Edinburgh City Archives - new online lists

[LesleyB]

Edinburgh City Archives have updated their web presence and there are now a few documents online which may be helpful to some folk which can be reached from this page:

http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/internet/Co ... ns_indexes
Registers of Aliens

The Registers of Aliens need to be seen against the backdrop of the Revolution in France and the ensuing French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars of the later 18th and earlier 19th century. The specific origins of the registers lie in the declaration of war by the French Republic against Great Britain in 1793 and the unease felt by the authorities about the impact on radical elements within the Country.
The registers form two distinct series. The first is a handwritten volume of declarations given in by foreigners before the Magistrates as to their origins, occupation, length of time in the Country and the intended duration of their stay in Edinburgh. Most declarations were made in 1794 although, for reasons unknown, the very first entry in this volume is there as a result of a search for foreigners carried out at Kyle’s Lodgings in Bristo Place by Constables in April 1798.
The Registers in the second series are bound volumes of pro-formas of questions to be asked and answered before Magistrates regarding the name, origins, status, occupation, age and intentions of foreign visitors. Also given in these volumes, are the current addresses of the respondents as well as the names of the British ports through which they first entered the Country. They cover the period 1798-1825.

St Cuthbert’s Parochial Board, Paupers’ Claims volume, 1850-1852

The volume of paupers’ claims from St Cuthbert’s Parochial Board contains records of individual appeals for relief.
The Parochial Board of St Cuthbert’s Parish in Edinburgh was constituted on 30 January 1846, following the Poor Law Amendment Act of 1845 (prior to this date, poor relief was administered by Parish Kirk Sessions and Heritors). The Board assumed responsibility for the raising of an annual assessment (the Poor Rate), and for the administration of the Workhouse in St Cuthbert’s Lane. The Board’s work also included providing out-door relief, medical aid, and hospital accommodation to those within the Parish who applied for, and were successful in obtaining, such help.

[Merlot]

Thank you so much Lesley, I found one of mine on there. Does this mean that there is a full application for poor relief to view?

[LesleyB]

Hi Merlot

I would think there must be an application from the period to view, but quite how much info these records hold, I don't know. Maybe try contacting the City Archives and see it they can advise. If you have a precise name which is there in the list, they may be happy enough to give more detail, but I do know that at the moment they do not have much in the way of copying facilities, so not sure how they migth respond - no harm in asking!

They are soon to be open three days a week - Tues, Wed & Thurs, so maybe worth a trip if they can confirm that there is lots more info given in the application. At present you are allowed to take digital photos of items due to the lack of copying facilites.

Best wishes
Lesley

[LesleyB]

Well, that was exciting while it lasted...the two sources now seem to have disappeared No idea why.

...However, disappoointed to see these having disappeared and thinking this was not a good development, I phoned ECA to find out what had happened to them. It is some kind of tecchie blip and they will endeavour to have the lists available online again a.s.a.p

Yay-hey!! =D>

[keewik]

Fascinating. Just found an ancestor there. I knew she'd gone from being of independent means in 1841 to being a pauper by 1851. Tried to block and copy the page - didn't work. Then to my amazement I found I could download the entire document.