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Scotland Probate Records: Difference between revisions
→Determining Court Jurisdictions: Removed paragraph explaining a now non-existent part of ScotlandsPeople and explained how to currently look for commissary court records.
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Penguin1737 (talk | contribs) (→Determining Court Jurisdictions: Removed paragraph explaining a now non-existent part of ScotlandsPeople and explained how to currently look for commissary court records.) |
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After the reformation in 1560, fifteen (eventually 22) commissariats were established by royal authority. The principal commissariat court was in Edinburgh, and it had both local and general jurisdiction. The territorial extent of the commissariat courts paid little attention to county boundaries. This system stayed in force until the end of 1823. | After the reformation in 1560, fifteen (eventually 22) commissariats were established by royal authority. The principal commissariat court was in Edinburgh, and it had both local and general jurisdiction. The territorial extent of the commissariat courts paid little attention to county boundaries. This system stayed in force until the end of 1823. | ||
It is important to note that there was no requirement to have a testament confirmed in any particular comissariat. While many testiments were confirmed at the comissariat nearest to the residence of the deceased, plenty were confirmed at courts far from one's residence, often including Edinburgh. It may be useful to conduct a general search among all commissariots if a testiment does not appear in the most geographically logical location for your ancestor. Along with individual parish pages on the Research Wiki, the following books are useful for determining at which courts testiments from residents of a particular parish were confirmed: | |||
*''Testaments and commissariot courts of Scotland, 1972''. Salt Lake City, Utah: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1972. (FS Library call no. {{FSC|425488|title-id|disp=941 P2gs}}.) | *''Testaments and commissariot courts of Scotland, 1972''. Salt Lake City, Utah: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1972. (FS Library call no. {{FSC|425488|title-id|disp=941 P2gs}}.) | ||
*Cecil Sinclair. ''Tracing Your Scottish Ancestors: A Guide to Ancestry Research in the Scottish Record Office''. Edinburgh, Scotland: Her Magesty’s Stationery Office, 1990. (FS Library call no. {{FSC|941 D27s|disp=941 D27s}}). Identifies court(s) by county along with ending dates for Commissariot and beginning dates for Sheriffs Court, which often overlap. | *Cecil Sinclair. ''Tracing Your Scottish Ancestors: A Guide to Ancestry Research in the Scottish Record Office''. Edinburgh, Scotland: Her Magesty’s Stationery Office, 1990. (FS Library call no. {{FSC|941 D27s|disp=941 D27s}}). Identifies court(s) by county along with ending dates for Commissariot and beginning dates for Sheriffs Court, which often overlap. | ||
*Kathleen Cory. ''Tracing Your Scottish Ancestors, Third Edition''. Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Company, 2004. Appendix III provides a table listing all parishes, among other things identifying Commissariot(s) which included that parish, and date of first testament or inventory for the parish | *Kathleen Cory. ''Tracing Your Scottish Ancestors, Third Edition''. Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Company, 2004. Appendix III provides a table listing all parishes, among other things identifying Commissariot(s) which included that parish, and date of first testament or inventory for the parish. | ||
After 1823 (the system took a few years to fully evolve), testaments were confirmed by commissariat departments within the sheriff courts. The boundaries of these courts’ jurisdictions are the same as the county boundaries, but the names of the courts are not necessarily the same as the names of the counties. | After 1823 (the system took a few years to fully evolve), testaments were confirmed by commissariat departments within the sheriff courts. The boundaries of these courts’ jurisdictions are the same as the county boundaries, but the names of the courts are not necessarily the same as the names of the counties. | ||
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*Wigtownshire - Stranraer SC18 and Wigtown SC19 (closed 1975) | *Wigtownshire - Stranraer SC18 and Wigtown SC19 (closed 1975) | ||
In 1876 the commissariats were absorbed by the sheriff courts, which now handle executory matters. | In 1876 the commissariats were absorbed by the sheriff courts, which now handle executory matters. | ||
==Finding Testamentary Records== | ==Finding Testamentary Records== | ||