Retours of Services of Heirs 1544-1699 Vol A

This book and the accompanying Volume B (Lanark-Wigton plus General Retours) are composed from the three volumes together called Inquisitionum ad Capellam Domini Regis Retornatarum, quae in Publicis Archivis Scotiae Adhuc Servantur (Inquiries Retourned to the Chancery of our Lord the King which are Held in the Archives of Scotland) from 1544 to 1699. These records, informally known as Retours of Services of Heirs, represent possibly the greatest unused resource for Scottish genealogy and land history, but are not widely available and thus largely unknown. Essentially, they are abbreviated abstracts of the records of inheritance, the continuity of heritable possession of land and certain associated rights and responsibilities. The original Retours themselves are often long and complicated, and mostly in Latin, but they were indexed and abbreviated into the form presented here. The Retours can be searched by County, then by surname and placename. With additional material and a Latin glossary by Dr. Bruce Durie