News: Livingstone's testament features at charity launch

The testament of David Livingstone, which is held by the National Archives of Scotland (NAS) was on display at the Scottish Parliament recently as part of the launch of Will Relief Scotland 2006. During the month of May hundreds of solicitors will waive their usual fees for drawing up a will and instead ask their clients to make a donation to Will Relief Scotland. Over 150 legal firms are signed up to the fund raising initiative, and the campaign expects to raise over £100,000 for charity. 5 overseas aid charities are set to benefit: Blythswood Care; EMMS International; Mission Aviation Fellowship; Scottish International Relief; and Signpost International. The launch was attended by Justice Minister Cathy Jamieson, Graeme Pagan, the solicitor from Oban who founded Will Aid/Will Relief Scotland in 1988 and Lord MacKay, one of the patrons of the campaign.

Two members of the NAS's staff also attended the launch, Saho Arakawa, conservator, and Marilyn Mazs, library assistant. They were there to accompany Dr Livingstone's testament. The testament was on display to highlight the links between Scotland and Malawi, Dr Livingstone being the first Scot to establish links with the African country.

David Livingstone left no will on his death in 1873, despite being exposed to disease and danger during his African explorations. His testament consists of an inventory of the money in his British bank account and a government allowance, amounting to £1,463. 19s. 3d. His wife Mary had died in 1862, so the estate was divided equally between their children.

Livingstone's testament was digitally imaged alongside 520,000 others dating from 1500-1901 as part of the Scottish Archive Network (SCAN) project. It can be seen on the ScotlandsPeople website along with testaments of other famous Scots. More information on wills and testaments is available in our guide to wills and testaments in the Doing Research section of our website.