Captain Wimberley reviews progress made with information found in the 1696 Poll Book for Aberdeenshire, before proceeding to consider the transcript of the inscription on Anna Gordon’s memorial stone in Tullynessle Churchyard, which William Leiper had obtained from James M^cC. Pithie and forwarded to him.

This epistle is also memorable for an informative paragraph on Anna’s father, John Gordon of Craig, who married Jean, daughter of Sir James Gordon of Lesmoir, and was persecuted for being a Roman Catholic.

8 Ardross Terrace                                      Inverness.                                  19 Oct. 1898 Dear Mr Leiper,                         I have been very busy for some 5 or 10 days making extracts and notes from the Poll Book for Aber- deensh. 1696 which I have been waiting to see for years, but did not know whether it had ever been printed, or if we could only see a M.S. copy in some library. At last I wrote to the Librarian Abdn Univ. and got the loan of their copy by permissn of the Principal.     This forenoon I took up the subject of the old grave stones in Tullynessle Churchyard.     I must first thank you for sending me Mr Pithie’s letter – which is very interesting, but I must copy it before I send it back: and when I write to you again I must try to remember to send you the details I found in the Poll book as to the extent of the Terpersie Estate & where it was in 1696.     The stone in memory of Anna Gordon is very interesting : I see in my own book I have called her Jean : whether this is my own mistake, confusing her mother’s name with hers, or whether I found her name Jean in some papers you kindly lent me several years ago, I cannot say : but Anna was certainly her name.     The inscription on her stone is satisfac- tory : I think Pytho must be a mistake for Plato : and a word in 4th line which looks like FORTAC may be FORTH or more probably FURTH meaning to spread abroad his [i.e. God’s] praise.     Anna was the dau. of John Gordon of Craig who being a Roman Cath. was per- secuted & practically driven out of the country & his estate sequestered by the Covenanters : he became a Capt. in the Scots Guards in France, but some allowance made him out of the rents of his Estate : his wife was Jean dau of Sir James of Lesmoir : & his son Francis got sasine on Craig when matters were more quiet & Charles II came to Scotd for a short time in 1651.     I have asked Mr Pithie to look again at the older stone & made one or two sug- gestions : probably the word below the shield is a motto, and either BYDAND or BYD with some other letters following. I half suspect that what he took for YOMAN may be GORDUN above the shield probysurmounted by a crest & the name Gordon above : if however the word below is BYDFOE perhaps the word above may be FOMAN or FOEMAN (if he can find another letter) BYD FOE.     I don’t think it can be YOMAN :     I find a good many tenants, not design- ed gentlemen which let them in for a poll tax of £3 instead of 6/ and a small tax on their rents, designed “yoman,” but only in some 2 or 3 parishes, & those not very near Tullynessil : this is in the Poll Book.     I made one or two notes about Ardclach in par. of Dumbennan near Huntly, & there were one or two Stewarts subtenants there of John Gordon of Knockespock who was principal tenant of the D. of Gordon.     There were scores of gentlemen tenants of farms all over the country : but these Stewarts seem to have been of too humble stock to make it prob. that the Ld of Terpersie wd. marry one of them.     I cannot find that there were ever any Stewarts at Ardclach in the Co. of Nairn.     I will write you again when I have copied Mr Pithie’s letter. It is something to have found a stone with Terpersie on it, & very satisfactory to find the one to Anna G.                                         Yrs very truly                                       Douglas Wimberley.

Captain Douglas Wimberley to William Leiper