SCOTTISH-AMERICAN HEIRS

New sources of clues to our past are constantly appearing to help us
in the quest for our roots. Among the newest of these is
Scottish-American Heirs, 1683-1883, by David Dobson.

Mr. Dobson, who teaches at Madras College in Scotland, has scoured a
little-known, but valuable source of records, called the Services of
Heirs, and come up with more than 2,600 links between Scotland and the
Americas. In Scotland, when someone died, the sheriff had an inquest
to determine the rightful heirs of property. The records of these
inquests contain many names, locations, and relationships of Americans
with Scottish ancestry.

An example of a typical listing: ``Duncan, James, currier, in NJ, heir
to father John Duncan, tanner, in West Kilbride Ayrshire, died 4 Apr.
1836, reg. 22 May 1 849.'' Here we learn that a New Jersey currier,
named James Duncan, had a father, who died in 1836 and who had lived
in West Kilbride. (Oddly enough, the book never explains what ``reg.''
means; whether, for instance, it's when the claim was first made or
when it was settled -- it seems to be the former.)

Needless to say, such information could be an invaluable link for the
researcher. These links are not just to the states, but also to
Canadians, and residents of Caribbean Islands. Listings are
alphabetical by heir, but every name in the book is contained in the
22-page index, which can be important since the heir often has a
different surname from the deceased relative back home.

The 165-page, hardbound edition of Scottish-American Heirs may be
found in genealogical libraries, or purchased ($21.50 plus $2.50
postage and handling) from its publisher, Genealogical Publishing
Company, Dept. SM, 1001 North Calvert Street, Baltimore, Md.,
21202-3897. --J.S.

ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿
³  This file appears on The Source of Magic BBS, Ridgefield CT   ³
³  203-431-4687, specializing in genealogy, radio, and writing.  ³
ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ