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Old Photographs, Recognition, Handwriting Deciphering => Handwriting Deciphering & Recognition => Topic started by: andygmandrew on Saturday 10 February 18 01:36 GMT (UK)
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I have a fair knowledge of Secretary Hand and also of the terms one might encounter in a 16th century legal document. However I am stumped with this example which I am transcribing. It is from the Berwick upon Tweed Court Book and is part of a legal judgement dated 23 January 1573 regarding a dispute over a tenement in Berwick between John Brady and George Morton. I am having trouble reading the line which begins 'Anthony Bradie'.
I wonder if there is someone out there who could help me with the reading?
Here's hoping!
Andrew Morton
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It's an odd one. Here's what I have:
...compt and aniswere of either p(ar)tie, we do finde* that
Anthonye Bradie, of kynne a farr of [?] to the compt
died seased of the premisses, and by his last will gave...
The first letter of the missing word is a puzzle.
Were it not for the top-most slanting stroke it could be a v/u, making (with the to) unto? Is there anything similar elsewhere in the document?
The other question is the meaning.
Does of kynne a farr of mean that he has no kinfolk in the area, or something else?
Then unto the compt could mean according to the account.
* Do you have this as finde? Are there other ds which don't slant forward?
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That is a big help. I was reading it as ‘Anthony Bradie, of kymie a farr of [illegible] to the complainant’
I assumed that kymie was a place and ‘farr’ was a contraction of an occupation such as farmer or farrier.
As to the strange capital, I have searched the document and adjacent documents written in the same hand without success.
The word could be a contraction of ‘cousin’ which would make the reading as, ’of kin a far off cousin to the complainant’
This would make the most sense suggesting that Anthony was second or third cousin to John Brady.