Help reading VERY old town record! Town name?

[ekristensen]

Hi everyone!

I'm new here and was compelled to join after being completely unable to read this old document I have (well, part of it). I have asked simply everyone I know and no one can give me the answer, so I was hoping I might find someone here who was better used to old text than I am!

This is the text:

(Click for larger size)

The word I'm having a problem with is the town name. I can read:

James Downie farmer in (???) and Margaret Watt his spouse had a child baptized named John.

The rest of it is not a problem, but what is that town name? The child was baptized in Elgin, so I assume it must be somewhere near there. I've tried Googling different guesses of what I think is the town name in Google, but nothing comes up. And I can't find any towns/villages near Elgin on the map that looks like that word.

Can anyone kindly help me out? I apologise if this is in the wrong forum!

[nelmit]

Looks like Innerlochlie to me.

Regards,
Annette

[ekristensen]

Hi Annette,

Thanks for your quick reply!

Yes that's what it looked like to me too, but a Google search returned no results for that name.

Perhaps it's a name of a farm? Or the name of a town that no longer exists...?

[AndrewP]

Hi ekristensen,



Have a look at this map: http://www.nls.uk/maps/os/view/?sid=74490620

Click on Elgin, to the west of centre of the land part of the map. When you are close in on Elgin, move westwards following the railway line. Inverlochy is just south of the railway line a short distance west of Elgin.

It shows up on a modern map as Inverlochty. Current OS map showing Inverlochty

All the best,

AndrewP

[nelmit]

Hi Annette,

Thanks for your quick reply!

Yes that's what it looked like to me too, but a Google search returned no results for that name.

Perhaps it's a name of a farm? Or the name of a town that no longer exists...?

You can see what I think is it on this old map just west of Elgin.

[nelmit]

Andrew's map is much clearer but it's quite interesting comparing the two.

[ekristensen]

Oh my god, THANK YOU so much for your replies! You are amazing! Both an old AND a new map, what more could I ask for??

It looks like Inverlochty is the name of the actual farm, no?

Hopefully this can help me trace back a bit further some more names and dates. I had no idea for the birth/death year of the farmer mentioned in the text, so I'm sure I can come up with something more now!

Thank you!!

[Moray_Lass]

Hi ekristensen

If you are looking at Moray these are very handy sites

And *the* Moray database is, it might give you more details on the farm
http://libindx.moray.gov.uk/mainmenu.asp

Genuki isn't giving the place names for Elgin that it does for parishes like Bellie, but that will probably come.
http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/sct/MOR/

[AndrewP]

Hi ekristensen,

See also Google street view of Inverlochty

And Google satellite view of Inverlochty

All the best,

AndrewP

[Currie]

Hello Ekristensen,

It looks like your OPR birth is from 1749. The closest newspaper reference I can find for Inverlochty is in the The Aberdeen Journal, Monday, April 27, 1801.

FARMS TO LET—In the County of Moray.
Entry at Whitfunday 1802.
The eftate of INVERLOCHTY, the property of the Honble George Duff of Milton, lying in the parifh of Elgin. Thefe lands confift of about 244 acres of arable, and 126 pafture, &c. one half of the arable ground is a fine light foil, well adapted for green crops, and the other a rich loam, calculated for wheat, beans, &c.
The heritor has caufed George Brown Efq; Land Surveyor, divide the lands into lots, and put into each lot a fuitable proportion of the different qualities of the ground, fo as to render the fame as advantageous to the tenant as poffible; and on the largeft lot are a pretty good dwelling houfe and offices.
A plan of the eftate, with the contents of each lot, be with Patrick Duff, Town Clerk of Elgin, and any perfon wifhing information may apply to him; and the proprietor’s gardener will fhow the boundaries.
N.B. Offers will be received either by the Proprietor himself, Mr Brown, or Mr P. Duff, till the firft of June next, and fuch as are not accepted will be returned if defired.

It’s a bit hard to tell from looking at the satellite view which fields belong to Inverlochty, however according to my risky calculations, 370 acres = 150 hectares = approximately a square with sides of 1200 metres. Perhaps the boundaries have been changed, or maybe that would fit the picture if you ignore roads, railways, and other new fangled things. Note Miltonduff about a mile to the south.

Hope that’s interesting,
Alan