Issue No 7 NEWSLETTER FriendFriendss of Perth & Kinross Council Archive

Honorary Presidents: Mike O’Malley, Provost of Perth & Kinross Council and Sir William Macpherson of Cluny and Blairgowrie

We have great news this month – the Friends projects are up and running!! Thanks to the financial assistance of the Gannochy Trust, the friends have bought a desk, chair, colour printer and computer – with a flat screen – very swish! Several projects have been suggested, many of which are aimed at providing easi- er access by readers to the records in the Archive. To take into account the strengths and availability off our Friends Volunteer Group, three projects are now underway. As these and most future projects are electronic – hence the computer purchase – Michael Bolik, from Dundee University Archives was kind enough to give the Friends volunteers a tuto- rial about Access databases (which we are currently using). The long-term project is the creation of a database, which contains information in the Perth Burial Registers. After discussions with members of Tay Valley History Society and the Scottish co-ordinator of the National Burial Index project, the information con- tained in the Friends PBR database will be mappable to the NBI. So, we are not only be- ing of use to our local users, but we will be part of a national project – eventually, the da- tabase will be available on the Friends’ pages of the Archive website where remote searches will be possible. Other Friends volunteers will be starting quite soon, but Sheila Hay and especially Marjory and John Howat have been making serious inroads with the PBR’s. After only a few weeks, we now have over 250 completed records, which chronicle the name, address, birthplace, age and cause of death of persons as well as information about their funeral. Completion of the first stage of the project, hopefully by next summer, will mean that vis- itors will be able to use a simple search function to locate persons buried in Perth between 1844 and 1855. John is also fast becoming our computer and Access expert as he’s also been reading up and experimenting with ‘dummy’ databases! In parallel with the PBR project, Alex Porter has been working on creating a Name Authority File. Because names often are misheard or misspelt by officials, there is a need to clarify variations. So Alex has been painstakingly working his way through the existing index of names to produce a basic list of names with their variations. This means that a search of the database for one name, will also produce alternatives to consider. A second, short-term project arose after the Land Registry in Edinburgh gave us their unwanted OS maps. Consequently, Gavin Lindsay and Jim Ferguson have been spending the summer sorting through them, so that the Archive and the library’s Local Studies section can fill gaps in their collections. Any spares will be distributed to other libraries and societies. Thanks to the Gavin and Jim’s very hard work, this project is al- most complete.

Perth & Kinross Council Archive, AK Bell Library, York Place, Perth PH2 8EP, Tel: 01738 444949, Email: [email protected]

Finally, Alan Grant is about to start work on creating an electronic genealogy source list. This will summarise all records from all the Archive’s manuscript collections which have a genealogical aspect, thus helping family historians more easily find useful records. Alan is working on this at home, which is especially appreciated. His source list will be hopefully be the first of several; other source lists can be created, based on a vol- unteer’s particular interest, such as women, employment etc. So, those Friends who would like to work on a project, but can’t get in to the Archive during the day and have access to a pc at home – call me! Finally, don’t forget our next meeting will be a visit to Kinross House. If you would like to attend, complete and send us the form on the back of the newsletter. Jan Merchant STOP PRESS - STOP PRESS …. More heartening news has arrived in the shape of the very generous contribution of £400 from the JK Cairncross Charitable Trust through Thorntons WS, Solicitors. Although intended to help with the purchase of the pc, the Cairncross Trust have kindly intimated that money can be used for other costs involved in

Boundaries of Research George Alan Kinnaird

© National Library of Scotland

John Adair, The Mapp of Straithern, Stormount, and Cars of Gourie, with the Rivers Tay and Jern , c. 1720

Having delved into the both the Archives and the Local Studies Library (which are both on the same floor of the A.K. Bell library) over a period, I would like to share with you some local lore from the Carse of Gowrie, which may help you with your research. It concerns boundaries, mental and physical. How does each one of us perceive the land to have once been? At first glance, this is something that appears straight forward. Obviously the main natural features were there; the hills, valleys, dens, and burns, around which the villages of what we now consider to be the Carse grew. But to understand them properly you have to discover their roots, both geographical and historical. The lat- ter, if you go back far enough, are lost in the mists of time. The Carse was a low lying

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area of bog, in which only the ‘Inches’ were capable of being populated. Its difficult to imagine this today when we look at the Carse, as both the Braes and the Carse merge seamlessly under an agricultural landscape; but even that is still changing with new resi- dential developments, and roads. The roads we see today are yet another boundary to our understanding. We take them for granted as we drive along them, but many of them didn’t exist 200 years ago, such as the road from Kinnaird to Abernyte. The A90, which has just been upgraded, is a very mod- ern addition to the landscape, although at the eastern end it does start to follow the Old Carse Road, not that you would know it. The latter ran from Perth to Dundee on the Braes above what was once wet Carse. Local tradition still has it that the road from Scone came over the Sidlaw Hills to places such as Kinnaird and Rait. These routes can be found, together with many more, on James Stobie’s Map of Perthshire and Clackman- nan, published in 1783 and a copy of which is in the Local Studies Library. An earlier interpretation, showing only key roads and buildings in relation to the natural features, can be found on Timothy Pont’s map circa 1586. The National Library in Edinburgh has now digitised all of Pont’s maps, and has put them on a web site - www.nls.uk/pont/ index.html - to enable them to be more widely appreciated. Although Pont’s maps are not quite to scale they are of considerable use to historians, as they contain miniature repre- sentations of country houses, churches, and bridges. Both Stobie and Pont identify mills by showing a mill wheel. These maps help enormously to penetrate the past. Sadly, maps of the Carse itself are rare, as mapping tended to concentrate on the infrastructure between places, or from the late 1700’s on the layout of estates. Archives often hold estate plans among their deposited collections, and Perth & Kinross Archive is no exception. The estate collections of Fingask, Easter Greenside, Bonhard and Cronan are but a few. Estate plans give an enhanced view of the lie of the land and its usages in an age before photography. This leads us on to briefly discuss the boundaries of the Carse estates, which are not necessarily the same as those of the various parishes. To understand these estates, one has to go back to Norman times and discover their baronial roots. Melville, in his book The Carse of Gowrie, gives a considerable insight, but it is just a beginning. He didn’t have access to the Archives that we have, and nor did he have the time or resources to pursue each barony in the detail that we would want today. The ultimate barrier, the boundaries of your knowledge, is determined by how far you wish to pursue something and the questions that you ask on the way. For example, I recently discovered that there are two Fingask’s. I always knew that the one I wanted was the one adjacent to Kinnaird in Rait parish; but I didn’t know that the barony had been owned by the Bruce family, having erroneously discovered the Dundas’s of Fingask first. Their Fingask is in Rhynd parish, between the Tay and the Earn. With this newly acquired knowledge, I can now extend the boundaries of my research and ask new ques- tions of the vast collection of information in the Archives.

For the genealogists amongst you…..courtesy of Jim Westcott, Joan Mackintosh and Donald Abbott (and the management refuses all responsibility)  Genealogists never die, they just lose their census  My family coat of arms ties at the back…is that normal?  My family tree is a few branches short! All help appreciated  Shake your family tree and watch the nuts fall!

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Perth and Kinross Fabian Society: Saving an Archive Jim Ferguson

Perth and Kinross Fabian Society was formed in the spring of 1967 and a group of the members decided to research the private ownership of land in Perthshire. The team con- sisted of John McEwan and his wife, Margaret, Alistair Steven, and myself. We did not realise the excessive secrecy that existed at that time, and our initial approaches to obtain any information on the amount of land privately owned almost resulted in the project being abandoned. Fortunately I had a friend in the Surveyors department and through that contact was able to establish some rough and ready figures. At this point I thought it would make sense to approach the Scottish Landowners’ Associa- tion to explain our project, and to ask for their assistance. The response was a deep sustained hostility which I, in my igno- rance, could hardly believe. I was told in no uncertain terms that the information I was seek- ing was confidential and would never be divulged. After four years of hard graft, we were able to produce a pamphlet written in the main by Alistair Steven, with some help from Margaret McEwen, which described the local estates and their owners. Strangely enough, just at exactly the same time as we were making our enquiries, Dr Roger Millman of Aberdeen University was heading up a re- search team on land use, and was about to lodge his maps in Register House in Edin- burgh. The publication of the pamphlet concluded the Fabian project but John McEwan went on to research the whole of Scotland. To help, he bought 150 one inch OS maps which cost £94, a lot of money in those days. Enquiries were pouring in thick and fast, and all manner of political and academic groups were taking an interest in our work. In 1975 Red Paper for Scotland, a collection of twenty-eight essays debating devo- lution, finance, oil, poverty, workers’ control, and land ownership, was published by Ed- inburgh University Press. At the press conference launching the book, Gordon Brown (yes-that Gordon Brown) stated, “neither devolution nor independence would solve Scot- land’s problems - a redistribution of wealth had to take place”. Has this sentiment changed over the years? John McEwan went on to publish Who Owns Scotland?, which examined the coun- ties in Scotland, concentrating mainly on the larger estates. Before his death in 1992 aged 104 years, John’s house at Rosemount, Blairgowrie was cleared and all his belongings, including 40 boxes of his research papers and maps, were distributed among members of

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his family. I knew his son-in-law, Bob Hughes MP, who lived in Aberdeen, and as I was worried about the whereabouts of the reports and maps, I contacted him to ask if John’s work could be preserved and safeguarded for posterity. Finally it was established that the boxes were lying in a garage in Oxford, and I was told that if I wanted them I could pay for them to be transported back to Perth - and this I did. John’s work is now safely lodged in the Archive at AK Bell Library, after profes- sional evaluation by Steve Connelly and his staff, who have catalogued the collection [MS 164] for future ease of research. It is now nearly forty years since we first enquired as to who owned the land in Perthshire, and many individuals and groups, including the Scottish Parliament are now involved in ‘the land question’. Who says research into local issues is boring?

Summer Outing to Newton Castle

Approximately twenty Friends had a very enjoyable and informative afternoon at Newton Castle, Blairgowrie, thanks to the generosity and kind hospitality of Sir William and Lady Macpherson. After a rainy morning, the weather cleared beautifully for us to enjoy the gardens of Newton Castle, where Sir William described the work that had been done, in- cluding the planting of an old field with roses and a wide variety of trees, including false acacia. He also pointed out the 150yr old rose bush that was growing against the house, the giant Douglas fir that was still growing, the oak that had been planted to commemo- rate the coronation of King George V and the hickory tree that had grown from a nut brought back from Michigan. The Macpherson family papers are housed in converted farm buildings by the main house, where Sir William gave us a brief history of the family and house. Originally part of a fortified farmsteading called Newtoun, the Drummond and Graham families lived in the house before it was purchased by Col. Allan Macpherson around 1789. Since then, generations of Macphersons have lived there, and their letters, diaries, household invento- ries, accounts and ephemera have survived and been carefully housed and collated by Sir William. On display was a letter from Col. Allan to his wife, describing his new purchase, Newton Castle, as well as his love letters to her. There were estate maps showing the changes and developments over the centuries and letters between members of the family which span 1789 to 2000 and which provide information about the minutae of life, as well as recording more momentous happenings.

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The Macphersons have always been great travellers, a tradition that continues to this day, and the evidence of the family’s adventures abroad also survives. Documents relating to Col. Allan’s time with the East India Company have been microfilmed by the Oxford School of Oriental Studies, while the originals remain within the Archive. One interesting specimen from this sub-series is a letter from Warren Hastings. Other letters that have survived are from Col. Allan’s sons, sent from Australia and Demerara. A fasci- nating insight to all this travel are the luggage lists. On his return from India, Col. Allan needed dozens of shirts and other linen while his son required 174 new ‘frocks’ for the seven and a half month journey. The Col. also returned with large quantities of arak and mediera. Sir William explained that travel could be a very expensive business and that every penny had to be accounted for. So the Archive contains surviving cash books, including one for a journey to London in 1799 which notes the cost of horses and tolls as well as meals, clothes etc., and which totals the very extensive sum of £5,000! While some of the group were shown round the house by Lady Macpherson, the rest were able to browse part of the Archive, which was on display, and question Sir Wil- liam. Among the treasures already mentioned, there were photographs dating from the 19th century, which showed how the house and family and changed over the years. For those with an interest in genealogy, we were shown a huge scroll, which traced the family back to 1703, and the family bible, dating from the 1790s. Military historians headed for the ledger and papers created by the Perthshire Brigade of Volunteer Infantry while the social historians among us browsed the boxes of 18th century family letters which discuss everything, especially illness, money and travelling. The son of Col. Allan had laid out Blairgowrie, and on display were two volumes of cartularies dealing with the Blairgowrie estate. Sir William also told us how streets in the burgh were named after members of the family; on realising that Sir William’s wife was not included in this honour, the Council rectified the omission and Sheila Street was named. Lady Macpherson was kind enough to open her home to the Friends, and she gave us a tour of the house. When we had first arrived, Sir William had explained how Newton Castle was built on a version of the Z plan, and described the various architectural fea- tures and re-modelling that had occurred, including moving the front entrance. The year before had been spent re-harling the whole exterior, a massive task which had revealed how the castle had been originally constructed with rubble and lime rendering, finished off with an ochre harling. Inside the house, not only were we shown the main public rooms, but also the curi- ous circular above ground ‘cellar’, which thick walls had provided a safe haven for the family when the house was burnt by Montrose. We also clambered up and down the stairs of the circular tower and into attic bedrooms tucked away around corners. Family portraits were on display, including those of Col. Allan and his wife, Eliza, while Lady Macpherson pointed out the special pieces of furniture, such as the cupboards that were for chamber pots and the circular sideboard which has drawers lined with lead to keep wine refrigerated. Despite venerable artworks, furniture and antiquities within this an- cient house, what was clearly evident was that it was first and foremost, a family home. The archive has survived thanks to its care by successive generations, particularly Sir William, and provides a substantial body of evidence towards the understanding of the domestic, professional and political pursuits of the Scottish landed gentry over the past four hundred years. The Friends were particularly fortunate in that not only were we al- lowed access to the collection, but that we were invited into the family home. Without doubt, the summer outing to Newton Castle was an outstanding success.

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Articles SNIPPETS

Amaze us with your discoveries Astound us with your knowledge Astonish us with your findings

YOURYOUR NEWSLETTERNEWSLETTER NEEDSNEEDS YOU!YOU!

Contact: Jan Merchant, Perth & Kinross Council Archive, AK Bell Library, 2-8 York Place, Perth PH2 8EP. Tel: 01738 477012 email: [email protected]

And finally...MORE genealogy jokes…..

 My hobby is genealogy, I raise dust bunnies as pets  How can one ancestor cause so much TROUBLE??  I looked into my family tree and found out I was a sap  All the really important information is on that missing page  Genealogy: chasing your own tale!  Documentation: the hard part  All right! Everybody out of the gene pool!  I’m not sick, I’ve just got fading genes  Genealogists live in the past lane  I should have asked them BEFORE they died  I think my ancestors had several ‘bad heir’ days  I’m always late because my ancestors arrived on the Juneflower  My ancestors must be in a witness protection programme  I’m not stuck, I’m ancestrally challenged  After 30 days, unclaimed ancestors will be adopted  Gene-Allergy. It’s a contagious disease but I love it  Can a first cousin once removed…be returned?  Shh! Be very, very quiet…I’m hunting forebears

RESEARCH HELP REQUIRED An Australian member of the Friends would like some help in finding out what happened to two children [ROSE] who, according to the 1851 census, were in the care of a family [McPHERSON] in Fowlis Wester . If anyone is willing to do some research for her, please contact Jan at the Archive to get the details.

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WEDNESDAY 9 OCTOBER 2002 7.30pm

Sir David Montgomery has kindly invited the Friends to visit Kinross House where he will give a talk on the house and family’s long history. Designed and built by Sir William Bruce, Architect Royal to King Charles II, Kinross House has been described as having ‘the rare and serene beauty of a true masterpiece’.

Kinross House is located at the east side of Kinross on the shore of Loch Leven. Contact Steve Connelly, the Archivist, for more detailed directions

Return before 30 September to: Friends of Perth & Kinross Council Archive, A K Bell Library, 2-8 York Place, Perth PH2 8EP I wish to attend the Friends visit to Kinross House, Wednesday 9 October at 7.30pm

I can offer transport from…………….. .. I need transport from……………….

Name

Address

Tel No

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