>> Anne: You refer to these "valuation rolls." Could you >> elaborate as to what they are/were, and where I might find >> them today? (ie what jurisdiction in Forfar, Angus, Dundee >> or ....? might have these "valuation rolls"? that I might >> contact for more info?) > > They were compiled by the burgh (town) councils for their > burghs, and by the county councils for the parts of their > counties not covered by the burghs. > > The National Archives of Scotland has a research guide to VRs at > http://www.nas.gov.uk/guides/valuationRolls.asp > > There are also copies of Angus VRs in Angus Archives at > Restenneth near Forfar, and in both the City and University > Archives in Dundee. I do not know how complete or otherwise > these holdings are for the middle of the 19th century. Valuation Rolls were compiled for the purpose of valuing properties for local taxation purposes. They have a means of locating the property (street address in towns), the name of the owner (or agent, some properties in Forfar were owned by people resident overseas), the name of the occupier and a nominal value called the "assessed rental" which was the basis for the "rates" or local tax. This has been obsolete for many years now. I know that shooting rights that went with a country estate were valued for taxation purposes so I assume fishing rights probably were too so it may be possible to see who owned the fishing rights and, if they were let out, to whom. For the Errol area any valuation rolls that exist would be in Perthshire archives or the National Archives. For anyone who might want them: Angus Archives has a large collection of the County Valuation Rolls going back to the early 1800s. There is also a good selection of Forfar Burgh Rolls there though the other burghs are not so well represented. I have been able to get Forfar rolls in the Forfar library and those for Brechin in the Brechin library though those library collections are not always complete. This can be a problem when you are trying to find out when a person moved into or left the area! > >> My John Powre, salmon fisher, would have been involved in >> salmon fishing in the 1830-1860s. (Although in 1841, 1851 >> Census was always a weaver, High Street, Errol, Perth, Angus. > > Well, salmon fishing is a seasonal occupation, linked to the > migration of the fish, so a salmon fisher would have needed some > other job to keep him during the winter. Some might have gone > for other forms of fishing, but there's not a lot of scope for > catching herring, haddock, cod or mackerel in the Tay near > Errol! So it would make sense to supplement his income by > weaving outside the fishing season. > On the other hand, hand-loom weaving was a solitary and probably tedious indoor occupation. One book on the subject says that weavers often took other seasonal work for a break and a chance to get outdoors for a bit. I have one ancestor who may have done just that. He was basically a weaver but in one census he is listed as "agricultural labourer" .... possibly having a break about the potato planting time! This caused some consternation among the "manufacturers" (merchants) at certain times. They had a market for cloth but couldn't get anyone to make it. Cheers, Bruce D