Archives and Manuscript Catalogue

Scope and Contents

Robert Paul, manager of the Commercial Bank of Scotland, married Charlotte, the daughter of John Erskine of Cambus, advocate, in 1814. The connection of the Pauls with the Erskines of Alva, and later with the Erskine Murrays, remained strong, and the antiquarian interests of the Reverend Robert Paul, Free Church minister at Dollar, led him to examine many of the Erskine papers. Some of these remained with the Paul’s and now form part of the collection.

Scope and Contents The founder of the family was Gilbert Elliot (1651-1718), a younger son of Gavin Elliot of Midlem Mill. Gilbert Elliot was admitted to the Faculty of Advocates in 1688, created a baronet in 1700, and appointed a Lord of Session as Lord Minto in 1705; he acquired the lands of Headshaw in Roxburghshire in 1696, and added Minto to his property in 1703. Sir Gilbert Elliot, 2nd Baronet (1693-1766), likewise had a distinguished legal career, becoming a Lord of Session as Lord Minto in 1726, a...

Scope and Contents The family estates of Cumbernauld and Lenzie in East Dunbartonshire extended into the neighbouring parishes of Monkland in Lanarkshire and Dunipace in Stirlingshire. That of Biggar in Lanarkshire included also some lands in Peeblesshire, where the Flemings were in conflict with the Tweedies of Drumelzier. Members of the family were prominent in public affairs in the 16th and 17th centuries, but the later Earls took little part in them. The male line failed in 1747, and the estates passed to...

Scope and Contents Contains correspondence and papers of John Mackenzie, Advocate and a Principal Clerk of Session, of Cramond and later of Delvine (died 1731), his sons Alexander, Writer to the Signet and a Principal Clerk of Session (died 1737), and John, Writer to the Signet, Deputy-Keeper of the Signet (died 1778), and Alexander's grandson Sir Alexander Muir Mackenzie, 1st Baronet, Writer to the Signet (died 1835); formed a distinguished line of lawyers who were active in the affairs of their day and...

Scope and Contents

The Nisbet papers fall into four groups, belonging respectively to the Nisbets of that Ilk, the original owners of the estate; the Kers (later Carres) of Cavers and West Nisbet; who acquired the estate in 1649; the Chisholmes of that Ilk, connected by marriage to Charles St Clair, 15th Lord Sinclair, who succeeded to the estate some time before 1813; and William Molleson, probably related to the sister of Charles St Clair, de jure 13th Lord Sinclair.

Scope and Contents The outstanding feature of the archive is the correspondence of Sir David Dalrymple, 3rd Baronet, Lord Hailes (1726-1792) relating to his intellectual pursuits and legal career. But the archive also contains material concerning early eighteenth century Scotland and British politics in the correspondence of the 1st and 2nd Baronets of Hailes; the very rich personal correspondence and journals of Lord Hailes' daughter and heiress, Christian Dalrymple (died 1838); correspondence and papers of...

Scope and Contents The Fletchers were merchants in Dundee, who came to prominence towards the end of the sixteenth century in the person of Robert, burgess and bailie of Dundee, who purchased various lands in Forfar which were consolidated into the estate of Innerpeffer; he died in 1622. His eldest son Sir Andrew was admitted an ordinary judge in 1623 (his brothers were James, merchant burgess of Dundee; Robert, of Bencho; and Sir George, of Restennet, advocate, through whose holding of the priory lands of...

Scope and Contents

The Mure of Caldwell papers are chiefly of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Some of the earlier papers belonged to the Mures of Glanderston, the two families having been united in 1710 by the succession of William, 4th Laird of Glanderston, to the Caldwell estates.

Scope and Contents

Papers of the Willison family, who farmed in both Lanarkshire and Perthshire, covering personal and business matters. The collection includes a detailed family history and genealogy composed by Ralph Willison Simmonds (Edinburgh 1989), detailed transcripts and a booklet with historical notes: The Willisons of South Lanarkshire (Edinburgh, 1994), also by Mr Willison - see Acc.11049/1 and Acc.11049/76.