What records can I find in the Mitchell: Glasgow City Archives?
The archives of landed families and their estates are a wonderful source of information for family historians, particularly before the introduction of civil registration in 1855. Rich with the family history of the owners of the estates, they often also offer vital evidence of their tenants, those who worked for them, or in their role in managing local affairs.
The City Archives holds a large number of collections of family and estate papers for areas across a large part of Scotland. The following lists just some of the collections:
Blythswood Estate, Glasgow and Renfrew, 1662-20th century
Campbell of Succoth and Garscube, Glasgow and Dunbartonshire, 1533-1965
Colquhoun of Luss, Dunbartonshire, 1188-20th century
Cochrane-Baillie of Lamington, Lanarkshire, 19th-20th century
Crum Family Papers, Thornliebank, Renfrewshire, 1782-1960
Hamilton Family of Barns, Old Kilpatrick, Dunbartonshire, 1537-1827
Houston of Johnstone, Renfrewshire, 1664-1951
Islay Estate, Islay, Argyllshire, 1741-1966
Lennox Family of Woodhead, Dunbartonshire, 1421-1960
Maxwells of Pollok, Glasgow and Renfrew, c1200-1975
Ramsay of Kildalton, Islay, Argyllshire, 1707-1984
Speirs of Elderslie, Renfrewshire and Dunbartonshire, 1561-1999
Stirling of Keir and Cadder, Dunbartonshire and Perthshire, 1338-c 1940s
The types of records available and their content can vary enormously depending on the collection. These are some examples of what you might help you find that elusive ancestor:
rent rolls – do not always name tenants, but the best include names, year lease began, its duration
tacks or leases
valuations of estates
wages and other details of those who worked on the estate or for the family
factor’s correspondence – may include letters from tenants
evidence of the sale of all or parts of estates in the 18th and 19th centuries, including feuing registers and feuing maps
management of local affairs, including militia, lieutenancy, poor relief, churches, freeholders and voters