Help reading 1811 death OPR

[speleobat2]

Hi all,

I'm going to try posting an OPR to photobucket. I've been sorting out Raitts and found a death and burial OPR from 1811 for a Raitt, no first name, but then it looks like R of Jaffry, shipbuilder Footdee maybe? I have Jaffrys related to Raitts so I'm curious about this entry, but also confused.

http://s926.photobucket.com/albums/ad108/speleobat2/

Carol

[SarahND]

Hi Carol,
Here's my take on it: Isabel West down the page also has "R of" Robertson, p. Lane. Is this shorthand for "Received of", meaning the payment?
So, unknown Raitt was buried on the 5th and Jaffry paid for the burial. Whether it was Raitt or Jaffry who was the Shipbuilder in Footdee, I'm not sure... but I'd think probably the deceased.

Hope that makes sense

Sarah

[speleobat2]

Thanks Sarah!

That makes sense. I'm just not that familiar with the language of the early OPR's. In 1811, the Jaffry would have been an in-law of some sort to the Raitt in my family. Wish they had given a first name for one or the other!

Carol

[SarahND]

Hi Carol,
A lot of those death OPRs are just account books noting down payment for burial. I guess we should be happy that they exist at all, but it would be nice to have a bit more information!

You've got me looking through my Death OPR previous searches on SP now, to see if there isn't something wonderful I missed

Sarah

[LesleyB]

I reckon "R" is more likely to be an abbreviation for "Relict" - so that would make the unknown-first-name Raitt female and she was the relict of (widow of) Jaffry the Shipbuilder.

Note that the wording for the 27th says "Rec.d from" later in the page, not received of whereas of is used in the line in which you are interested and is the same form for Isobel West aged 57 a few lines down - she is also a "R. of" - relict of Robertson.

It is a form of wording used quite a lot in older documents.

Best wishes
Lesley

[SarahND]

=D> Thanks, Lesley!
That not only makes more sense, but is more informative for Carol as well!
Cheers,
Sarah

[speleobat2]

Well, now I'm really wondering!

First, my Raitt/Jaffry pair was a Jaffry marrying a Raitt. Not that this is a problem given the number of "closely related" people I seem to be finding married to each other!

Secondly, up until now all of my Raitts have been farmers around Belhelvie and then Old Machar, Newhills. Just recently I found my 3x great grandmother's brother John in another family tree on Ancestry along with two younger sisters whom I hadn't been able to locate. All of the information on that tree checks so far, but the owner has John as a shipmaster. His son John Jr. dies in 1858 and was buried in St. Clements cemetery in Aberdeen which I just happen to have the MI booklet for. When I looked up John Jr.'s grave, I discovered another whole family of Raitts in the shipbuilding business and sailors except for one William who died around 1789 and was a gardner in Footdee! I had never found a Raitt connected with Footdee until the 1811 burial record and then the St. Clements MI's.

John Sr. was also married to Isabella Christie and her family is buried in St. Clements and was into shipbuilding and sailing in a big way.

This is a little like opening a door in your house and discovering a whole room that you didn't know existed!

Oh well, it's supposed to start raining again Monday so I guess I've got something to keep me busy!

Carol

[LesleyB]

This is a little like opening a door in your house and discovering a whole room that you didn't know existed!

Ah - that is what makes these kind of hunts all the more exciting, 'cos sometimes you know the doors are there... it is finding the right keys to open them which is the difficult bit!
Enjoy exploring the new room!

[Currie]

Hello Carol, here’s a bit of trivia for you.

In the Aberdeen Journal, Wednesday, December 19, 1810, there’s an article “A List of Subscriptions for Enlarging the Church of Footdee.” What follows is a list of about 140 people and the amounts they paid. Included there’s a Captain William Raitt, R.N., who paid £5 5s. (five guineas) and a George Clerihew, Builder, who paid £1 1s. (one guinea).

All the best,
Alan

[speleobat2]

Hi Alan,

Thanks for that. I spent part of yesterday evening charting the Raitt MI's from St. Clements cemetery and Captain William was one of them. I still don't know much about the family, but I've just started working on them.

George Clerihew the builder and his son George Clerihew the doctor show up all over Aberdeen and the doctor all over the world it seems. Unfortunately, neither is related to my George Clerhews who managed to remain almost completely obscure!

Carol