How about writing to the National Archives of Scotland and putting the question to them? Perhaps they would know whether there is a list that has survived. Their address is National Register of Archives (Scotland) H M General Register House Edinburgh EHI 3YY (I think NRA is same as NAS, they've changed their name) Good luck! Jane It's good news to hear that some people escaped that shipwreck, I'd read there were no survivors. That period of Scottish history is one of the most shameful, and I guess we're lucky to live in more evolved times, and I guess it is only thanks to martyrs like these that our Western civilisation has become more just. -----Original Message----- From: MRICH10000@aol.com <MRICH10000@aol.com> To: SCOTLAND-GENWEB-L@rootsweb.com <SCOTLAND-GENWEB-L@rootsweb.com> Date: Saturday, October 09, 1999 12:34 AM Subject: Prisoners of the merchant ship "Crown" > My heart felt THANKS to all of you listers who sent me the information >which I asked for. Now, another question.........PLEASE READ ON........ > In 1679 two of my relatives, brothers, were members of the Covenanter >'Army' that was defeated at the Battle of Bothwell Bridge. These two >brothers were marched, along with about 1200 other captured prisoners, to the >Greyfriars Churchyard where they were detained. Then about the 1st part of >December, 1679, all of the surviving prisoners were forced to march down to >the harbour at Leith and crammed into the hold of a merchant ship the >"Crown", on which they were to be taken to the West Indies or America and, >there, sold as slaves. > As the ship approched Deerness in the Orkney Islands, the weather was so >bad that locals advised Captain Patterson to make land and not go any >further. He didn't heed their advise and sailed on. Soon the storm overtook >the ship. The Captain ordered the crew members to batten down the hatches, >and then they all crawled along a fallen mast to the shore. > It is thought that one of the crew members chopped a hole in the deck and >some of the prisoners were able to escape. In fact 50 or so of the >Covenanters did escape. My ancestor and his brother were amoung those >fortunate souls. > The captain did recapture many of those escaping prisoners. But again, >my ancestors were either very fortunate or were extremely adept at hiding. >Some of the other escaping prisoners were able to find and board a vessel >which was headed for Holland. > I feel that my ancestors, after learning that many of the people there in >Deerness were named Ritch, changed their own names to Ritch and not actually >knowing how to spell, ended up with the name of Rich. > My ancestors, the Rich brothers ended up on the isle of Hoy where they >apparently lived for the remainder of their lives. > Now I do not know the givin names of these two brothers, nor do I know >the names of any of their decendants until the birth of Hugh Rich in about >1759. I'm looking for some help to fill in that 80 year spread of time. > Now for the real problem. I need a list of the prisoners who were aboard >that ship. I feel that when I get that list and find a pair of brothers, >then I will know who my ancestors were and then I should be able to trace my >genealogy back even further. > Somewhere there must be a person who either knows of that list or knows >where I could go about locating it. Wont you please help me. > I hope to hear from you soon. > >Respectfully > >Mel Rich >E-mail: MRich10000@AOL.com > >______________________________