Winchburghmains

[nikitah]

Hi, I have a copy of the will of Robert Samuell, 1637, from SP, the only thing I have managed to to recognise are his name and his abode, Winchburghmains, Kirkliston, I have looked at a old map, 19th century, on  visionofbritain, I can find Winchburgh but no mains, right next to it is Niddry mains does anyone know if this is the same?, if so would you also know how far it is from Abercorn, thank you, Nikitah. 

[Little Nell]

I can't find it on any map at the moment, but I did find that part of the land of the farm of Winchburgh Mains was acquired for use as an additional burial ground for the parish of Kirliston in 1906.  The cemetery next to the canal would fit with the described location.  I think you will find that the farm has now been built on to create the settlement of Winchburgh.  Most maps in the 19th century show very little development there.

As the crow flies, Abercorn is about two and half miles north of Winchburgh.

Nell

[nikitah]

Thanks Nell for your quick reply, I was hoping it would be quite close to Abercorn as I have a baptism for a Robert Samuell 1626,  Father Robert,at Abercorn so this ties in, the writing on the baptism looks the same as that of the will, some day I will decipher it and who knows what I will find , Nikitah.

[GR2]

Is the what you have a testament testamentar or a testament dative? If it says testament testamentar, then it contains a will giving the wishes of the deceased. If it is a testament dative, there is no "will" as such, just the deceased's executors being confirmed and a list of assets and debts. Either way you may find useful genealogical information. If you are not used to reading writing of the period, many people have posted such documents in sections and got help with transcription.

[nikitah]

Many thanks, GR2, I'm not really sure, it just says Testament, as you say either way I might find something, I'm not sure if they are my relatives, Roberts baptism 1626 doesn't give a Mothers name, but they are in the right place and time, and a few later Samuell,s have  the "ll" by the early 1700,s they are just "l". I might take your advice and ask someone else to decipher it, I have been to a site linked to SP for a hours tuition that's how I was able to recognise Winchburghmains and Roberts name, i like a challenge,( don't all genealogists?,) regards, Nikitah   

[Forfarian]

http://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=16&lat=55.96548&lon=-3.44521&layers=B000000000 shows Queensburgh, and Mains, somewhere not a million miles from present-day Winchburgh. I think that the place marked as 'Mains' is where Niddry Mains is on later maps. So it is possible that Winchburghmains and Niddry Mains are one and the same, but I'd want some corroborating evidence.

[nikitah]

Many thanks Forfarian, just been reading up on the meaning of "mains", as I understand it, it means the main part of a farm, this is exactly what little Nell said, so turn back the clock and Winchburgh would be the farm the" mains" being the main building, then the farm and land would have belonged to the Laird at Niddry castle, am I right? . Nikitah.

[Forfarian]

Um. Not necessarily.

The Mains is/was the principal farm on any estate, and often, but not always, farmed by the proprietor, or at least by a grieve (farm manager) and staff directly employed by him rather than being let to a tenant. Corresponding to 'Home Farm' in England, roughly.

I am a little puzzled why the Mains of Niddry would have been called Winchburgh Mains. That's why I'd want some evidence to confirm it.

[nikitah]

Once again Forfarain, thank you, I'm learning fast , maybe I should take Niddry mains out altogether, then with the info from Little Nell, the farm was built on, hence no "mains" just the name of the farm, Winchburgh, thanks again, Nikitah.