Old WALKER papers – letter from James Kettle, re £200 Bond

This is my eleventh blog post in a series about some old papers of the WALKER family, from Kirkliston, West Lothian, Scotland. See a list of these papers HERE.

Below is the last of a number of documents that I’m posting, from an envelope labeled “Old Wills etc. of the Walker family”, which is part of a box full of family papers that I received from my aunt at a family gathering in January 2014. The contents of this envelope all date from the 1700’s.

I have previously posted all those documents that are by, or speak directly about my Walker ancestors. I am now posting some documents where I am unsure of the nature of the connection to the Walker family. Please see my notes at the bottom.

This letter is rather ambiguous! It is not clear who it’s addressed to. My assumption is that it was addressed to my ancestor, James Walker (b. 1731), a farmer at Hiddlefaulds, Kirkliston. But I’m not at all certain of that!

Please click on the images to see the scans at full resolution. Transcribed text appears in a Maroon colour below each scanned image. At the bottom I’ve made some notes of my own about the people and places in the document.

Letter; Transcription of letter;

Edin. 2 Oct.1801

Sir
I have to intimate that at or about #
Mar[ch] first, I will be ready to pay you the Two #
hundred pounds Stg, which the late [..] [Calderwood] #
of [Colton] owed you by bond . ~

If you choose I will give you Mr [..] Durham’s #
own Bond for it, which will be the same thing to you #
only I must have up [..] [Calderwood’s] Bond as #
all his debts must be paid off. I am
Sir
your most […]
James [Kettle]

Notes;

The names in this letter are not very clear! I’m not entirely sure about my transcriptions of them, and I’m not at all sure who they are! I’ve not yet seen any similar names in other family documents!

“[Colton]” – might be “Clifton”, laying south of Hiddlefaulds, on the other side of the River Almond.

If anyone has any better, or alternative ideas of how to transcribe these names, or you have any further insights into this document and who/where it relates to, please leave a comment below, or use the Contact Page to get in touch. Thanks.

OLIPHANT papers – Memo re. Henry OLIPHANT, by his settlement

For some context, and an index to these documents, please SEE HERE.

If you can help with the transcription of these documents please get in touch.

Please click on the images to see the scans at full resolution.

This is one of several documents relating to the estate of Henry Oliphant.

OLIPHANT papers; envelope 2; document 3;

Memo;

Transcription of memo;

[Memo]
[In] Henry Oliphant by his settlement directed #
his Trustees to [buy] out £800 [upon] good heritable or personal #
security for [behoof] of each of Mrs Beveridge & Mrs Rob’ #
Oliphant taking [bonds] for the same payable to each #
in life rent and to the Children [procreated] or to #
be [procreated] of their bodies equally amongst them #
share & share alike in fee exclude the fees […] #
of [mrs] Beveridge & [Mrs] Oliphant [..] #

My opinion is that the most simple and #
the best mode for the Trustees to carry the […] #
of the [trustee] into effect is that each of [Mrs] Beveridge & #
[Mrs] Oliphant should grant bonds either heritable #
Bonds or personal bonds with one or two responsible persons #
as sureties for the £800 these Bonds to be Conceived #
in the terms directed by the settlement; the Ladies #
with the consent of their husbands respectively #
beclaring that the security for the £800 [so] granted #
is accepted of in full of all they can ask or claim #
through their fathers decease or the decease of #
their mother or their Grandfather by the Mothers #
side in any manner of way.

The security ought to be such as the Trustees #
or any other prudent man [could] be inclined to #
accept of were it their own money they were #
laying out.

Signed, A Forsyth
Edinburgh, 3rd December 1821