Hello all,
I have recently purchased some baptisms from ScotlandsPeople for my Rae family and have noted slightly differing details for my ancestor, William Rae. He and his wife had seven children and on their baptisms he is described as being first a "walker", then a workman, and latterly a clothier and litster.
Can anyone advise me please as to whether or not all of these occupations came under one guild? One of the witnesses on a baptism is Gabriel Newton, who is described as the "Deacon of the Taylors" Another is George Rennelson who appears to be a Kirk Officer. I am wondering if Gabriel is connected to William in any way, and if William would have been part of a Taylor/Tailor's guild.
The obvious reason for requiring this information if possible is to see if I can locate any surviving guild or burgess/apprenticeship records but this family are my only interest in the Borders region, so I am unfamiliar with where to start, even after trying to find some answers on Google. On all of his children's baptisms, William Rae (or Rea as his name appears on his marriage in 1719) is living in Jedburgh so another question I am hoping can be answered please is if I will need to look at Jedburgh records or if it came under another burgh (like Haddington, etc).
I'd appreciate any help on this as I hope to visit relevant archives when I am in Scotland in just under a month's time.
Regards,
Matt:)