10/19/2023
5 Reasons to use Deeds to trace your family history
One - They fill in the gaps of Church Records
Although the earliest church records on ScotlandsPeople date back to 1553 we all know most parishes don’t have records going back that far. Sadly many records of births, marriages and deaths have been lost through the ravages of time. Deeds can help us fill in the gaps, often providing family relationships and even giving dates of marriage and death.
Two - They supplement the wills and testaments available through ScotlandsPeople.
Until 1868 ‘heritable property’ could not be bequeathed in a Scottish testament. Heritable property is land, buildings and mineral rights. This would automatically pass to the eldest son. This means two things, firstly the eldest son may not be mentioned in a Scottish testament. As he inherited the land the ‘moveable property’ could be divided between the rest of the family; no need to mention the eldest son. Secondly, to get around the whole thing people could create a ‘Trust Disposition & Settlement’; which enabled the transfer of ‘heritable property’ to someone other than the eldest son. Where are these vital ‘Trust Dispositions & Settlements’? They are amongst the deeds.
Three - They contain marriage contracts
A prenup is nothing new. People entering marriage have been protecting their assets for centuries. For example, in the Peebles Peebles Commissary Court Deeds we find a contract of marriage dated 1717 with the following description:
“Thomas Rutherfurd, eldest lawful son of William Rutherfurd deacon of the wrights in Jedburgh and Cicily Rutherfurd only lawful daughter of the deceased John Rutherfurd, Townhead, late provost of Jedburgh and his wife Elizabeth Douglas.”
These are vital clues to our Scottish family history.
Four - They give a designation
In the text of the deed itself, a full designation is almost always given for each party and this can often include the name of a person’s father, their former residence or the name of some other relation. Witnesses are recorded, and these may be relatives, with their relationships being frequently mentioned. Even a document that may seem like a dull business matter can provide vital clues by listing our ancestors ‘designation’.
Five - They can straighten out a timeline
Before 1855 it can be a challenge to find every birth, marriage and death date. Because of this it can be difficult to know who is the eldest child and who is the youngest. It’s easy to mix up the cousins too. In this example from 1653 notice how the timeline is straightened out:
“Alexander Agnew Merchant burges of Edinbrugh ane of the tutoris of George Scheill yongast law[fu]ll sone to umquhile Thomas Sheill indwallar in Edinbrugh in favour of James Browne wreitter and James Wauch merchand burges of Edinburgh in name and behalfe of the said George Scheill”
This deed is dated 27 June 1644; at that time we know George Scheill was the youngest son of Thomas Sheill. We also see ‘umquhile Thomas Sheill’; this tells us that Thomas was deceased. The deed also mentions Alexander Scheill, brother of George Scheill. This gives us names but it also confirms that Alexander was still alive when the deed was created.
All in all, deeds are vital to straightening out our timeline.
How can you access these? We have indexed some already but the Learning Zone on our website gives a breakdown of how to access more of these vital records. Link in the comments.
