Wills and Testaments - A Treasure Trove of Family History Information

Wills and testaments are an excellent way to find out more information about your ancestors. They can tell you about the types of belongings that people owned such as tools from their job, furniture, savings etc. Depending on the time period, it might also list property that is owned.

So in Scotland, what is a will and what is a testament?

A testament is basically a list of all the person's property and may also include a valuation of these items.

A will is the statement made before a person dies explaining how they wish their goods to be disposed of once they have died.

• If someone dies and has a will, it is know as a testament testamentar.  
• If there is no will then it is known as a testament dative.

Where do we find testaments in Scotland?

Testaments made from 1514-1925 have been digitally imaged and they are available to see online at Scotland's People.  They also give a good explanation and examples of testaments.  You can search for free i.e. you do not pay 1 credit to look at the summary of your search results in the way you do for some of their other records.  If you want to look at the detail of a specific record, then you will be charged to look at the record.   Records often have several pages of information but there is a standard charge to look at the whole document no matter how many pages.  If you visit a Scotland's People Centre then you will be able to look at these images too.

From 1926 up until records from 10 years ago, you need to visit the National Records of Scotland search rooms in Edinburgh.  Before visiting, it is worth checking their website for all the details that you will need to know to be able to perform a search.  It is also advisable to contact them prior to your visit to check the availability of records.

If you are looking for a testament that is less than 10 years old then you need to contact the Commissary Department, Edinburgh Sheriff Court, 27 Chambers Street, Edinburgh, EH1 1LB.

For more advice on wills and testaments contact us at kintree@ymail.com.

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Top Tips For Deciphering Old Handwriting

We are often ask why it it that we have so much success deciphering old handwriting.  Part of that is experience but there are also some good tips to help make this easier.

Check out the National Records of Scotland's website Scottish Handwriting which gives free tuition on Scottish handwriting.  Whether you want to do all the exercises or use it as a reference for the style of old letters, it is an invaluable aid.

During the 16th and 17th centuries in Scotland, most legal documents were written in Latin or Scots so it's important to become familiar with Latin genealogy terms and also to have a good Scots dictionary or visit the Dictionary of the Scots Language online.

If you are looking at a document online or scanned into your computer then it is normally possible to make a negative image of the original.  This can often decipher unclear handwriting.

Get used to the style of the writer. If you are looking at a long document then this is easy but if you are looking at a document such as a birth/marriage/death certificate then try looking for other records that you are interested in from the same location around the same time period.  You will often find a registrar is there for many years and so you have more examples of their handwriting for reading practice.

If you have trouble deciphering a word then write down what you think it is and then search for the word online.  This will often give you good results and also an explanation of any unfamiliar words.  It's also a great way of pinning down streets and place names accurately. 

If you are completely stuck with a word, it helps to try to break it down into individual letters.  If this still proves a problem, look in the document for that letter in other words where you have been able to read a word.

A fresh pair of eyes can help!  Not only if you are tired, though that can be a problem at times but by asking someone else to look.  Everyone has their own way of looking at things and sometimes they can decipher a puzzling word or phrase.

The vocabulary used is often different to the words we use now however if you read a document and find a word that is unfamiliar, it does not mean that you have made a mistake. Transcribe what you see and make an educated guess as to what it might mean in the context of the document. Once again, it is worth checking online for the meaning of words if you are unfamiliar with them.

Along with vocabulary, spelling, grammar, and abbreviations have all changed over the centuries - and more than once!  Sometimes there is no shortcut but to research these!

Find out how we can help you decipher puzzling words or documents by contacting us for a no obligation chat at kintree@ymail.com.

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Using Valuation Rolls To Unlock Your Family's Story

Many people are aware of valuation rolls but are not sure what they are or what information they hold that can be helpful for family historians. 

The Valuation Rolls were compiled every year from 1855 until 1987. Valuation rolls for the inter-census years 

1855-1856, 1865-1866, 1875-1876

1885-1886,1895-1896,  1905-1906, 

1916-1916, 1925-1926, 1935-1936

1945-1946, 1955-1956

have been indexed along with the years    

NRS, Edinburgh

1920-21, 1930-1931, 1940-1941, 1950-1951. 

At the moment, you can search the 

1885, 1895, 1905, 1915 and 1920 rolls 

on the Scotland's People website and all the indexed Rolls from 1855-1955 can be searched in the National Records for Scotland (NRS) Historical Search Room in Edinburgh. For more information, check on the NRS website.

So why might you want to use the valuation roles?

• They can help to track down ancestors.  This can be especially useful if an ancestor is known to be alive but has not been found on the census.
• It's useful for information on your ancestors for recent years where the census is yet to be released.
• It is also a way of finding out about the history of a house. It can be especially interesting if it is your house! 
• Finding out who were the owners of the property can reveal a lot about your family's history.  Did they own a property or were they tenants? 
• It can reveal if your ancestors were tenants of a house attached to a work place for example.  That can often explain why they might move locally if they go to work for a new employer. 
• If your ancestors owned a property or more than one property, it can give more of an idea of their financial position. 
• It's a way of finding out about the wider community in which your ancestor lived - shops, businesses, churches, schools, hospitals to name but a few.  The social history of the area can be great to build up a picture of your relatives.

For more information on valuation rolls, please contact us for a no obligation chat.

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