Find your ancestors in Scotland Deeds Index 1769

Trace your Scottish ancestors through deeds registered at the Court of Session. The records will show the type of deed and date the deed was recorded, as well as the two parties named in the court record.

The records were transcribed from the minute books found at the National Records of Scotland. Using the details in the transcripts you can discover further information about your ancestor’s life. Most transcripts will include the following details:

• Name
• Residence
• Occupation
• Year
• Deed date
• Recording date
• Description
• Archive
• Indexing source
• Minute book reference
• Volume reference

Discover more about these records

The transcripts contain an index of the details found in the minute books from the Court of Session. The Court of Session is Scotland’s supreme civil court. The transcripts were created by Graham and Emma Maxwell from the original records retained by the National Records of Scotland. In 2011, the National Archives of Scotland and the General Register Office of Scotland merged to become the National Records of Scotland.

These particular records come from the Register of Deeds Second Series. When a deed was presented in court, the clerk would have created a copy of the deed and the person presenting the deed kept the original record. The clerk also made a separate note in a minute book. A deed is a legal agreement registered in court. Various types of deeds exist and this is reflected in the types of deeds found in Scotland deeds index 1769. Below is a sample of the types of deeds you can discover.

Types of deeds

• Assignation – A grantee, a party collecting a particular sum from a granter, submits his right to a third party by assignation.
• Discharge – A discharge is granted once evidence is shown to a granter that a debt or payment has been paid in full. Discharges were also given to release an individual from specific tasks or duties.
• Bond – An agreement between a grantee and a granter to pay a specific sum.
• Bond of credit – An agreement between two parties, a granter and grantee, to allow the grantee an amount of credit from the granter to be repaid at a designated date.
• Heritable bond – This bond pertains to land, property, or houses that pass to an heir or next of kin.
• Obligation – Obligations may concern contracts or settlements between two parties.
• Protest – One individual is seeking payment from another for goods or services.
• Tack – Similar to a modern lease, a tack is a contract between a tenant (tacksman) and a proprietor. The contract stipulates that the tacksman can take possession of the proprietor’s lands for a set period of time and for a set rate of rent.