Does "officer meal" in Kirk Session Accts. refer to ground officer’s allowance?

[SANTUDM]

Returning to the thread: my working hypothesis is that ground-officer stipends wouldn’t normally run through the kirk accounts. More likely, because a ground officer already dealt with the tenantry, the session also engaged the same man as kirk/session officer (beadle) in parallel—so "officer meal" would be his in-kind parish allowance, separate from any estate pay. Unless there’s another contemporary usage of "officer meal" I’m missing, that seems to fit the entries (esp. the settling of accounts and wages "allowed"). Happy to be corrected!

[hanes teulu]

I've seen "Ground Officer Fees" and "Ground Officer Corn". Re cereal/meal amounts described in pecks or firlots.

Don't see the transfer of the office of Ground Officer in the hands of the holder/incumbent - the decision was his employer's. But the nature of the role demanded trust in the holder - hence the holder would advise employer?

[eilthireach]

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.

[hanes teulu]

Have spotted the Ground Officer reporting to the "manager" - presumably "factor"?

[David Nicoll]

Hi, so that makes sense, the Minister / Session Clerk was setting up for officers meal (corn) very much in arrears. Looking at the other accounts he seems to be something of a late payer!

[SANTUDM]

I've seen "Ground Officer Fees" and "Ground Officer Corn". Re cereal/meal amounts described in pecks or firlots.
Don't see the transfer of the office of Ground Officer in the hands of the holder/incumbent - the decision was his employer's. But the nature of the role demanded trust in the holder - hence the holder would advise employer?

Thanks, that’s very helpful. The references to "Ground Officer Fees" and "Ground Officer Corn" (in pecks/firlots) are especially interesting. Do you recall whether those entries were in estate accounts or kirk accounts?

[SANTUDM]

Hi, so that makes sense, the Minister / Session Clerk was setting up for officers meal (corn) very much in arrears. Looking at the other accounts he seems to be something of a late payer!

Hi — really? That’s very helpful, thank you! My English is basic (I’m from Argentina) and the handwriting in these books is hard for me; I’ve been reading them word by word and managed to pick out some names and phrases, but I didn’t grasp the overall context. Your note that the minister/session clerk was settling up for the officer’s meal (corn) well in arrears, and that he seems to be a late payer in other accounts, is exactly the context I was looking for. If you happen to spot anything else of interest in those accounts, I’d be very grateful for any pointers. Thanks again!

[GR2]

This may be of use. https://dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/officer

[David Nicoll]

Post #4, can you advise which page it was, the snip you sent is a bit heard to read out of contect.

I think it is Alex Gordon and Mill Fanner, not Farmer.