The Tranent Massacre

[Hibee]

Hi

I'm hoping to be able to prove that the John Adam, who was one of 12 killed in the Tranent Massacre of 29 Aug 1797, was my ancestor.

What I have so far is that John Adam was killed half way along the Tranent-Macmerry road, and that the troops went through his pockets.

A John Adam was buried at Newton (home of my Adam people) on 1 Sep 1797. Newton is about 5 miles west of Tranent.

The age of the massacre victim, or the name of his wife, would be most useful.

Thanks.

Hibee

[AndrewP]

Hi Hibee,

I see there is a (relatively) recent book on the subject. I don't know if it has the information that you are seeking.

http://www.eastlothianmuseums.org/exhib ... ssacre.htm

I would expect that the Edinburgh Central Library, the National Library of Scotland and various East Lothian libraries would have the book.

All the best,

AndrewP

[Hibee]

Thanks, Andrew. I bought that book on Amazon, yesterday (£0.22p!), and am waiting for it to arrive.

Hibee

[Currie]

Hello Hibee,

You’ve probably seen this. The story in The Lamp of Lothian has him as a Collier. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=EdQ ... 22&f=false

Popular Disturbances in Scotland, 1780-1815 has him as John Adam, from Macmerry in Gladsmuir parish. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=SFT ... CDEQ6AEwAA

“On 2 September Hugh Cunninghame, the minister of Tranent, reported to the Marquis of Tweeddale that eleven people had been killed on 29 August: Isabel Roger, William Smith, William Hunter and George Elder, all of Tranent; Stephen Brotherstone, William Laidlaw, James Moffat, D. Kemp and Joan Crookston, all of Pencaitland; Peter Ness from Ormiston parish and a man, John Adam, from Macmerry in Gladsmuir parish. Another man, Peter Lawson, later died from his wounds, bringing the total to twelve.”

No luck with the age or spouses name.

Not much help,
Alan

[Hibee]

Thank you, Alan. The info in The Lamp of Lothian is new to me, and valuable. John was from a coallier family. He had a daughter who was born in Newton, but died in Macmerry, aged 81.

John Adam's wife, Janet Kinlay, gave birth to a daughter (Jackie) on 21Aug, 8 days before the massacre. I wonder whether the term "in child-bed" was exclusively pre-natal, post-natal, or either? The child was baptised in Newton on 2 Sep 1797. John is named as the father, but no mention of him being deceased.

There is a record of a mort cloth, in Newton, for John Adam on 1 Sep 1797.

Is it possible that John's family came the 5 miles from Newton to Macmerry to collect the body for burial in Newton, and at the same time took the baby there for baptism? Would the mother normally attend the baptism (I believe wives did not attend burials)?

Hibee

[Currie]

Hello Hibee,

A Dictionary of Domestic Medicine and Household Surgery 1852, page 93, has something very useful about the definition of Child-bed.

I haven’t read the whole thing but it looks like it’s from commencement of labour to end of convalescence. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=ixE ... AJ&pg=PA93

There’s also something here, to do with PND I suppose. Defined as during the birth of a child until a period of one month.
http://books.google.com.au/books?id=mGY ... 22&f=false

Alan

[Currie]

Regarding a baptism you would have to look at the nature of a baptism ceremony and its purpose. It’s as much to do with the parents as it is to do with the child. I would have thought that the mother would have been a vital part of that equation.

The churchyard side of 18th Century Scottish funerals seems to have been only to do with the unpleasant business of disposal of the corpse with no ceremony and no real reason for a widow to attend when goodbyes had been said at home. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=oBI ... nd&f=false

On the subject of deaths in Tranent parish, in the OPR’s there is only a single death recorded between 1787 and 1802, and that was in 1793. http://www.google.com.au/webhp?complete ... 80&bih=840

The Old Statistical Account of 1794 has a fair bit to say as regards death record keeping in the parish. In the 30 years before 1784 recorded deaths appear to have been averaging about one per week. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=0zA ... al&f=false

Alan

[Hibee]

Thanks, Alan.

You're right. SP has only 3 Tranent burials for the whole of the 1790s. I suspect the records are missing.

The question is........accidentally missing, or darker forces at work?

Hibee