century or earlier.  However, there is much more to the Kirk Session records than this...

First, however, a little bit of background about what they are and where they can be found.  Kirk Session minutes (recordings of the proceedings of the Session) can be found for a large number of parishes across Scotland for both the established Church of Scotland as well as dissenting Presbyterian churches (there are also records of other non-Presbyterian churches, but these really deserve a whole blog post of their own).

The Kirk Session comprised the minister and elders of the parish, and it was concerned with (in addition to the business of the parish) the morals of the parishioners.  This is the reason that Kirk Session records are so useful for finding out more about the parentage of illegitimate children - the Session would often interrogate any unwed mothers and put strong pressure on them to name the father of their baby.  Sometimes the couple would have to do penance for their sin of 'fornication' and other times you will find the whole circumstances of the case detailed over a number of pages of the Kirk Session records.

So how would you find out more about an illegitimate child?  Firstly, you need to know the relevant parish in which to look - often this is the parish where the mother usually resided, although you may find that the case moves to another parish once proceedings have started: if the session found that another parish was really responsible for the case, then the proceedings would sometimes move to that parish.  But, what you want to do is find out where the baby may have been born and/or where the mother usually lived.  

Next you need to locate the relevant parish records.  Although many Kirk Session records are held locally, there are digital images of the majority of the pre-1901 minutes at the National Records of Scotland (formerly National Archives of Scotland) in Edinburgh.  This means that you can view most of the early records for the established churches (and some of the dissenting churches) in Edinburgh for no charge (all you need is a reader's ticket - check the NRS website for details).  

As yet (March 2012) there is no widely available remote access to these, although some local archives also have access to digital images of these records (check with your local archive for details).  Once you have physically located the relevant minutes for the parish in question, then it is simply a case of identifying the correct volume which covers the dates in question and then searching through that volume for 'your' entry.  Not all illegitimate children appear in these records, but they are worth consulting if you have had no luck elsewhere.

St Cuthberts Church, Edinburgh, from the flickr collection of the National Galleries of Scotland
 (click here to link to their photostream)

But...

The Kirk Session Minutes have much more to offer than simply telling you 'who's the daddy'!

In just a few examples, I can give a brief idea of the wealth of historical information that can be found in the Kirk Session records.  Most parishes have Minute Books where many discipline cases were recorded - this is not just illegitimacy cases, but drunkeness, breaching the sabbath, disputes between neighbours, even accusations of witchcraft!  If your ancestors lived in any parish for a length of time it is almost always worth browsing the minutes to see if your ancestors appear.

But, the specific example of the catalogue entries for the Kirk Session of Forgue [NRS ref. CH2/459] gives a flavour of the other types of information that you might find in the Kirk Session records:

Forgue Kirk Session records have Minutes dating from the 1630s, but they also contain:
Poor Fund Records from the 1700s and 1800s;
List of communicants from the 1830s and 1840s;
A census of the lands in the parish from the 1830s.

There are also many items of interest in many other collections of Kirk Session records.  The records of Glencorse Kirk Session [NRS ref. CH2/181] include:
Mortcloth records (relating to burials) from the early 1700s;
Testimonials or 'testificats'(a type of 'character reference' given when a person moved parish) dating from the late 1600s;
Communion rolls from the 1830s.

All of these may be of immense interest to those with family from these parishes - as any genealogist will know, information from the period before the mid-19th century is always to be treasured!

So, if you have a day to spare and are looking to expand your knowledge of your ancestors, then you could do far worse than to spend some time looking into the Kirk Session records of the parishes in which they lived.  

You never know what you might find...

Mappy Monday - Maps that I love...

I love using maps in my research, and although the National Library of Scotland is usually my first port of call for most Scottish maps, there are also some fantastic finds from other archives.

One of my favourite sets of maps is the 1769 estate plans of the Breadalbane estate on Loch Tay side.  These are superbly detailed and have useful accompanying information in the form of a survey book published by the Scottish History Society ["Survey of Lochtayside 1769" (Scottish History Society, 3rd series, vol. 27)].

Even if your ancestors did not hail from this area, the maps are lovely things to look at in and of themselves, and they are freely available to view online.  Click the links to view images of The North Side of the loch and The South Side of the loch at the Scotland's Places website.

Enjoy!

The George Washington Wilson and Co. Photographic Collection

While browsing for photographs of Scottish cities in days gone by, I came upon the George Washington Wilson and co. photographic collection which the University of Aberdeen have made available online.

This remarkable collection showcases the work of Wilson and his company.  The photographs include images of places across Scotland and the UK as well as from Australia, Africa, and European countries.  Wilson was named photographer royal  in 1860 and had an immensely successful career.

The fruits of his work as shared on this website are a great resource for anyone interested in family or local history as they give us glimpses of life in a variety of locations at various points in the 19th century.  Of particular note are the stunning images of Fingal's Cave and the beautiful images captured in Africa.

Image: m_bartosch / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

You can visit the website and search the images by place or keyword.  There are also a number of images that are yet to be identified, and if anyone recognises them, then I am sure that the archives staff at the University of Aberdeen would love to know.

Enjoy this great collection.

Tenants in Meal Vennel, Perth, 1773 - P&K Council Archives

Perth and Kinross Council Archives are one of the many archives that have showcased some images from their fascinating collections on Flickr.  I often enjoy just browsing through the photo-streams of the various different archives and thought that I would point out any interesting/unusual/useful records which I come across on my travels.

Today I'm highlighting one record in particular, a census of Perth dating from 1773.  P&K District Archives have published a return dealing with properties in Meal Vennel on Flickr (document reference: GB252/B59/24/1/40).  

A database of the returns from this census is available through the ancestry.com website and you can view the original images too if you are a subscriber.

But, if you haven't used these records before then the image of the Meal Vennel return on Flickr will give you an idea of the type of information in the census.  Are any of these people your ancestors?

William Graham, aleseller

William Bryson, mason

William Sharp, doctor

Alexr McIntyre, taylor

John McDonald, labourer

William Reid, labourer

Kathrine Duff, widow

Elizabeth Stewart, widow

Jannet Robertson

Cathrine McDougall

Christan Robertson

James Gibson, weaver

Christmas Shopping in 1861 - today's adverts in the Caledonian Mercury

As I undertook some more of my festive shopping today on a pretty busy Princes Street here in Edinburgh, I began wondering what I could have bought for those nearest and dearest to me in the past.  Now, the Scots traditionally have been more animated about New Year than about Christmas, but I decided to take a browse through the options available in the adverts from the Caledonian Mercury newspaper on this day 150 years ago...

Now, for the man in your life you could perhaps choose something from your fine local milliner's - 'The Operative Hat Company' of 73 St Mary's Wynd were advertising that 'we make as good hats as can possibly be made' and that they could 'sell cheaper than any other house in town'.  Great - that's the place for me!

If you really wanted to spoil him then perhaps you could get some ox hide leggings at 7s 6d , sold by 'The Ox Hide Leather Leggings Factory' (who knew there could be such demand that a factory would be needed?)

Ladies were reminded on the same page 'in making your purchases for the laundry, do not forget GLENFIELD PATENT STARCH' used by 'her majesty's laundress' no less.

You can also treat someone to some fine corned beef (at the Royal Emporium on George Street), first class teas (at J Pirret's on Clerk Street) and American apples and Russian cranberries (at Baxter's Place).

Image: Toa55 / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

All the makings of a cheerful Christmas for everyone there I think.  And for some light reading whilst digesting the apples and cranberries, perhaps the newly released Memorable Women of the Puritan Times or the 'temperance tale' entitled Drift: A Story of Waifs and Strays...

All adverts quoted are from the front page of the Caledonian Mercury from the 17th December 1861

Sunday Supper - a trip through the archives

A chance encounter with a mention of a recipe in the catalogue of the National Records of Scotland [formerly National Archives of Scotland] got me wondering how many recipes from former days might be recorded in the archives.  

A quick look through the online catalogue for the Scottish archives at http://www.nas.gov.uk/onlineCatalogue/ gave some intriguing examples:

Some of the 18th century recipes sound fairly reasonable (don't really fancy the boar's head or snail water myself!):

GD150/3413: Recipe to cure a boar's head   

RH15/10/18a: Recipe for making snail water 

GD16/58/5: Recipe for orange wine

RH9/17/191: Recipe for baking herrings. Taken from my Lady Glenorchy's book

GD68/2/156: Recipe for making ginger wine

By the 19th and 20th centuries, we have moved on to some quite tasty sounding offerings:

GD172/2880: Recipe for buttermilk cheese

GD113/5/106c: a recipe for raspberry vinegar

GD157/1744: Recipe for sponge cake

But I think that my two favourites have to be a couple of undated offerings that tell us more about the politics of those who wrote them than they do about their tastebuds...

Image: Paul / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

GD24/5/162/27: A recipe for making a true whig
the ingredients guarentteed to make anyone 'as sound a whig as ever  beheaded a King, murdered a bishop or abjured a Lawfull Prince'

GD157/1384: An abusive recipe for making a presbyterian in two days
Description: `Take the roots of hipocrisie and ambitione ... ane handfull of the spirit of pride, two drams of the seed of disentione and discord ...'

Food for thought?

Major new project set up to study everyday life in Dumfries and Galloway

The European Ethnological Research Centre [EERC] has set up a brand new project aimed at gathering and publishing information about everyday life through the ages in Dumfries and Galloway.

This ambitious study, which is believed to be the first of its kind in the UK, aims to produce substantial publications in a variety of formats. It seeks to bring together research carried out by Dumfries and Galloway's inhabitants, academics and others sharing interests in such topics. 

The organisers say that they hope to publish the results in a variety of outputs, such as additions to their popular Flashback series and in multi-authored books, as well as having online resources associated with the study.  

They will also be holding public events, such as concerts and exhibitions, in which the results of research will be disseminated. 

Image: nuttakit / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Perhaps one of the the most interesting aspects of this study is that it is designed to be participative, with the people of Dumfries and Galloway being involved in the process.

They have set up a project blog, where you can find out more and where interested parties can contact the organisers.

It looks to be an interesting attempt to trace the history and culture of people in a particular place through the experiences of the ordinary folk who live and have lived there. 

 

Lord Cochrane exhibition at National Museum of Scotland

The National Museum of Scotland is running an exhibition entitled 'the real master and commander' all about the life of Thomas, Lord Cochrane.

He was also the Earl of Dundonald, and he was appointed an admiral in the Royal Navy, and served until his death at the age of 84.  He is perhaps most famous in South America (where many of his notable exploits took place) but this exhibition should help to bring him to fame in his own country.

Image: Juan Gnecco / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

The exhibition is a great mixture of original documents relating to Cochrane's life which are held in the National Records [Archives] of Scotland, and extraordinary collection of personal possessions and dramatic paintings.

If you can't get along to Chambers Street in Edinburgh to see the exhibition in person, then the National Museum of Scotland has devoted some webspace to him on their site.  Visit their website and find out more about Thomas Cochrane - the real master and commander!

The exhibition runs until 19th February 2012 and is free.

Scottish Life Archive

Looking around on the internet the other day, I came across the page for the Scottish Life Archive, which seems to have had a bit of a facelift since the last time I visited the website.

The archive has been around since the 1950s and aims to collect, record and preserve documentary and illustrative evidence of Scotland's material culture and social history.  

They have built up a fascinating collection of material that could be useful for anyone researching aspects of Scottish local or family history and you can get a taste of what they have by visiting their website, and you can view images of some of their photographic collections on flickr.

Viewing the collections is by appointment only (see their website for contact details), as well as holding photographic and film material the Scottish Life Archive is home to a unique collection of manuscripts, letters, diaries, books, leaflets, oral recordings, maps, plans, trade catalogues, paper ephemera and an extensive newspaper cuttings collection.

If you're searching for details about a particular person, place or theme, then it might well be worth a visit.

Lost Conan Doyle novel published...

The British Library have just published a novel entitled The Narrative of John Smith which was written when Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was 23 - three years before Sherlock Holmes saw the light of day.

The novel was apparently sent it to a publisher but it was lost in the post and Conan Doyle then had to reconstruct it from memory.

The book is available from the British Library, and you can find more information about it on their website. 

It's described as 'a novel of considerable biographical importance' and at £9.95 is well worth having.  I'm ordering my copy now...

Image: ntwowe / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Images of Edwardian Scotland from RCAHMS

If you missed the interesting supplement in the Scotsman last weekend: Edwardian Scotland Picture Supplements, then you can still view some of these great images online at the website of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland [RCAHMS].

There are some really great photographs available to view on the website, as well as some interesting information about photography at this time - the images are taken from the RCAHMS collections and display examples of the work of famous photographers like Bedford Lemere & Co and Thomas Annan alongside more informal snapshots from private family albums.

It's an interesting resource and certainly displays something about RCAHMS collections that I didn't previously know about - well worth a look.

Image: m_bartosch / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Scots Abroad: Emigration Stories from Scottish Emigrants

A 'shout-out' today for another great online resource that is interesting, informative and FREE!

The National Library of Scotland [NLS] have a great digital resource available at http://digital.nls.uk/emigration/index.html which links you to transcripts of letters and journals, and audio versions of these, along with background information and really great visual resources - drawings, photos, maps and pamphlets and much more.

This is a fascinating glimpse into the huge range of records that the NLS have and gives a real glimpse into the lives of people who left these shores to create new lives.

There is a lot of very detailed information in these pages and it is well worth 'bookmarking' to return to again and again.  The website also links into the NLS Scots Abroad database which gives details of material relating to the lives of Scots and their experiences overseas.

Image: Idea go / FreeDigitalPhotos.net