Sheriff Court extract decrees
The Sheriff Courts have a long history in Scotland, dating back hundreds of years. Their records are a fascinating, and much-neglected source for family history. The Sheriff Courts have dual criminal and civil functions, and traditionally formed an intermediate court level between local and franchise courts on the one hand, and the Court of Session and the Justiciary Courts on the other.
We have begun indexing the Registers of Extract Decrees. A decree was the ruling of the court, and they were generally extracted for the purposes of enforcement. The decrees give the core information about the case (the parties to the case - the pursuer and the defender - with their designations, the nature of the case, the remedies ordered by the court). These can often be supplemented by the "processes" - official copies of the evidence led in the case - where they survive. For cases after 1860, the processes have been heavily weeded, so survival is patchy at best, but for cases before 1860, survival is much more common.
As civil court records, the decrees indexed here are usually about money in one way or another, but the background to the cases can provide fascinating family history insights. Payment decrees, the most common type of case, may simply be about non-payment of bills, but they could also be the result of loans not repaid. Filiation and aliment cases involve the paternity disputes and payment of aliment. Some cases involve disputes arising from the poor laws, with paupers refused relief taking parochial boards to court, or different parochial boards may dispute liability for relief provided.
People in financial difficulties may have sought protection from their creditors - and liberation from debtors prison - through the procedure known as cessio bonorum, whereby they transfer their goods to trustees to sell on behalf of their creditors. Other decrees relating to bankruptcy include confirmation of trustees, and discharge of bankrupts and trustees. Debtors could have their earnings from land or buildings attached under a decree of maills and duties. Tenants may be evicted under decrees of removal or ejection, or have their assets seized under a sequestration for rent. Wronged parties may seek damages for a whole range of reasons - assault, consequential loses from a breach of contract, defamation. Inheritance disputes could often end up in the Sheriff Court.
The range of situations covered by these records is very broad, and among family historians they are a largely untapped resource. We have already published an index to over 40,000 filiation and aliment ('paternity') decrees covering the whole of Scotland, and we are now extending that project by indexing other Sheriff Court decrees. The index currently lists over 30,000 parties ("pursuers" and "defenders") to cases at Edinburgh Sheriff Court between 1830 and 1859 (NRS references SC39/8/7-36). We hope to expand this index to other courts (there were over 50 Sheriff Courts across Scotland).
One important point to bear in mind is that parties in Edinburgh Sheriff Court came from all over Scotland, and further afield. The general rule is that cases were heard in the Sheriffdom where the defender lived, but parties to cases were from all over the world. Our index gives the following information (where applicable):
To order digital images of an extract decree, use the indexes below to find the decree you want.
We have begun indexing the Registers of Extract Decrees. A decree was the ruling of the court, and they were generally extracted for the purposes of enforcement. The decrees give the core information about the case (the parties to the case - the pursuer and the defender - with their designations, the nature of the case, the remedies ordered by the court). These can often be supplemented by the "processes" - official copies of the evidence led in the case - where they survive. For cases after 1860, the processes have been heavily weeded, so survival is patchy at best, but for cases before 1860, survival is much more common.
As civil court records, the decrees indexed here are usually about money in one way or another, but the background to the cases can provide fascinating family history insights. Payment decrees, the most common type of case, may simply be about non-payment of bills, but they could also be the result of loans not repaid. Filiation and aliment cases involve the paternity disputes and payment of aliment. Some cases involve disputes arising from the poor laws, with paupers refused relief taking parochial boards to court, or different parochial boards may dispute liability for relief provided.
People in financial difficulties may have sought protection from their creditors - and liberation from debtors prison - through the procedure known as cessio bonorum, whereby they transfer their goods to trustees to sell on behalf of their creditors. Other decrees relating to bankruptcy include confirmation of trustees, and discharge of bankrupts and trustees. Debtors could have their earnings from land or buildings attached under a decree of maills and duties. Tenants may be evicted under decrees of removal or ejection, or have their assets seized under a sequestration for rent. Wronged parties may seek damages for a whole range of reasons - assault, consequential loses from a breach of contract, defamation. Inheritance disputes could often end up in the Sheriff Court.
The range of situations covered by these records is very broad, and among family historians they are a largely untapped resource. We have already published an index to over 40,000 filiation and aliment ('paternity') decrees covering the whole of Scotland, and we are now extending that project by indexing other Sheriff Court decrees. The index currently lists over 30,000 parties ("pursuers" and "defenders") to cases at Edinburgh Sheriff Court between 1830 and 1859 (NRS references SC39/8/7-36). We hope to expand this index to other courts (there were over 50 Sheriff Courts across Scotland).
One important point to bear in mind is that parties in Edinburgh Sheriff Court came from all over Scotland, and further afield. The general rule is that cases were heard in the Sheriffdom where the defender lived, but parties to cases were from all over the world. Our index gives the following information (where applicable):
- Full name of pursuer
- Occupation of pursuer
- Current and previous address(es) of pursuer
- Designation of pursuer, and other pursuers
- Date of case
- Nature of case
- Full name of defender
- Occupation of defender
- Current and previous address(es) of defender
- Designation of defender, and other defenders
- National Records of Scotland reference
To order digital images of an extract decree, use the indexes below to find the decree you want.
