Review: The Covenanters of Scotland 1638-1690, by David Dobson

I've just received a review copy of the latest book from David Dobson, entitled The Covenanters of Scotland 1638-1690. Davidis a a Research Fellow at The University of Edinburgh and Honorary Research Fellow at the St. Andrews Institute of Scottish Historical Research.

As with most of David's titles, the book acts as a finding aid, in this case to help researchers locate information about those who fought on the side of the Covenanters, the adherents to the Presbyterian cause who resisted the imposition of episcopacy in Scotland, which was heavily promoted by the Stuart kings after their relocation to London from Scotland. The Covenanters cause originated in 1638 with the signing of the National Covenant, and continued until the Stuarts were deposed at the 'Glorious Revolution' of 1689-1690. Their decades long history was bloody, involving the Bishops Wars and the Killing Time, with many Covenanters forced into exile in Ulster and Holland, whilst others were transported to the American colonies and the West Indies.

David starts his book with a very concise summary of the events concerning the Covenanters. This is followed by a two page reference guide noting the various repositories and works that he has consulted to extract the names of those adhering to the Covenant, and nine pages of illustrations, before reaching the main body of work - the alphetical list of all the Covenanters that he has been able to identify. 

Each entry is short and succinct, usually with one reference cited, although some have a few sources to identify them. The following is a typical example:

• MACKEN, WILLIAM, was captured at the Siege of Worcester in 1651, was transported via London aboard the John and Sarah bound for Boston in December 1651, landed there in February 1652, [SD.1.5-6] 
  

The SD reference here refers to a collection called the Suffolk Deeds, based in Massachussets (USA). In total, David has identified almost 2,500 Covenanters by name, with additonal information such as the verdict, date and vessel of banishment, place of exile, often additional particulars about the individual, and the source of the information recorded. At 264 pages, The Covenanters of Scotland 1638-1690 is a handy and concise guide to help with research into a tumultuous period within Scotland's history. 

The book is on sale at US $43 from https://genealogical.com/store/the-covenanters-of-scotland-1638-1690/. (I also see copies on sale at Amazon in the UK for £35.46, at https://www.amazon.co.uk/Covenanters-Scotland-1638-1690-David-Dobson/dp/0806359560/).

* For a review of David's previous publication, his two volume Scots-Irish Links, see http://scottishgenes.blogspot.com/2022/05/review-david-dobsons-scots-irish-links.html.

(With thanks to the Genealogical Publishing Company for the review copy)

Chris

Pre-order Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors at https://bit.ly/BelfastAncestors. Also available - Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records, Sharing Your Family History Online, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed), and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records - to purchase, please visit https://bit.ly/ChrisPatonPSbooks. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Scottish ViC to take place on January 22nd

The next Scottish Vic (Virtual Conference) takes place on January 22nd 2022

The conference includes:

Jimmy Smith giving a presentation on the Scottish Covenanters
Hugh Allison giving a presentation on the Jacobites
Ciaran Jones giving a presentation on the Scottish Witchcraft Database
Matthew J Smith giving a presentation on the British Slave Owners Database

For further details, and to register, visit the ViC website at https://www.genealogyvic.com/ViC-2022

Chris

My new book Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records is now available to buy at https://bit.ly/IrishLandRecords. Also available - Sharing Your Family History Online, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed), and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records - to purchase, please visit https://bit.ly/ChrisPatonPSbooks. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Covenanters and Multiverses - a visit to Sanquhar

Yesterday my wife and I decided to take a bit of time out to visit the Crawick Multiverse (www.crawickmultiverse.co.uk) near Sanquhar, Dumfriesshire (not to be confused with the DC Multiverse or the Marvel Multiverse!). It's basically a beardy weirdy art installation carved into the landscape of a former mining district, all somewhat Celtic with standing stones everywhere, a lot of fun to walk around, and certainly a strenuous workout! (My wife, called Claire, touched one of the standing stones, but fortunately was not transported back to Jacobite times!)

Upon completing our tour of the facility we then popped into the town of Sanquhar itself, in order that I could take a picture of the Covenanter memorial commemorating the Sanquhar Declaration of 1680. This was when Covenanter Richard Cameron, his brother and many followers basically declared war on Charles II for his decision to force through episcopacy in Scotland (going against his promises to Presbyterian Scotland not to do so in order to gain their support prior to his eventual Restoration in England), leading to The Killing Time and eventually the 'Glorous Revolution' which ousted the Stuarts once and for all. A second declaration was also made in 1685 by James Renwick, following the accession of James VII to the throne.

We also popped into the local museum which we discovered was open at the Old Tolbooth (www.dgculture.co.uk/venue/sanquhar-tolbooth-museum/), and were able to gain an insight into the history of the royal burgh. The museum is free to access, and well worth a half hour visit - the town has a fascinating history! Here are a few more pics

(PS: A thanks to Jimmy, who popped over to talk about the history of the memorial as I was photographing it!)

Chris

Just out, Sharing Your Family History Online is on sale at https://bit.ly/SharingFamHist. Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scottish2 is also out, as are Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Irish1 and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scotland1. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.