Question about a listing on Scottish Birth Records from the mid 1700's
I have seen in two place a birth record where the father's name, his occupation then the word "Burgefs" is listed on the record. No mother's name listed. The word could be Burgess if I had to guess as I cannot find a meaning for Burgefs. I am wondering if this means free citizen, however, that does not make complete sense.
Thank you for your help.
Best Answer
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The word is burgess. In that time - and up to fairly modern times - a double s was often written with one "long s" (what looks a bit like an "f") and one short s (the s we use today.)
Long s = https://www.livescience.com/65560-long-s-old-texts.html
One historical definition of the word burgess is "an inhabitant of a town or borough with full rights of citizenship." More here: https://www.scan.org.uk/familyhistory/myancestor/burgess.htm
My mother's surname was Burgess, so the history of the name has long been of interest to me. I've also corrected many records that have been transcribed as "burgep" when someone didn't understand the usage of the long s.
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Answers
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Thank you for your help!!! I appreciate your time!
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