Have you a Wicked Criminal in Your Family ?

Our next talk is on Sunday, 26th April when Margaret Fox will talk about "Crimes of an Heinous Nature - Looking at some High Court Trials" and it's being held at the Corn Exchange & Ormiston Institute in Market Square, Melrose. Map.

Margaret will be looking into the darker side of life across the Scottish Borders during the 18th and 19th centuries, examining not only crimes which have long passed into oblivion but also those which are still making the headlines today. Drawing on her extensive research in the High Court of Justiciary case papers in the National Records of Scotland, her talk will range from the political to the domestic, and from the violent to the less so, showing how these records serve to illustrate changes in society and illuminate the past in a unique way.
She will also dip into Lord Cockburn’s ‘Circuit Journeys’ which gives a truly fascinating insight into 19th century crime and criminals from the perspective of a judge who was not afraid to speak his mind !

Her previous talks about the Kirk and its records, and about Traquair House were well attended so come early to get a decent seat.

I warmly invite you to attend the talk whether you are a member or not. Doors open at 2pm; the talk begins at 2.30pm.
We'll have a range of family history publications available to buy, and there’ll be light refreshments (donation expected) available after the talk.
If you have a problem with your family history, please discuss it with one of our volunteers.

Coldingham Monumental Inscriptions

Not much left to do on our Coldingham publication - nearly ready for final proof reading and all going well, it should be ready before the end of February.

As well as over 1000 memorials, the people listed in the 1694 Hearth Tax and the 1801 Militia Lists have been included. We have permission from the National Records of Scotland to publish the Militia Families Vouchers which includes the names of the wives and children of the men serving in the Militia in 1809, 1812 and 1813. Will also include the names of the Ministers who served the Parish and the War Memorials and Rolls of Honour.

The publication will include a more detailed index - Surname, Other Surname, First names and Date of Death.

Will update the blog when published.

Scottish World War 1 Pension Application and Appeal Records

The National Records of Scotland holds pension application and appeal records covering the period from November 1919 to December 1932 relating to Scottish soldiers and their next of kin who suffered from injuries sustained in the war, or died after the war due to injuries.

Apparently, most World War 1 service records were burnt during World War 2 and it can be difficult tracing your ancestor's service during World War 1. If your ancestor suffered from a war wound, or died soon afterwards, then these records may be useful. Many of the applications were rejected, so even if your ancestor didn't receive a disability pension, it's still possible there's a record of him applying for one.

Typical information comprises the name of the soldier, and the applicant's name, relationship to soldier, address, age, occupation, employers, rank, unit, date discharged, reason for discharge, pre-war service, service history from 1914 to 1921, date of the pension hearing, disability, appeal outcome, and pension amount, soldier's medical history. More information.

(with thanks to Tunji Lees and Chris Paton).