Sweethillock David Grant 1870

[eversg]

the mother of the British Prime Minister, Ramsay MacDonald, Ann Ramsay lived at this Sweethillock in Alves in 1861 (through Ancestry)

And on the much more reliable FreeCEN http://www.freecen.org.uk/cgi/search.pl

Thanks. FreeCEN is particularly valuable for finding neighbours since one can view "Previous Household" and "Next Househould".

[COLINBALLINGALL]

My great grandmother was born there in 1868 and some of her siblings up to 1877

[trimheard]

Hi 

Ann Ramsay the Mother of the first Labour primeminister is registered on this farm in the 1861 cencus and his father John MacDonald also appears to be linked to this farm. which is located west of Elgin near Alves


Hope this helps


Raymond

[Gaye Jenkins]

Hi there
You are making an enquiry about a David Grant and one of your replies says that he was working as a servant for the family that I am researching which is William Mustard of Muirton Farm, Lossiemouth, Moray, Scotland.
Can you tell me if this is true??
Gaye Jenkins

[pharmaT]

From family stories in my family Alexander Grant (Forres) was frends with Ramsay Macdonald.  I wonder if there is any connection to your Grants.  Most of what I have is on my Alexander's Mum's side rather than his Dad's (Peter).

[eversg]

My great grandmother was born there in 1868 and some of her siblings up to 1877

Sorry, I just noticed your reply - haven’t checked rootschat for some time. What was your great grandmother’s maiden name? My great-grandfather, a David Grant, was employed  at Sweet Hillock/Sweethillock as a farm servant and other farms in the community, such as Balgreen, Muirton and Balormie.

[eversg]

From family stories in my family Alexander Grant (Forres) was frends with Ramsay Macdonald.  I wonder if there is any connection to your Grants.  Most of what I have is on my Alexander's Mum's side rather than his Dad's (Peter).

Sorry, I just noticed your reply - haven’t checked rootschat for some time. My Grandfather was a Richard Grant. He was born in 1870, five years after Ramsay MacDonald, in Lossiemouth and lived a couple of streets from him. Richard probably knew of Ramsay at a young age. Ramsay was very bright and quickly moved ahead. I believe he was teaching school at age 15! My Grants did not live in Forres, but there are family connections to it.

[eversg]

Hi there
You are making an enquiry about a David Grant and one of your replies says that he was working as a servant for the family that I am researching which is William Mustard of Muirton Farm, Lossiemouth, Moray, Scotland.
Can you tell me if this is true??
Gaye Jenkins

Hi Gaye,
Sorry, I just noticed your reply - haven't checked rootschat for some time.
William Mustard was a prosperous farmer at Sweethillock, Ogston - now under the RAF base in Lossiemouth. Muirton farm was located near Sweethillock. In 1875 he paid £105 10s in rent (1875 Valuation Roll - ScotlandsPeople). He was listed as an "Occupier". The proprietor of all of the farms in the area was a Sir William Gordon Gordon Cumming, Baronet. His Factor was J.(?) Robert Walker, Whiter. I'll have to check my records to find the Muirton reference.

Cheers,
Grant

[Forfarian]

In 1875 he paid £105 10s in rent (1875 Valuation Roll - ScotlandsPeople).

No, that's not what it means.

The so-called rentals on a valuation roll are an assessment on a rather arbitrary set of criteria. This so-called rental value is then used to calculate the amount of money payable in rates (i.e. local taxes) to the local council each year.

Whatever rent he actually paid could be quite different, and the only place you would be able to find that that would be in the records of the estate that owned the property. I do not know if the estate records of Sir William Gordon Gordon Cumming have survived or if so whether they are accessible.

You also need to be sure that you don't confuse Sweethillock in the parish of Drainie with Sweethillock in the parish of Alves. These are two entirely different farms.
One in the parish of Drainie https://www.geograph.org.uk/gridref/NJ1969
One in the parish of Alves https://www.geograph.org.uk/gridref/NJ1361

J Robert Walker would be a Writer, not Whiter. A Writer is another word for a lawyer or solicitor.