Author Topic: Early Thomsons in Perth: Some good... some not so good.  (Read 7708 times)

Stirling Thompson

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 978
Early Thomsons in Perth: Some good... some not so good.
« on: May 27, 2009, 06:29:58 AM »

Early Thomsons in Perth: Some good... some not so good.

from Google Books:
Recreations of an Antiquary in Perthshire History and Genealogy
By Robert Scott Fittis
Published by Printed at the Constitutional office, 1881
Original from the New York Public Library
Digitized Apr 17, 2007
548 pages

Some good...

A gift was made to the monastery, on 7th August, 1464, by Christian Thomson, baker, and burgess of Perth. lie granted the Carmelite friars his whole tenement in the Newrow, out of which they were to pay 3s yearly to the Chaplain of St Ninian's altar in the parish church of Perth, and also 3s 4d yearly to Michael Lockhart, his heirs and assignees. Not long after making this donation, Christian Thomson, who was probably an old man, paid the debt of nature : whereupon the aforesaid Michael Lockhart, who had purchased from David Harrower an annualrent of 3s 8d, payable out of the Newrow tenement, disponed the same to the Carmelites on 10th October, 1465 ...

Some not so good...

About the end of the sixteenth century, a great deal of bad coin was in circulation over the country. Most of it appears to have been struck at Banff and neighbourhood; but one or two parties not far from Perth were actively concerned in the nefarious trade. Five individuals—John Murray, leech [or physician] in Dun- fermline; Walter Murray, his brother, in Crieff; Wm. Thomson, smith, in Coupar-in-Ansus; William Simpson, servitor to Arthur Smith, in Whitfield; and Thomas Fraser, in Banff—were tried before the Court of Just'ci- ary, in Edinburgh, on 24th November, 1599, charged with " the treasonable forging, falsifying, and counterfeiting of false coin, such as false ten-shilling pieces, two-mark pieces, five-pound pieces, fifty-shilling pieces, hat pieces, pistolets, and crowns." It was alleged that George Drummond, saddler, in Perth, but residing for some time in Banff, was a prime fabricator of this bad money : and a special charge against the Coupar-Angus smith was " the treasonable forging, coining, and printing of false pistolets, whilk George Drummond, saddler, and Arthur Mule, gude-brother to the said William, of the said William's knowledge and court selling, about twa year sinsyne or thereby, treasonably forged of brass, in the burgh of Perth, and upon the Craigs of Kinnoull." The whole five panels were found guilty. The guiltiest three of them—Walter Murray, Thomson, and Simpson were sentenced "to be tane to the Castle-hill of Edinburgh, and there to be wyrreit [strangled] at ane stake, and their bodies to be brunt in ashes :"' John Murray was banished the realm: and the doom of Fraser was postponed. In June, 1601, Thomas Glass in Fowlis was sentenced to strangling and burning, for having uttered spurious money which he had procured from that master-rogue, George Drummnnd, saddler in Perth, who for several'months longer contrived to elude the clutches of the law. But George was run to earth at last. He was brought to the bar of Justiciary, in Edinburgh, charged with "the treasonable outing [uttering] cf false and adulterate money, such as hat pieces, crowns, four-pound pieces, and four-mark pieces, amongst our sovereign lord's lieges, as true money and coin, at the fairs of Perth, Stirling, and in other markets in the north parts," which money he had bought from coiners at Banff, &c. The trial was held on 27th November 1601, and resulted in his conviction. He was sentenced "to be tane to the Castle-hill of Edinburgh, and there to be wirreit [strangled] at ane stake till he was dead, and his body to be brunt in ashes."
Semper Fidelis! Semper Familia!
Stu

Thomas Thompson

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 323
  • Deny Us Not!
Re: Early Thomsons in Perth: Some good... some not so good.
« Reply #1 on: July 12, 2009, 10:32:47 AM »
Good work Stu
    I have been looking for references to 'Thoms' in the 1400's.  So far they are few and wide spread.  I want to be able to link  them  through common locations.  I maintain that the number of 'Thoms' in the early years was relatively small. There were several families of 'Toms' through out the lowlands and it was from these few families that the majority of us originated.  This is the future of the Thompson DNA project; by showing that most of us have DNA links to a few families. For those who may not understand what I am referring to: Look at your ggrandparents' family tree. From two individuals hundreds of families were created.
   Tom