07 November 2012
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ScotlandsPeople has added Wills and Testaments from 1902 to 1925.The 392,595 new records document the last wishes of 267,548 indi
ScotlandsPeople has added Wills and Testaments from 1902 to 1925.
The 392,595 new records document the last wishes of 267,548 individuals who lived and died in Scotland during this period. The collection also includes the wills of Scots who died outside Scotland, but still had assets in the country. As inventories of moveable estate (savings, cash, furniture, stock, etc) are also included, you can discover the fine details of people’s worldly possessions in this era.
People from all social classes are included in the records - from famous industrialists and philanthropists such as Andrew Carnegie and George Coats, to the impoverished inmates of the nation’s poorhouses. With more than 35 millionaires included in the records, you can learn how the members of this Scottish ‘Rich List’ ultimately chose to divide up their wealth. Conversely, simpler and cheaper procedures for recording wills meant that estates below £500 were also included.
The records also highlight the effects of major historical events on people’s lives, with the wills of World War One soldiers, suffragettes and people who perished on the Titanic and Lusitania included in the collection.
- Discover more about wills with our fascinating feature in the December issue, on sale now!