Author Topic: Blair Atholl parish Session Minutes  (Read 19529 times)

Offline Throth

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Blair Atholl parish Session Minutes
« on: Monday 05 May 14 22:15 BST (UK) »
As a trial we have added the Session Minutes of Blair Atholl parish (March 1718 - February 1722) to the Borenich web-site.  They mention events, individuals, aliases and locations which supplement the information found in the OPR births for this period (marriages come much later).

Completing just four years of Session Minutes has been taxing. The original minutes are not easy to read, with many words abbreviated or with interesting spelling.  In addition it is not unusual for an issue under discussion to take several years before being resolved, and with several cases proceeding at the same time it forms a jumbled mess.

As a verbatim account would have been difficult to follow, the information has been paraphrased under the date of each Session meeting.  When a subsequent discussion has taken place on the same subject, it has been entered after the initial discussion, indented, with the Session date in parentheses.  In this way it is possible to follow each issue (e.g. mortification, retraction of marriage, illegitimate birth) without having to be continuously jumping backwards and forwards throughout the Session Minutes.

There is some interesting information contained in the Session Minutes.  For example, one of the earliest OPR baptisms shows that Donald McKenzie in Rinancoillach had an illegitimate child in 1718, but the Session Minutes also relate that his parents were David McKenzie and Elspeth McKenzie, and that he had a sister.

Anyway comments and suggestions would be appreciated. Here is the link:-

http://www.borenich.co.uk/Session_Minutes.html

Offline MonicaL

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Re: Blair Atholl parish Session Minutes
« Reply #1 on: Monday 05 May 14 22:24 BST (UK) »
Throth, just been having a look now. Goodness, what a major piece of work has been done there.

Not an area I have family in, but your site is a fantastic collection  :)

Monica
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Offline Ruskie

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Re: Blair Atholl parish Session Minutes
« Reply #2 on: Monday 05 May 14 23:00 BST (UK) »
Some very interesting reading there Troth (and I don't even have any Scottish ancestors let alone Blair Athol ones  ;)).

It's an education that's for sure.

Offline Anneatki

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Re: Blair Atholl parish Session Minutes
« Reply #3 on: Tuesday 06 May 14 00:13 BST (UK) »
Wow! I tried doing some transcribing for Scotland's Places, but gave up, so I think you've done an amazing job!
I wonder what the church would have done without the 'fornicators'? Does anyone know what £6 scots would have been worth in the1700's?
Cheers, Anne
Aberdeenshire & The Borders, Morison/Morrison, Mitchell, Robertson, Ritchie, Youngson,Tait, Law, Pringle, Trotter


Offline MonicaL

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Re: Blair Atholl parish Session Minutes
« Reply #4 on: Tuesday 06 May 14 08:20 BST (UK) »
Anne, not sure about Scot pound versus the pound value in general but, have a go at this currency converter from the National Archives www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/currency/default0.asp#mid

Monica
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Offline Throth

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Re: Blair Atholl parish Session Minutes
« Reply #5 on: Tuesday 06 May 14 09:13 BST (UK) »
One pound Stirling was equivalent to twelve pounds Scots at this time - which probably doesn't help much.  So, to put it in context, here is part of the charter for the 8 merk land of Wester Bohespic dated 28th September 1720.

.... for yearly payment of 8 stone of cheese and 8 quarts of (rancid) butter (or £26 Scots); a sufficient Mart cow (or £13 Scots); and two wedders (castrated male sheep) and two dozen poultry (or £8 Scots)

Of course you might note the hypocrisy of chasing after these poor sinners.  There is no mention of Charles Stewart the younger, of Ballechan, who had an illegitimate son (John) with Margaret Wallace in Shierglas, baptised by the same minister (20 October 1718).

By the way, don't bother looking for the entry in the IGI database, it's not there (just one of many), but it is in the Blair Atholl OPR (baptisms)

Offline Throth

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Re: Blair Atholl parish Session Minutes
« Reply #6 on: Wednesday 02 July 14 21:52 BST (UK) »
The Session Minutes have been extended to July 1722.  Little bits of general interest:

"Duncan Seaton, sometime in Balrobie, now in the New Plantations, abroad".  This is the earliest record that we have come across for this part of Scotland.

The parish had an official midwife in 1722 - Katherine McGlashan

Metal was purchased to make a case for the sand-glass.  This suggests that the Minister was using a 'Sermon Glass' to time his sermon.  Apparently this was not uncommon and the hour-glass did not limit the length of the sermon.  A Minister in full flow might say to his Congregation "Let us take another glass" (and he wasn't suggesting a wee dram of whisky) and turn the hour-glass over to start the sand pouring for a second time!

Isis (www.borenich.co.uk)

Offline Ruskie

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Re: Blair Atholl parish Session Minutes
« Reply #7 on: Thursday 03 July 14 02:36 BST (UK) »

Metal was purchased to make a case for the sand-glass.  This suggests that the Minister was using a 'Sermon Glass' to time his sermon.  Apparently this was not uncommon and the hour-glass did not limit the length of the sermon.  A Minister in full flow might say to his Congregation "Let us take another glass" (and he wasn't suggesting a wee dram of whisky) and turn the hour-glass over to start the sand pouring for a second time!



How fascinating!  :)

Thank you for posting.

Offline isk

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Re: Blair Atholl parish Session Minutes
« Reply #8 on: Thursday 03 July 14 06:15 BST (UK) »
Throth
Having done some indexing of Kirk Session Minutes for the National Archives of Scotland, I really appreciate the enormous task you have undertaken.  Hard work but absorbing and fascinating.  Thank you.  isk