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 43
Ormidale is claiming that Otter had financially mismanaged his estate, to the point where the tenants might struggle to pay their rents if the prices that they could get for their goods dropped.
Notice Late Otter Raised the Rents
of his Estate to such An hight of Rents
if There is a fall of Marcats the Tennants upon
Said Estate will very soon thereafter a fall
of Marcats go to Wreck and probably not be
Able to pay for the Debts Otter left behind
him in place of a Living to his Heir Over
And above what will pay the Interest of his
Debts the Heir will have probably Nothing
left Behind to Live upon A: C: this advert to pare=
=ticolarly
Excerpt 44
Here we have more complaints about mismanagement of the estate. We are not quite sure why these are relevant to Ormidale’s case, unless he perhaps thought that it was proof that Otter was not of sound mind?
Late Otter must have Doubts who would
Succeed him Upon the Estate of Otter and
he must have been much perplexed till within
A few Years before his Death he then begun
to Build Stone Dykes Yet he
Never Built an House nor Office Houses
besides he Cutt Down All the Planting
And Valuable Growing Woods Up on his
Estate and left it quite bare of Timber
That his Tennants cannot be able to Labour
the Ground for Want of Timber these also Mr George
Andrew if he pleases will pay attention to as said
And form his Opinions by reasoning upon the
Aforsaid Causes A:C:
Excerpt 45
Ormidale is saying here that Otter didn’t bother to fulfil his duty in recruiting men to serve in the Fencible Regiment. These were used to defend the country against invasion and to free up the Regular Army for other duties.
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X Excepting the Altering Ane figure in an Accompt for Late Otter which appeared against him by his Brother George which was Intirely Against the Memorialists Mind and Which Is Mentioned in the Forsaid Representation Sent late Otter in the 1787 Vide Page 11 and And Note 4th of the Conclusion marked X
the sume Aluded to was £60 l Scots Money Otherwise Incure Late Otters very great displeasure |
1795 At and nixt the last line of Page 6th Not 12th Was Omitted that when the present Argyleshire Standing Fencible Regiment was to be Raised the Memorialist Could no get one Young Man to Inlist over his property As he got when the Forsaid Fencible Regiment was to be Raised because Both Tennants Cottars and Young Men Alledged that the Laird of Otter troubled no Man upon his Estate to Inlist for said aforsaid Regiment when Raised And that they were positive Otter would give himself no Trouble about this Regiment therefore refused to Inlist Upon any Taxes But the forsaid Memorialist gave a Sum of Money to his son to look after men Else Where And had his wishes Complicated in finding a great number of good Men for said purpose Alexander Campbell Post Script |
