Sheriff Court of Banffshire

[ianash1963]

Hi there

I am tracing an ancestor,who was the father of an illegitimate child. The mother was Jane MCDOUGAL b 21 Aug 1844 in Peterhead, Aberdeenshire. The father was James GEDDES, who was a fisherman in Buckie, Banffshire.

I an trying to trace James Geddes but there are a swag of James Geddes in Buckie.

I was hoping that there may be an address of James Geddes that is shown in the records of the Sheriff Court. Jane McDougal the mother, went to the Sheriff Court in Banffshire, to have James Geddes named as father in the Birth Record. This is shown in the register of Corrected Entries in 1868.

I am hoping that someone can tell me if addresses of the fathers were shown in the Sheriff Court of Banffshire?

Thanks!

[GR2]

Have you checked the minutes of the kirk sessions of each parish to see if there is an entry there? They can sometimes provide a detail which helps identify a father. It may be that the parochial board records contain something. At that time, however, "fisherman in Buckie" was usually seen as an accurate enough description in documents.

[GrahamSimons]

Contacting the NAS who hold these records could be helpful:

http://www.nas.gov.uk/guides/sheriffCourt.asp

[ianash1963]

Thanks GR2 and Graham

The kirk sessions is something I did not know about. I have contacted NAS and it looks like I will have to ask someone to physically check the records (I'm in Australia).

Cheers
Ian A