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Quote from: eilthireach on Friday 19 September 25 14:43 BST (UK)

Ground officer was the estate manager.

Thanks very much! That matches my understanding: a ground officer was essentially the estate’s “man on the ground”, dealing with tenants, day-to-day disputes, rents/entries and boundaries, and carrying out the factor’s (or owner’s) instructions.
What still puzzles me is the kirk session accounts entry I posted. I’d have expected a ground officer to be paid by the estate, so why would this appear in the kirk accounts? Is "officer meal" here a parish/kirk-officer allowance (a stipend in meal), i.e., the same man holding two different offices? Any idea will be very helpful.

You're right. I think you can describe a hierarchy: There's the owner of the estate (landowner), then the factor, who manages the estate's affairs on behalf of the owner, and then lastly there is the ground officer, who, as you put it, is the "man on the ground" who has to interact with the tenants on a day-to-day basis, resolve disputes, and generally carry out the orders of the factor.

This is a bit of a long shot but thought I would give it a go. I have the death extract from SP on an ancestor who died in 1952 at Queensberry House, Cannongate. I am trying to find where he is buried or perhaps cremated. Can anyone give me any suggestions as to how I might find this. Can one access the records for Queensberry House for 1952.

I have tried the usual route of Find a Grave and Billion Graves. I have also looked at newspaper deaths to see if I could find who the undertakers were.

Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

Betty

It's not helping directly with your enquiry, but you should note that it's The Canongate, not Cannongate. That's a common mistake, but it has nothing to do with weapons and everything to do with titles of clerics, in this case, priests. It's the lower part of the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, as it says in the description in the Gazetteer for Scotland: (https://www.scottish-places.info/features/featurefirst1000.html)

You don't give a name*, but anyway, if you go to the search page online catalogue of the National Records of Scotland (https://catalogue.nrscotland.gov.uk/nrsonlinecatalogue/search.aspx) and enter put to the horn and select Phrase as the search term and dates 1841 to 1841 you will get a list of 43 records where that phrase appears in the trial papers relating to numerous people. Clicking on the Reference brings up a description of the crime of which the person was accused and a statement of the verdict. (You can, of course, also start your search by using the person's name!)
To view the records you can visit the Search Rooms at NRS or you can order a copy of the document or find a researcher who would be willing to visit the search rooms and make a copy for you. (That is a service offered by Scottish Indexes (https://www.scottishindexes.com/research.aspx). I used their services some years ago to look up and provide copies of some legal records. I was extremely impressed with the service. They are experts in dealing with historical legal records. They are very helpful,

*If the person you are looking for is James Welsh, he was one of the names that came up in that search - James Welsh, tried at the High Court Stirling, 13 April 1841. Crime of assault by discharging loaded firearms.

Decreet is a term in Scots law, meaning judgement of a court, a decree........
The item you are interested in can be viewed at the National Records of Scotland in Edinburgh (https://catalogue.nrscotland.gov.uk/nrsonlinecatalogue/search.aspx) - enter search term Barneston and dates 1826 to 1826:

Reference   Title   Date
CS44   Court of Session Extracted Processes   1821-1829
Country code    GB
Repository code    234
Repository    National Records of Scotland
Reference    CS44/96/62
Title    Decreet, John George Boeme and mandatories v Lieut Alexander Barneston or Barnetson
Dates    1826
Access status    Open
Location    Off site
Description    Clerk's mark: BDP. Date of decree: 8 Feb 1826
Level    File
Related material    CS43/96
   
If you cannot visit NRS, you maight be able to order a  copy from them. Failing that, perhaps you could find someone who can visit NRS and view the record and transcribe it .....


Mandatory, a term in Scots law. The online Dictionaries of the Scots language (https://dsl.ac.uk) give the meaning as: I. n. Sc. legal usage, from Civil Law: a contract by which one person agrees to act (strictly gratuitously) as agent for another in the management of his affairs, or in conducting some special business (Sc. 1946 A. D. Gibb Legal Terms 54). Hence mandatory, -ary, one to whom a mandate is given; mandant, mandatar, -or.

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The will and inventory of the late Lieutenant Alexander Barnetson can be viewed online on https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

Barnetson
   
Alexander
   
11 / 12 / 1861
   
Lieutenant, residing at No.26 Clarence Street in Edinburgh
   
Inventory
   
Edinburgh Sheriff Court Inventories
   
SC70/1/110
   

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Barnetson
   
Alexander
   
11 / 12 / 1861
   
Lieutenant, resided in Edinburgh husband of Benjamina Paterson