| Collection | GB 0231 University of Aberdeen, Special Collections |
| Level | Fonds |
| Ref No | MS 1016 |
| Title | Documents relating to the Jacobite period in Aberdeen including oaths of abjuration and loyalty |
| Date | 1757 - 1794 |
| Extent | 0.04 linear metres |
| Source | This was gifted by William McCombie Alexander, (1880-1959), polymath, to the Library in 1934. The donor bought them as a lot in 1932, without provenance. Alexander was born around 1880 in Aberdeen, the son of the editor of Aberdeen Free Press. After graduating MA in 1900 and BL in 1903 from Aberdeen University, W.M. Alexander also worked for the Free Press until its amalgamation with the Aberdeen Journal in 1922. He then decided to devote his time to scholarship, and travelled extensively, particularly in Soviet Russia. He was a polymath, with interests in history, geology and botany but with a particular facility for languages. Gaelic philology was a speciality, and he published ‘Placenames of Aberdeenshire’ for the Third Spalding Club in 1952. He accompanied a University scientific expedition to Omsk in Siberia in 1936 to observe a total solar eclipse. He was a qualified lawyer with a deep knowledge of mediaeval canon law and of the history of European universities. He was a President of Aberdeen Philosophical Society. For relaxation, he mountaineered, particularly in the Cairngorms and the Andes. He was awarded an honorary LL.D. by the University in 1952, and died in 1959. |
| Description | Five documents relating to the Jacobite period in Aberdeen: Oath of abjuration, 1757; Oath of abjuration, 1760; Oath of allegiance, 1776; Oath of abjuration, 1784; Declaration of loyalty, 1794. |
| Accruals | None expected. |
| Access Status | Open |
| Access Conditions | The records are available subject to the signed acceptance of the Department's access conditions. |
| Copyright | Subject to the condition of the original, copies may be supplied for private research use only on receipt of a signed undertaking to comply with current copyright legislation. Permission to make any published use of material from the collection must be sought in advance from the University Archivist and, where appropriate, from the copyright owner. Where possible, assistance will be given in identifying copyright owners, but responsibility for ensuring copyright clearance rests with the user of the material. |
| Language | English |
| Physical Description | No physical conditions affecting use of collection. |