Question about NAS resources

[SarahND]

Finally heard back from NAS on my request of 15 December. They did not find the process I needed, but said this:

I have searched the index of consistorial processes, 1658-1835, NAS ref: CC8/6/176, but can find no entry relating to Peter Giles and Jean Hector. It may be possible to trace an entry by doing a detailed search of the relevant volumes in CC8/5 and CC8/6 for the years 1809-1815. however, pressure on staff time does not permit us to conduct such a search, and you would have to do this for yourself, or hire a researcher to do so on your behalf.

Then there follows a list of the relevant volumes to search.

My question is, how likely would it be that the process I am looking for (a legal separation) would be in the volumes of Consistorial Decreets and Consistorial Processes, but not in the index? Does anyone have experience with these particular sources?

Also, the index is seemingly just for consistorial processes. The decreets are in a separate register-- that is presumably not part of the index of processes? Not sure. If anyone has personal experience with these volumes I would be grateful for advice
Thanks,
Sarah

[LesleyB]

Hi Sarah
I've searched manually through a couple of CC (Commissary Court) books. There is, as far as I can work out, quite a lot in these books which certainly does not turn up on the online index.

The online catalogue says of CC8/6/176:

• Repository National Archives of Scotland
  Title Index of consistorial processes heard in the Commissary Court of Edinburgh
  Date 1658-1835
  Description Alphabetical index of consistorial processes, both extracted and unextracted, 1658 - 1835. The designations of parties is not given. A chronological inventory of the same material, containing full designations of parties almost throughout, is contained in CC8/20/6.
  
  A calendar of cases to 1800 can be found in 'The Commissariot of Edinburgh. Consistorial Processes and Decreets, 1658-1800', Francis J Grant, ed., (Scottish Record Society, 1909).
  AccessStatus Open
  RelatedMaterial CC8/6/1-170, CC8/20/6

Consistorial Processes and Decreets are, I believe, court cases which relate to marriage, legitimacy, divorce & etc. However, NAS's own helpsheet at :
http://www.nas.gov.uk/guides/divorce.asp
would seem to suggest a separation might be found in other records, but depends on the date of the separation:

• Finding records of separation and other cases
  Before cruelty became a ground for divorce in 1938, judicial separation was one of the main legal remedies. Separation has continued to be resorted to by those with religious objections to divorce. Separation cases before 1907 can be found in the same way as divorce cases in the records of the Court of Session (CS). After 1907 the sheriff courts heard separation cases, and the records may be found among the civil court processes and the registers of extract decrees (SC), which are generally unindexed. Since the nineteenth century other legal proceedings, such as actions for aliment (the support or maintenance of the spouse and or children), were heard in sheriff courts, since these actions concern debt, not personal status. From 1907 the sheriff courts also heard cases of separation and aliment, adherence and aliment, and custody of children.

It looks to me like the CS records should be the ones to search - does this make any sense? But I'm no legal expert, so may be rambling here!! Other than that, I'm afraid I have not had enough experience with these records to be able to help much, sorry!
Best wishes
Lesley

[SarahND]

Hi Lesley,
Thanks for taking the time to try to figure this out. The history of the query is as follows:
I found in the online index some documents relating to a dispute over aliment payment in 1816-17(CS271/2416, CS271/60642, CS271/60940, CS271/72885.) I looked at these papers when I was in Edinburgh last October. In these documents a reference is made several times to an earlier bill of separation of the couple (Peter Giles (Geills) and Jean Hector). I had no luck finding the actual case file of the separation, however, but I think now that I was perhaps looking in the wrong place. In October I was advised to look through the CC records for Aberdeen, where the couple was living. So I checked the box CC1 Aberdeen Commissary Court Records, which had a few miscellaneous files, but none involving divorce or separation.

After I had left Scotland, I read the book Alienated Affections: The Scottish Experience of Divorce and Separation, 1684-1830 by Leah Leneman. In the book she states that all the cases are to be found in the files CC8/5 and CC8/6. Since these are titled Edinburgh Commissary Court and the couple I am interested in were in Aberdeen, I didn't think to look there (and although I asked several people, no one seemed to know where such records were kept.) It seems that the above headings include records from all over Scotland-- at least, I am hoping that is the case.

Of the two references given in the book:
CC8/5 is the Register of Consistorial Decreets and CC8/6 the Consistorial processes. 
Under CC8/6  it says: "For cases 1801- 1835, see the lists in CC8/6/176," which in turn also lists CC8/20/6 as a possible reference. 

The woman at NAS checked CC8/6/176 and found nothing. She suggests I check the relevant volumes:

CC8/5
CC8/5/30  Register of Consistorial Decreets  6 Jan 1809-22 Dec 1809   
CC8/5/31  Register of Consistorial Decreets  12 Jan 1810-27 Dec 1811  
CC8/5/32  Register of Consistorial Decreets  10 Jan 1812-18 Dec 1812   
CC8/5/33  Register of Consistorial Decreets  19 Feb 1813-16 Dec 1814 
CC8/5/34  Register of Consistorial Decreets  3 Feb 1815-28 Jun 1816 
 
CC8/6
CC8/6/87  Consistorial Processes, Etc.  1808-1809 
CC8/6/88  Consistorial Processes, Etc.  1809 
CC8/6/89  Consistorial Processes, Etc.  1809-1810 
CC8/6/90  Consistorial Processes, Etc.  1810 
CC8/6/91  Consistorial Processes, Etc.  1810-1811 
CC8/6/92  Consistorial Processes, Etc.  1811  
CC8/6/93  Consistorial Processes, Etc.  1811-1812    
CC8/6/94  Consistorial Processes, Etc.  1812         
CC8/6/95  Consistorial Processes, Etc.  1812   
CC8/6/96  Consistorial Processes, Etc.  1812-1813   
CC8/6/97  Consistorial Processes, Etc.  1813     
CC8/6/98  Consistorial Processes, Etc.  1813-1814 
CC8/6/99  Consistorial Processes, Etc.  1814  
CC8/6/100  Consistorial Processes, Etc.  1814  
CC8/6/101  Consistorial Processes, Etc.  1815  
CC8/6/102  Consistorial Processes, Etc.  1815   
CC8/6/103  Consistorial Processes, Etc.  1815   
CC8/6/104  Consistorial Processes, Etc.  1815-1816 
 

Since the marriage took place in 1800 and by 1812 he begins to appear in the Glasgow directory, so has obviously left Aberdeen.. I'm supposing the separation happened some time between, say, 1808 and 1812.

I'm heartened by your assurance that there is much in the CC books that is not in the index. I know from past experience at numerous courthouses and archives that one should not give up just because someone says the record is not there-- it is always worthwhile looking yourself. I have found many, many records that "didn't exist" when I asked others to search for them. It's just a fact that no one else will be obsessed enough to do a really thorough search!

Well, I guess I'll have to wait until next fall, when we hope to make another trip to Scotland. Although there were enough references to the sordid details of the separation in the process I did find to make me not that anxious to hear more (pretty horrible stuff)...I keep hoping that some reference will be made, somewhere, to where Peter Giles was actually born (like maybe she'll say in her statement, "I should have known better than to marry a man from ___ [insert name of parish]") Well, you never know!

Regards,
Sarah