Ormidale Memorial
Below we bring you, bit by bit, a memorial that Ormidale wrote in 1798 laying out his grievances against his brother (“the late Otter”) in an attempt to have his will overturned. We have done our best to decipher Ormidale’s scrawl but please feel free to offer corrections of any word you think we have misread. We are quite sure that there will be a few.
Excerpt 25
This extract really does make you appreciate modern punctuation. The entire memorial contains no more than a handful of commas or full stops, as is typical with eighteenth century writing, and uses capitalisation to emphasize important words.
That such a character also
Who seldom or ever since he became Laird went to sermon
Nor did he ever communicate at the Lords Table if he did it
Never was Knowen in his Country Such a Character to Adopt
the Children of an Infamous Woman is beyond the the Adopti
=tion of Children as related in Scripture to Adopt such to the preju
=dice of a Brother who defies all Mankind to prove One
Page 10th One unjust Action toward every person
or persons in the Course of his Transactions in Business
of every kind with his Tennants his labourers by piece
Workers Days Wadges his Servants and above all his Transections
in his Fathers and Brothers business for many years which
he hase the Satisfaction to think in his old days is that
there are few in his Country can say with truth the
Same at the Memorialist time of life ———
Excerpt 26
Ormidale repeatedly says that he neglected his own estate, concentrating instead on ensuring that Otter was run properly. “Paitty Children” presumably means “small children”, from the French “petit”.
18 Which Gauves the Memorialist unto his Death
That as is said having Misspent his precious time
doing nothing. That now in his Old Age he finds
with deep regret the Consequence is that his Familie
Consisting of a Wife her sister and a daughter and
some ane or Others of his Grand Children in his familie
And also his Sons Situation who is a Man of an
Honest respectable good character and Who hase a
Wife and A numerous family of Paitty Children and that such
of said familie have not yearly to live upon of an
Income of Landed Property After deducting Taxes
And Others with debts due also Yearly each Familie
As said have not to live upon Above from £70 Sterling
till £80 Sterling Yearly from the aforesaid causes that
The Memorialist had misspent his time as aforesaid
Sett forth in truth ———–
Excerpt 27
Here we have the reason that the two brothers finally became completely estranged. Otter claimed that he had given Ormidale money to pay a bill, and that Ormidale had kept it. Later in the memorial Ormidale says that he did use the money for its intended purpose.
19 The whole of the aforesaid as sett forth by the Memorialist
To conclude rests in the following Transactions which
Shewes the Temper of the Memorialist Brother late Otter
That Upon the 26th Day of May 1786 Years was the Day
fixed Upon in Late Otters mind in order to make the
World believe his Brother the Memorialist was a bad Man
Mr Samuell Said day he alledged that when in a passion seemingly
Pate being that he had given to the Memorialist the year before
Present only £100 Cash when the Memorialist left his presence
Page 11th presence after refusing the same this is also as asserted in
the aforesaid Memorial wrote in February 1795 years
2nd Upon which Otter in June following the said 26th May 1786
He went to Edinburgh when there Cussed and Damned
himself that the Memorialist a Damned Cheat