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If you are visiting the National Archives of Scotland (NAS) to
research Court of Sessions (CS) records, you may wish to print out
our guides, familiarise yourself with them, and refer to them during
your visit. This guide deals with the series of extracted processes.
There are five Court of Session guides:
1 Introduction
to Court of Session processes
2 Unextracted
processes (UPs) after 1660
3 Extracted
processes (EPs) after 1660
4 Other Court of
Session series
5 Sequestrations
Pre-1838
Use the main unextracted process (UP) card index, but there are other
means of access, as noted below.
Use the main UP card index series. There are 4 series: you need
to use only the first 3. Look in the index under the name of the
bankrupt person. When you find a process reference number such as
'Currie Dal Seqns B1/53', convert by means of the 'Toblerone' or
the conversion table in the guide Court
of Session:unextracted processes, to CS230 / Seqns / B1 / 53.
NB when you find 'Seqns' always include it in the order slip between
the office reference, eg CS230, and the bundle and item number,
eg B1/53.CS96 are mainly business or sederunt books, the latter
often compiled during sequestrations. The processes are fully searchable
on the online electronic catalogue.
CS16 & 17: if you cannot find the name in either of the above
go back to the general minute books. If you find an entry there
ask for advice concerning the next steps.
1838-current (main series)
The main series of processes (CS280, CS318 & CS319) have been
indexed and are fully searchable on the OPAC. Yet, in cases of sequestration
from 1838 onwards you will need to know how the original finding aids
work. (See section below for this additional information.)
Other series
In addition to the main processes there are also other record series
you may wish to consult.
Processes in unconcluded sequestrations
- Sederunt books, 1839-1872 (CS277).
- Productions in processes, 1495-1947 (CS96).
Both of these series are fully searchable on our online electronic
catalogue.
Petitions and appeals
| Series |
Date |
NAS reference |
Availability |
| Petitions in Sequestrations |
1839-1856 |
CS278 |
Online electronic catalogue |
| Petitions in unconcluded
Sequestrations |
1839-1856 |
CS279 |
Online electronic catalogue |
| Appeals in Sequestrations
brought under 1839 Act |
1840-1874 |
CS285 |
Online electronic catalogue |
| Petitions in Sequestrations
under 1856 Act |
1856-1904 |
CS284 |
Online electronic catalogue |
| Petitions in Sequestrations
under 1856 Act |
1856-1904 |
CS281 |
The index is CS269/6/1,
series V, and is available in the Historical Search Room. |
CS281 consists of bundles of processes roughly chronologically arranged
under each letter of the alphabet.
Example
Malcolm Dennistoun, petition for recall of sequestration, 1861. The
process call number would be CS281/D1/10: i.e. after the series reference,
you require the initial letter of the party's name; the bundle number;
and the item number.
Sometimes you will see an entry in which you are interested, but which
has no item number. Instead, on the right hand side of the page, you
will find a cross reference which you will need to pursue.
Example
Frederick Adie, petition to uplift dividend, 1888. The cross reference
is "See R B Neill & Co 1/18". Turn to letter 'N', and
find bundle 1 no.18: the entry is R B Neill & Co, petition to
uplift dividend, 1888. The call number is therefore CS281/N1/18.
Bill Chamber Petitions (continuing series of CS281), 1905-1955 (CS282).
There is an index to this in the Historical Search Room. CS282 is much
the same as CS281, but the order procedure is different.
Example
Alexander Gray, 1908. In the left hand margin of the page you will
see a number: here, 14. The item you want is therefore no.14 of 1908.
But the year must be converted first before entering the number on
an order slip. Look at the typescript table at the start of the volume,
where you will see that 1908 converts to 4. So, the call number turns
out to be CS282/4/14.
Additional notes on original finding aids
The electronic catalogue
should give you the information you want. The sequestration record
series are very complex, and it may be helpful to know how the records
are arranged in order to resolve any queries that arise from using
the searchable indexes.
It is important to remember that the location of processes is dependant
on whether the sequestration was awarded under the 1839 or the 1856
Bankruptcy (Scotland) Act, and whether the Bill Chamber or the Accountant
of Court had responsibility for administering the sequestration.
Sequestrations awarded under the Bankruptcy (Scotland) Act 1839
The main series of processes is CS280.
The index to use is Bill Chamber index CS269/6/1 which has been annotated
with the CS280 and CS318 references where appropriate. (This is preferable
to the alternative of using the transmission books CS266/2/1-2 and
the Register of Sequestrations CS276/1-14 (index CS269/5/1-3).
Each sequestration upon registration was given an Accountant number.
For CS280 it was just a running number and this is important when
tracking a sequestration process across various record series.
Many CS280 processes were brought under the supervision of the Accountant
in Bankruptcy by the 1856 Act. There is a Register of Sequestrations
for these cases (CS327), and it shows CS318 and CS319 references where
relevant. This is useful in tracing the processes that fall within
the two distinct arrangements and are proving difficult to locate.
Sequestrations awarded under the Bankruptcy (Scotland) Act 1856
The main series of processes is CS318.
The registers of productions (series reference CS333/1-12, accountant
nos. A1-A24762 and S1-S3595) are the recommended search route, because
they provide CS318 and CS319 references where appropriate. (The alternative
is to use the Register of Sequestrations CS328/1-34 (indexed in CS330/1-4),
and the transmission registers CS334, which act as an index to the
transmitted CS318 processes).
The CS333 index allows you to track sequestrations from the moment
of registration with the Accountant until transmission to the National
Archives. This is not possible with CS280 processes as no similar
series to CS333 exist.
Each sequestration upon registration was given an Accountant number.
For CS318 it was a running number with the prefix 'A'. The 'A' later
gave way to 'S' and 'SS' prefixes when the Summary Sequestration process
was introduced under the Bankruptcy Act 1913. The prefix is important
for tracking a sequestration process across various record series.
The CS333 volumes are arranged numerically by the 'A' and then 'S'
numbers within. You will find a list of the contents of the sequestration
process in which you are interested. At the end of the entry you will
find a note such as "Transmd.1874 no.35". This will need
to be converted to the process call number, usually a CS318 reference,
using the CS catalogue. Convert the year to a reference number, eg.
1874 = 17, so the call reference is CS318 / 17 / 35.
Very occasionally, one sequestration actually has a number of separate
processes: read carefully through the CS333 entry to ensure that there
was only one transmission of papers.
Some sequestrations were left unconcluded, and were the subject of
a special transmission, all listed as CS319. They are easily spotted
in the transmission books (CS333), where instead of "Transmd
1874 no.35" you will see a crayon entry such as '1911'. Simply
add the process number, here 35, to CS319, eg the process call number
becomes CS319 / 35. (see below for notes on series CS319)
Very occasionally, a post-1856 sequestration will have a CS318 process
and a CS280 process. For example, the process in the sequestration
of David Stewart Erskine, Earl of Buchan, sequestrated 20 June 1856,
is CS318/16/23: but there is another process at CS280/58/1. You will
probably find that if there is a CS280 process as well as the more
normal CS318 one, you will find the process amongst the CS318 series.
Special transmission CS319
This has its own alphabetical index available in the searchroom,
but it is known to be incomplete. As noted above CS333 also provides
CS319 references. The index uses codes for the Accountant's number
as well:
- 'B' numbers relate to old sequestrations prior to the 1856 Act,
in which books and documents had come into the possession of the
Accountant in Bankruptcy in connection with Remits, or otherwise.
- 'A/B' numbers relate to old sequestrations also prior to 1856,
which were specially directed by the Court to be regulated by
the 1856 Act.
- 'A' numbers relate to new sequestrations awarded under the 1856
Act.
Searching problems
It should be remembered that although the majority of sequestration
processes were concluded and transmitted within ten years of the date
of award, there are instances when processes have not been finally
concluded or transmitted till over sixty years later.
Remember that sequestration processes can appear in Sheriff Court
records, which are transmitted to the NAS about 25 years after the
date of their creation, subject to weeding of ephemeral matter. If
all this fails ask for advice. |
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