Secretary's Hand

[Georgiec]

I have a will written in Secretary's Hand.  I have tried to transcribe it with help from various websites but to no avail.  Could anyone advise me as to where I could help with the transcription.

[Little Nell]

How old is it?  And how long is it?

Presumably it contains some good Scottish words - have you tried this site?

http://www.scottishhandwriting.com/

I've done lots of wills in secretary hand, but mostly English ones.  The Scots ones have a certain - shall we say difference - about them.

Nell

[Georgiec]

Hi Nell,

Many thanks for the reply.  I have tried that site but I think it really needs someone who has experience.  It is dated 1707 and is for a James Gibson who was captain of the Rising Sun boat which sunk on return from the Darian Expedition.  His brother was Walter Gibson who was provost of Glasgow.  I have found that my Gibson side of the family were related to Baron Rowallan's ancestors and in his book he refers to this Walter and James Gibson.  My aim with the will is to try and pick out names mentioned and the relationship, not all the details.  I think that the whole will is about 3and a quarter pages.  I wondered if there are people out there that transcribe for a living.

Georgina

[Little Nell]

I wondered if there are people out there that transcribe for a living.

Oh yes, plenty.  They advertise in the family history magazines frequently.  I just do it for fun, although I have to admit that the names can be the hardest, but they are sometimes the most important part.

Nell

[Georgiec]

Hi Nell,

Many thanks for the help.  I will have a look in the magazines and see if I can find someone reasonable.  Never thought to look there.  Had tried on the internet but with no luck.

Thanks again.

Georgina

[jimbinnie]

Hi Georgina,

I noticed your e/mail mentioning that you are in possession of the last will and testament of Captain James Gibson of the ship Rising Sun which was lost off Carolina.  I am presently researching Captain Gibson and his brother Walter Gibson and am very interested in the information on the will as it may mention several interesting details useful to my article which I hope soon to publish.  Please let me know if I can be of any help.

Best wishes

Jim Binnie

[Berlin-Bob]

Hi Georgina,

You can find some topics on Secretary hand under Old handwriting in the
RootsChat Reference Library => Lexicon ^{(click here)}
(Tip: click on a category - on the right - for related topics)

Perhaps you will find some useful tips there.

Good luck,
Bob

[Sheila M]

I don't know if this is any help to you, but I work for a firm of solicitors and I'm used to reading old documents.  If your document is scannable I could have a go at transcribing it for you.

[Georgiec]

Hi Bob,

Thanks for that information.  I will try it.