RCE BIRTH

[ksmith]

Hello,

Can anyone point me in the right direction/advise with this: If the sherriff court in Aberdeen has ruled on paternity of a child (1869) - will be there be further paperwork to go after. Would it have been like a trial, with witnesses etc????

Thanks.

[marilyn morning]

Hi ks

I see no one was able to answer your question so far, maybe someone will be along soon whom may have an answer. But meanwhile, did you have a look at our FAQ forum?

http://talkingscot.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=39

Regards
Marilyn

[LesleyB]

hi Ksmith

If the sherriff court in Aberdeen has ruled on paternity of a child (1869) - will be there be further paperwork to go after. Would it have been like a trial, with witnesses etc????

I don't know the answer to this one, but I do have some experience of trying to follow up court action as a result of finding an RCE on a birth - this was in the Edinburgh area though, in 1902, so the situation may be very different to Aberdeen. It transpired in this case that the actual court records had not been kept, so it was not possible to find more information.

Best wishes
Lesley

[AnneM]

There should have been court records at some point but they may not have survived. Depending on the extent to which paternity was disputed there may have been a hearing with witnesses but their evidence may not have been recorded as there is not always a shorthand writer at a civil case nowadays and probably not then. The sheriff will just have taken a note of the evidence himself.

Anne

[ksmith]

Thanks for the replies - think this one is going to continue going round in circles for me!!!

[DavidWW]

In terms of the survival rate of such Sheriff Court papers, I'd change AnneM's "may" to "almost certainly not".

At some point in the 20th century the greater number of Sheriff Court records were "weeded", i.e. thrown out !, for reasons of space.

Somewhere on the NAS site I'm sure that it's been noted that some records have been preserved, - Bingo , see http://www.nas.gov.uk/guides/sheriffCourt.asp , - as ever the essential skill is knowing just where to find the info ..........

Herewith a relevant extract from the above www reference ...................


Not all sheriff court records are preserved, as current legislation allows for the weeding (i.e. selective destruction) of some types of records. However, the NAS does try to keep a record in some form of each case heard in sheriff courts. With the exception of a few minor administrative papers, the records of Linlithgow Sheriff Court (NAS ref. SC41) are preserved as a specimen whole as are to a lesser degree the records of the island courts (Kirkwall - NAS ref. SC11; Lerwick - NAS ref. SC12; Lochmaddy - NAS ref. SC30; Portree - NAS ref. SC32; and Stornoway - NAS ref. SC33). The records for Orkney and Shetland are held by the archive services there. Note that most records are transferred to the NAS after 25 years and are otherwise held by the sheriff court.


What might have survived in a case such as here, is some note of the Sheriff Court action in the local press..............

Even had the relevant Aberdeen Sheriff Court papers survived, it's most unlikely that the record would have included a "blow by blow" account, so to speak, of the court hearing, , - more probably back in that era, just a note of the parties involved, just maybe names of witnesses, and the decision that the Sheriff Substitute reached (exercise for today, , - distinguish between the Sheriff and the Sheriff Substitute ).

Again, there might be some mention, potentially more detailed than could have been the formal, legal records, in the local press, - it all depends on whether it was a "slow news week"

David

[Anne H]

David WW wrote:

With the exception of a few minor administrative papers, the records of Linlithgow Sheriff Court (NAS ref. SC41) are preserved as a specimen whole

That's very interesting David..I think I'll contact NAS and see if they have anything on my wee Peter Finlay's paternity case...that happened in Linlithgow, so you never know

Regards,
Anne H

[DavidWW]

David WW wrote:

With the exception of a few minor administrative papers, the records of Linlithgow Sheriff Court (NAS ref. SC41) are preserved as a specimen whole

That's very interesting David..I think I'll contact NAS and see if they have anything on my wee Peter Finlay's paternity case...that happened in Linlithgow, so you never know

Regards,
Anne H

Go for it

David

[ksmith]

- totally forgot about going back to the papers!!! Have already found some great stuff down that route, and the folk at Aberdeen library were v helpful.

Thanks again.