Can some-one please translate ?

trish58 · Post by **trish58** » Sat Aug 04, 2007 1:27 pm

Hello everyone

I have just come across this "occupation" on the census, not to sure what it means as my relative is 79 years old.

"Atterda To The Douthy," would this mean she is attending a sick husband?

Thanks

Trish
Australia

Post by **marilyn morning** » Sat Aug 04, 2007 2:04 pm

Hi Trish,

It might be helpful to see a copy of the cert. Try posting a copy in the gallery. Here's the instructions

http://talkingscot.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6496

Regards
Marilyn

Post by **emanday** » Sat Aug 04, 2007 3:04 pm

Gotta say, that sounds awfully like an Ancestry "occupation"

If so, it might be better to get the original image on SP.

Post by **emanday** » Sat Aug 04, 2007 3:16 pm

I've just had a look on SP and...

1861 Census DOUGAN MARTHA F 79 KIRKCOWAN WIGTOWN

The enumerator seems to have been having a bad day as there are a few crossings out and corrections on this page. Under Occupations the one for Martha has been scored out and is very difficult to read, but, at a stretch, could actually say what Trish has quoted

However, as it HAS been crossed out and not replaced with a correction, I'd say she had no occupation.

LesleyB · Post by **LesleyB** » Sat Aug 04, 2007 10:41 pm

Hi Mary
I'm amazed

- how on earth did you know the name of the person you were looking for?? Did I miss something blinking obvious? (It would not be the first time...

)

Best wishes
Lesley

Post by **emanday** » Sat Aug 04, 2007 11:03 pm

No crystal ball, Lesley

I just cut and copied the occupation from the post into the Ancestry search for each census year till I got a hit. Well, there couldn't have been that many of them with such a weird sounding occupation, so it seemed a fair bet I'd get the right one.

Post by **SarahND** » Sat Aug 04, 2007 11:03 pm

LesleyB wrote:Hi Mary
I'm amazed
- how on earth did you know the name of the person you were looking for?? Did I miss something blinking obvious? (It would not be the first time... )

I assume she did as I just did. If you search Ancestry for anyone with the occupation of Atterda To The Douthy, you only get one hit!

Regards,
Sarah

P.S. Snap, Mary!

Post by **emanday** » Sat Aug 04, 2007 11:11 pm

trish58 · Post by **trish58** » Sat Aug 04, 2007 11:18 pm

Hi Mary

You are spot on, on both accounts first yes it is an Ancestry "Occupation" & second "How Did You Do That"?

know who I had been looking at

Yes it is Martha Dougan 1861 Kirkcowan Wigtown, I am amazed

, must have tranfered my thoughts to paper, or like Lesley must have blinked and missed something.

I wondered if "Atterda To The Douthy" was Scots Language, sorry for my ign

orance.

Thanks once again for all your help.
Trish

Post by **emanday** » Sat Aug 04, 2007 11:27 pm

trish58 wrote:I wondered if "Atterda To The Douthy" was Scots Language, sorry for my ign orance.

Nothing to be sorry about

Who knows? It could very well have been!

Just wait till you find out that one of your "very lang deid yins" left a will. The handwriting form of language used is almost impossible to read. I've got one from the 1600's that I've been trying to transcribe for ages.

I just wish I could make out what it does actually say on Martha's census entry under the score-out.

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