Description
This document is 50 lines. It is written on vellum in secretary hand. This instrument of sasine from 6 September 1699 records the legal proceedings of John Fisher (son), represented by Alexander Anderson, collecting his inheritance from his deceased father, John Fisher. The document details the locations, size, and types of land as well as what is on it, like buildings. It also states the rent for tenants and what is to be done with the mill in Torphichen. Summary in Latin at the end.
William Ker, Baron of Manuel-Foulis, recognizes and authorizes the transfer of lands between from the deceased John Fishar of Torphichen Mill to his adult son (also John Fishar). The property is in the Crownerlands near Almond (Haning) Castle, in Morningside (Muiravonside) parish in Stirling district (today's West Lothian . The sasine identifies the acreage and buildings on each plot of land as well as former owners, including Alexander Crawford and Fisher's father-in-law Robert Fisher. It also indicates how to pay rent in Scots money and in kind, including milled wheat. The document is a legal act signed by Ker. It is written by lawyer John Eiston and witnessed in Linlithgow by Eiston and Robert and William Bell, just like a modern-day legal document. There are 40 lines of text (recto).
Local Note
Donated by Patricia-Ann Lee, emerita professor of History, these legal documents, dating from the 16th-18th centuries and written on parchment and rag paper, record grants of property to individuals and groups in Great Britain.
Beginning in the fall of 2022, students from Jordana Dym’s “Archival Storytelling” class set out to transcribe this and other documents in the collection, learning Secretary Hand in the process, and have prepared updated cataloging information (now reflected in this record) in a process that is ongoing. Please visit Lost In Transcription, Found In Translation: Histories Of Inheritance In 17th Century Legal Documents for more information about their work.
