Hello Listers, Have been following this thread with interest. Not directly to do with Aberdeenshire [where my YOUNGSON line is from] but in my Perthshire FORBES line my great grandfather who emigrated to New Zealand in 1861 was definitely a fluent Gaelic speaker, and his brother, the Rev Daniel FORBES, Minister in the Free Church of Scotland in Edderton, Rosshire, travelled as far as London preaching in Gaelic during the right up until shortly before his death in May 1900. Also I have copied of the1806-7 and 1820-21 Census compiled by the Minister of Moulin Parish in Perthshire. In the 1806-7 Census parishioners are judged as "Good, Indifferent, or None' as to their knowledge of the bible and in the 1820-21 Census there are two headings, e.g. Comt - which I understand is something to do with their knowledge of the bible again, with most adults having "Comt', or 'comt small' or 'Episcopalian' or 'Baptist' or no entry at all in that column and under a second column, 'Read or ?' it identifies if they 'can't read' with all other adults being able to 'read'[whatever that means at that time]. It is interesting to note that some of the few who are noted as 'can't read' are also noted as 'comt' i.e. have knowledge of the bible but can't read. As a general comment I would also say that standards of literacy and schooling appear to have been better in Scotland than that of my English ancestors of the same period and all my ancestors who signed with their 'mark' have been English - but that may well be completely incidental to this discussion. Gaye in New Zealand

Hello Listers ~ Like Gaye, I've followed this thread with interest thinking how literacy in Maritime Canada appears to have been equated with a passable knowledge of spoken English. In 1784 many of the Highland Regiments mustered out "in place" in then Nova Scotia. Soldiers were granted parcels of land the size of which seemed to have been geared to not only their rank but their working knowledge of English. The "bible" may have been the Manual of Arms it seems. "Literate" or English savvy enlisted men like my ancestor were granted "officer-sized" tracts. Literacy, in this case, has a very specific historic context. Inez Reed

'Compt' seems likely to be an abbreviation for 'communicant', hence the Episcopalians and Baptists being noted separately. It's unclear what the meaning of 'compt small' might be. Alison On Fri, Sep 6, 2013 at 4:56 AM, Gaye Ruru <[email protected]> wrote: > > > Hello Listers, > > Have been following this thread with interest. Not directly to do with > Aberdeenshire [where my YOUNGSON line is from] but in my Perthshire FORBES > line my great grandfather who emigrated to New Zealand in 1861 was > definitely a fluent Gaelic speaker, and his brother, the Rev Daniel FORBES, > Minister in the Free Church of Scotland in Edderton, Rosshire, travelled > as far as London preaching in Gaelic during the right up until shortly > before his death in May 1900. > > Also I have copied of the1806-7 and 1820-21 Census compiled by the > Minister of Moulin Parish in Perthshire. In the 1806-7 Census parishioners > are judged as "Good, Indifferent, or None' as to their knowledge of the > bible and in the 1820-21 Census there are two headings, e.g. Comt - which I > understand is something to do with their knowledge of the bible again, with > most adults having "Comt', or 'comt small' or 'Episcopalian' or 'Baptist' > or no entry at all in that column and under a second column, 'Read or ?' it > identifies if they 'can't read' with all other adults being able to > 'read'[whatever that means at that time]. It is interesting to note that > some of the few who are noted as 'can't read' are also noted as 'comt' i.e. > have knowledge of the bible but can't read. > > As a general comment I would also say that standards of literacy and > schooling appear to have been better in Scotland than that of my English > ancestors of the same period and all my ancestors who signed with their > 'mark' have been English - but that may well be completely incidental to > this discussion. > > Gaye in New Zealand > > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message >

Some more interesting information. I thought perhaps "Comt" might be an abbreviation for "Competent" perhaps but then "comt small", I dont know. Perhaps it was a comment about reduced understanding. Your observation in the final paragraph accords with my first theory that the inability to write their name and the necessity to place a cross in formal circumstances was probably due as much to sociological circumstances such as how they lived as well as literacy. I think I have seen more crosses on certificates of those who lived in large cities where squalor was also known to reside. Janet ----- Original Message ----- > > As a general comment I would also say that standards of literacy and schooling appear to > have been better in Scotland than that of my English ancestors of the same period and > all my ancestors who signed with their 'mark' have been English - but that may well be > completely incidental to this discussion. > > Gaye in New Zealand