ABERDEEN-L Archives

Archiver > ABERDEEN > 2008-09 > 1222310184


From: Jan Lannan <>
Subject: Re: [ABERDEEN] address information
Date: Thu, 25 Sep 2008 12:06:24 +0930
References: <BAY131-W6986FB70DDD8E846805BFA8450@phx.gbl><48DA021E.6080502@which.net>
In-Reply-To: <48DA021E.6080502@which.net>


> Date: Wed, 24 Sep 2008 10:02:22 +0100> From: > To: > Subject: Re: [ABERDEEN] address information> > Jan Lannan wrote:> > > > > > >In 1831 Daniel ROBERTSON lived at College Street and Agnes SPOTTISWOOD lived at Gordon St in Aberdeen.> > > >My question is, given that it is prior to the start of census records, how can I confirm who else lived at these addresses. > >> > I very much doubt if there is any record of *all* the people who lived > at an address. It is possible that the City Archives have tax lists for > these addresses at that time, but if they do, it is unlikely that they > will record more than the Head of Houshold.> > >There appear to be "lots" of ROBERTSON's but few SPOTTISWOOD families in the Aberdeen area, in fact I have struggled to find any. I have looked at the 1841 census in the hope that might turn up family members perhaps still living there but without success. Are there other records available that might give me the information I require.> > > >Also when a woman is buried is it under her maiden name or her husbands' name or can it be either?> > > >> > What do you mean by "is buried"? Are you talking about Lair Records > (lists of who was put in which grave)? or Memorial Inscriptions (for the > minority of people who could afford a gravestone)? I suspect the answer > might differ in the two cases. Throughout the 19th century, MIs > consistently say something like "Erected in memory of John Smith and his > spouse Jean Brown", ie recording both maiden and married surname. The > same formula *might* be used in Lair Records, but I suspect that they > (like may other 19th century records I have seen) will more often use > just one surname - and whether it was the maiden of the married surname > is probably a matter of luck. An ancestor of mine figures in the Poor > Law records over a period of nearly 20 years, and is referred to > indifferently as "Elizabeth Whyte" or "Elizabeth Barclay" - or latterly > as "Widow Whyte" or Widow Barclay".> > > > >I am still trying to find out what a Police labourer is/does. Can anyone help?> > > >> > I think you indicated before that this came from a Census entry? > Assuming it has been correctly transcribed (have you seen the Census > microfilm or a digitised image ?) it may simply be a phrase that the > respondent came up with on the spur of the moment, when faced with the > problem of writing down what he did for a living, rather than a term in > common use. > > The "labourer" bit is fairly unambiguous, but we may have to be a bit > imaginative about "Police". It does occur to me that in the mid-19th > Century, one of the various bodies which made up the rather hodge-podge > system of local administration were the "Police Commissioners". They > certainly had responsibility for the maintenance of law and order, but > had various other responsibilities as well, such as provision of water, > sewerage, gas and roads. So I suspect he dug holes in the road for the > supply of utilities, rather than running around as a constable's dogsbody.> > > Gavin Bell> > -------------------------------> To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message




Gavin, thank-you for your reply.

I am sorry I did not mean “all” literally; I will have to watch how I word things in future. I probably should have said any. I am searching for a way to confirm that Spottiswoods’ were actually living in Aberdeen in the 1830’s. At this stage I don’t think they were.

“is buried”; I meant as in laid to rest. I have found reference to Agnes Robertson in the MI’s and was not sure what name was usually used for burial purposes, married or birth name.

I have no idea what “lair records” are. Where would I be able to access them?

Are “Tax Lists” available online or only by visiting record offices?

Police Labourer was the term used as occupation on his wife’s death certificate in 1875. On his marriage certificate he listed his occupation as shipbuilder’s labourer. I would not presume to think he was anything other than a “labourer”. The shipbuilder makes sense; the police labourer did not, hence the question. As I said previously he could have been the jail cleaner!

I am fairly new to this and the terminology confuses me somewhat. I find this site does not often explain things very well or am I just being a bit precious. I read as much as I can but much is new to me. I ask for some patience.

Regards,
Jan Lannan
On a beautiful sunny spring day in Vic AUST


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