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My mum told us that when our grandparents sold their Glenfarg farm in the 1960s, they accepted an offer and took a 50% deposit. 

However, the buyer went bankrupt before paying the balance of the money, and when they went to sort it out they found that the solicitor who handled the sale had used the deeds as security for gambling debts, and when he realised he was in too deep he shot himself. 

My auntie seemingly tried to sort it out and had all the paperwork ready to go to court the very week that my grandad passed away, some 8 years later. 

Some family stories have turned out to be wide of the mark, whilst others have been spot on so I'd like to do a bit of research to find out how true this story was!  For example my mum couldn't remember the lawyers name which I find a bit suspicious and other members of the family know nothing about it! 

Obviously the Sasines could possibly be useful, but the records office charge £28 so a bit steep for what is really a bit of curioisty! 

The Scotsman's Archive only goes up to the 1950s. 

Does anyone have any ideas of where I could start my research, preferably online resources?

We found the attached photograph amongst my dad's things, dated 1941. 

Just wondering what kind of uniform it is? 

I know he was in the merchant navy in the mid 30s, and he worked on the railways at one point too. 

Can anyone shed any light on it?  The hat has a crown and some kind of logo on it, the sleeve has star shaped buttons. 

Any suggestions appreciated! 

I wonder if anyone can help, I've reached a bit of a brick wall 

I tracked down my grandad's birth certificate - ooh what a scandal!

Name: William McCulloch Sloss (Illegitimate)
Born: 15th February 1892 at Royal Maternity Hospital, Edinburgh
Mother: Jessie Sloss, Domestic Servant - Domicile Dalmellington
Father: Unknown
Birth registered by: mother

Then I looked at the 1901 Census and found:

Address: 5 Linkieburn House, Muirkirk, Ayr
William McCulloch - Head - Married - 58 - Colliery Manager - Worker - Monkland?
John McCulloch - Son - Single - 22 - Mining Engineer - Worker - Ayrshire, Kilmarnock
Jessie Sloss - Servant - Single - 31 - Ayrshire, Dalmellington

Whilst by 1911 I found my Grandad with his adopted parents:

Address: Bellevue Cottage, Bridge Street, Tranent
John Innes (Head) 53, Married, Dairyman, Employer. Birthplace Haddington, Tranent
Mary Innes (Wife) 47. Years Married: 26, Birthplace: Abercrombie, Fifeshire
William Innes (Adopted Son) 19, Single, Dairyman, Worker, Birthplace: Haddington, Tranent
Georgina White (Neice) 15, General Servant Domestic, Worker, Birthplace: Fife, St Andrews

Jessie Sloss died in 1904 of TB aged just 35. 

My mum remembers Sloss's and McCulloch's and indeed Sloss was used in middle names. 

Now piecing it together, I reckon that William McCulloch who had a son but no wife meaning she has either left him or more likely in those days died, has been having his jollies with the Servant girl, Jessie Sloss. 

To save scandal she's been packed off to Edinburgh to have the baby and have it adopted by what were perhaps family friend's the Innes's - hence naming the baby after her boss.  She then returned to her duties in Ayrshire. 

Does anyone have any suggestions on what I could investigate next? 

There is no birth certificate for a Jessie Sloss around the year she was born anywhere in Scotland.  My mum believed that the Sloss line came from Germany - any way to check a list of people who emigrated from Germany? 

I believe there are no adoption records before 1930?

I've got my grandad's line from the Innes's but curious about this Sloss / McCulloch connection! 

Anything else I could check? 

My mum had a stroke last week and although it wasn't fatal it got me to thinking about my dad.  He was a lot older than my mum and died in 1983 aged 74 whilst I was only 14 but aside from not knowing him as an adult he was always quite secretive and never really talked about his family. 

Having done some research on the Scotland's people website it turns out he had brothers and sisters living very near to us when we lived in Leith in the early 70s!  Indeed he had a shop in Iona Street and his brother appeared to be living in Dalmeny street yet we were never introduced to him!  My mum tells a bizarre story about him swapping identities! 

I'm now hoping to track down living half sisters / cousins etc to see if they are willing to fill in any of the blanks. 

Some of the certificates I would like to see aren't online and at £12 a time for an extract could soon mount up and times are hard!  Therefore I was wondering if anyone is going to the Scottishpeople reading room for their own enquiries if they'd be willing to do a couple of lookups for me and  either scan/email, post if possible or even just confirm a couple of details?  I would of course pay costs.  If so please PM me and I'll give you the reference numbers. 

Likewise with the NAS if anyone is going and would be willing to get copies of his first 2 divorces please PM me. 

If anyone has googled the name and knew him then please get in touch! 

His parents were from Aberdeen, according to the 1911 census they were living in Pilrig Cottages, Leith.  He then moved to Ballantyne Place and married his first wife Jean Thomson in 1931 and I believe had a son but haven't been able to track him down. 

He married his second wife Annie Louie Crosbie in 1936 and moved to 19 Fettes Row where he lived until the late 50s.  They had I believe 5 daughters, 2 of which died around the age of 1 (one seemed to be a cot death, the other through scalding). 

In 1958 he married my mum (still alive so I won't mention her name!)

They lived in various houses around Stockbridge (Scotland Street, Raeburn Place, Cumberland Street) and had various occupations.  They moved to Australia in the early 60s and came back a couple of years later.  They moved to Kinross for a few years and moved to 141 Constitution Street, Leith in 1972 where we stayed until 1976. 

He had a second hand shop in Iona Street.  It was unnamed as I remember but for the first couple of years he left up the old sign "Inglis Green Laundry".  My main memory of this shop was his window display of Stone Lions with googlie eyes and glasses!  My mum didn't see the funny side and found it very embarrasing! 

We then moved to Aberdeenshire for a year when he retired, then to Morningside in late 1977. 

He died in 1983, and his second wife died in 1992 (my half sister rang me up to see if he was still alive and wanted to attend the funeral - just wish I'd had the presence of mind to get her contact details but it came out of the blue!) 

If anyone has any memories of him please let me know!