TheGenealogist adds Scottish deeds and sasine indexes

From TheGenealogist (www.thegenealogist.co.uk):

TheGenealogist expands its Landowner Records Collection with the release of Essential Historical Records

TheGenealogist is excited to announce the release of nearly 300,000 historic landowner records. The new additions consist of Feet of Fines, Index of Sasines, and the Scotland Record Office Index to Register of Deeds, offering a wealth of information for those delving into their ancestry.

Feet of Fines: These documents provide insights into land transactions, usually involving the transfer of property rights, and were commonly used in English legal proceedings from the 13th century onwards. The Feet of Fines contains detailed information about the parties involved in the transactions, property descriptions, and the dates of agreements, serving as a vital resource for researchers tracing their family land ownership or exploring the economic history of a region.

Index of Sasines: The release of the Index of Sasines marks a significant addition to TheGenealogist's Scottish records. Sasines are legal documents that confirm the possession of land and property, reflecting the transfer of ownership in Scotland from the 16th century onwards. This index allows users to quickly locate and access critical details surrounding property ownership, making it an essential tool for genealogists looking to understand their ancestral ties to land in Scotland.

Scotland Record Office Index to Register of Deeds: This comprehensive index opens the door to a vast array of legal documents relating to property and inheritance in Scotland. By providing easy access to this substantial resource, TheGenealogist allows users to uncover their family histories and gain a deeper understanding of the social and legal contexts in which their ancestors lived.

These new records are now available on TheGenealogist, providing an unparalleled opportunity for researchers to deepen their exploration of family histories and connect with their pasts.

In this release are: Berwick, Index to Register of Sasines Volume I. A-H 1617-1780; London and Middlesex, A Calendar to the Feet of Fines 1179 - 1485; Yorkshire Feet of Fines 1327-1614; Huntingdon Calendar of the Feet of Fines 1194-1603; Scotland, Index to Particular Register of Sasines for Sheriffdom of Dumfries and Stewaertries of Kirkcudbright and Annandale 1617 - 1732;

Scotland Record Office, Index to Register of Deeds, 1661 - 1679

Read the feature article ‘The Scottish Rebel Who Defied the Crown: Andrew Fletcher's Fight for Independence’ at TheGenealogist here: https://www.thegenealogist.co.uk/featuredarticles/2024/the-scottish-rebel-who-defied-the-crown-7584/  

(With thanks to Paul Bayley)

Chris

Order Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors in the UK 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. For purchase in tthe USA visit https://www.penandswordbooks.com. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, on Threads at @scottishgenesblog and via Mastodon at https://mastodon.scot/@ScottishGENES.

Registry of Deeds Indexing Project Ireland update

From the Registry of Deeds Index Project Ireland (https://irishdeedsindex.net) is fast approaching the half million entries mark:

Update of 26 September 2021 - 445,105 index records from 46,707 memorials of deeds.

Thanks to the continuing wonderful work of our volunteers we now have 445,105 index records from 46,707 memorials of deeds.

We continue to link more index entries to the associated images on FamilySearch and we now have almost two thirds linked. Moreover, all index entries for memorials in books 85 and below are linked. This means it is very quick to access the transcription book check the indexing and get more details form the memorail.

Of course all these index entries together with transcription of grantors and townland indexes are fully searchable for free at: https://irishdeedsindex.net/search/search.php

 

The Registry of Deeds, as well as the Land Registry and Land Commission records, are just some of those discussed in my newly released book, Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records. A very useful record set indeed!

 

(With thanks to the project via its Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/RegistryofDeedsIndexProjectIreland)

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.

Old Scottish updates Registers of Deeds indexes

Old Scottish Genealogy and Family History (www.oldscottish.com) has announced an update to its Register of Deeds records:

We've just updated our index to Registers of Deeds - now over 25,000 entries from over 170 registers.

The records are drawn from the following Sheriff and Commissary Courts:

• Cromarty Sheriff Court (1806-1931, NRS references SC24/15/1-2)
• Cupar Sheriff Court (1809-1900, NRS references SC20/34/1-54)
• Dingwall Sheriff Court (1794-1889, NRS references SC25/59/1-4)
• Dunblane Sheriff Court (1809-1902, NRS references SC44/59/5-10)
• Dunoon Sheriff Court (1809-1888, NRS references SC51/50/3-8)
• Haddington Sheriff Court (1809-1895, NRS references SC40/58/1-16)
• Linlithgow Sheriff Court (1809-1899, NRS references SC41/68/22-28)
• Moray Commissary Court (1785-1823, NRS references CC16/9/7-12)
• Paisley Sheriff Court (1809-1899, NRS references SC58/59/1-30)
• Stirling Sheriff Court (1809-1901, NRS references SC67/49/1-42)
• Tain Sheriff Court (1812-1884, NRS reference SC34/19/2/1)

You can access the indexes at https://www.oldscottish.com/register-deeds.html 

(With thanks to Fergus Smith @oldscotbooks)

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.

Old Scottish adds Registers of Deeds indexes for Sheriff and Commissary Courts

Old Scottish Family History and Genealogy (www.oldscottish.com) has added a welcome new collection of indexes for some of the most interesting records held at the National Records of Scotland, records from various Registers of Deeds as compiled by selected Scottish based Sheriff Courts and Commissary Courts. The recorded deeds are essentially copies of legal agreements, obligations or other arangements registered with a competent court, as transcribed from original documents called warrants.

Indexes are currently available for the following courts:

• Cromarty Sheriff Court (1806-1931, NRS references SC24/15/1-2)
• Cupar Sheriff Court (1809-1900, NRS references SC20/34/1-54)
• Dingwall Sheriff Court (1794-1889, NRS references SC25/59/1-4)
• Dunblane Sheriff Court (1809-1902, NRS references SC44/59/5-10)
• Dunoon Sheriff Court (1809-1888, NRS references SC51/50/3-8)
• Haddington Sheriff Court (1809-1895, NRS references SC40/58/1-16)
• Linlithgow Sheriff Court (1809-1899, NRS references SC41/68/22-28)
• Moray Commissary Court (1785-1823, NRS references CC16/9/7-12)
• Paisley Sheriff Court (1809-1899, NRS references SC58/59/1-30)
• Tain Sheriff Court (1812-1884, NRS reference SC34/19/2/1)

The indexes identify the names of the parties involved, their designation (occupation, residence), the type of deed involved, the date registered, and the court from which the record is sourced. The information returned can allow you to locate the original record yourself when the NRS opens, or you can order a copy directly from Old Scottish. In most cases records can be ordered straight away (although there may be a slight delay in the order being processed, as it is not an automatic service), whilst some records are available only as a pre-order, with the image itself not retrievable by Old Scottish from the NRS until it re-opens. The fee to order from Old Scottish is £10 per deed.

A handy guide to the types of deeds included, as well as the indexes themselves, is available at www.oldscottish.com/register-deeds.html. Fergus Smith from Old Scottish has also advised that there will be another tranche uploaded later this month, so if what you are looking for is not yet available, try again soon.

Note that other courts also carried registers of deeds, from burgh courts to the Court of Session's Books of Council and Session held at the NRS. A guide to further deeds held at the NRS is available at www.nrscotland.gov.uk/research/guides/deeds.

(With thanks to Fergis Smith via @oldscotbooks)

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.