I ordered a copy of the testament of William Beattie of Watcarrick, 1656 from http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk I can read only a few words from the document (William Beattie Watcarrick are clearly visible). The language does not look like Latin. Does anyone have else have experience with early documents from Scotland and England? There are several other Beattie wills from this time period and region of Scotland. Laurel Baty, L252

I studied "The Canterbury Tales" in the original language version. I might be able to help. Elaine Baty Weisheit

Hi Elaine, I found a link http://www.Scottishhandwriting.com that states Scottish documents from 1500 - 1750 are written in "Secretary Hand." Many of the letters in Secretary hand are quite different from letters that we use today. I read the tutorial but still can't read the document! If anyone wants to see what this looks like and try to decipher the testament I am happy to send an image. Graham Maxwell (L 237) and a researcher out of Lockerbie, Scotland (http://www.langholmarchivecentre.org.uk:80/) gave me a tip on saving images from Scotland's people and has offered to help with the document as well. Laurel Baty, L252 ----- Original Message ----- From: "Peche" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Monday, July 16, 2007 11:03 AM Subject: Re: [BP2000] William Beattie of Watcarrick Dumfriesshire, 1656 >I studied "The Canterbury Tales" in the original language version. I might > be able to help. > > Elaine Baty Weisheit > > > When replying to a digest message, quote only the specific message to > which you are replying, removing the rest of the digest from your reply. > Also, remember to change the subject of your reply so that it coincides > with the message subject to which you are replying. > > > > ------------------------------- > 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

Please send me the image... thanks very much. Elaine

Hello Laurel I may be able to help with the 1656 testament, some of them are tricky to read but the wording is often very similar so after you have seen a few it is a little easier. The language will most likely be Scots and not Latin. Just let me know. I noticed that you are still hoping to find a Dumfriesshire DNA link. As I mentioned in my e-mail to the list of 9th January 2007, although there are now no Beattie males still alive in my immediate family, I have traced a distant cousin who may be the only male descendant of L237 (which originates at Eskdalemuir) now alive in Scotland, but have not personally been in touch with him as yet. I take it this wasn't what anyone was looking for at the time, if it is of any more use now I would still be happy to supply details. Hope this helps Graham Maxwell (L237)