Testament Dative Qua Creditor
9. Testament Dative Qua Creditor
In the introductory clause and inventory of the testament dative qua creditor below, a creditor of the deceased has himself made executor in order to effect repayment of a loan and associated interest which had accrued on it, as described in the bill which is summarised in the testament. Note the use of the double f as a capital F in the name of the deceased and the creditor. Read through the transcription. A forward slash has been inserted between clauses to make it easier to follow.
Transcription
The Testament Dative and Inventary of the Goods and Gear which pertained and were addebted to the deceast Robert Firline late Boatman at Cladoch near Brodick in arran within the Commissariot of the Isles / the time of his decease which was in the month of 176[]/ faithfully made and given up by James Fullarton of Corse E[xecuto]r dative qua Cred[ito]r decerned to the said defunct by decree of the Commissary of the said Commissariot of date the 28 day of Nov[embe]r 1769 years / in so far as the said J. F. by his bill dated the 15th day of April 1749 y[ea]rs drawn upon and accepted by the Defunct / ordered ag[ains]t Mart[ima]s then next to pay to him the Drawer or his order the sum of 6. 6. 3 sterling / which bill was upon the 17th day of Nov[embe]r that year protested for not payment and the Instrument of Protest taken thereupon was registered in the Sheriff Court Books of Buteshire the 8th day of May / following of which sum above mentioned and interest thereof there was paid on the 16th of May 1759 L~ 1-3-4 / and on the 10th of Novem[be]r 1762 L~ 4-9-6 / which payments are marked on the back of the bill and likewise paid 19s~ 3 of Interest As the Decreet Dative there anent more fully bears. / Inventary There was pertaining and belonging to the defunct at the time foresaid of his decease the Goods under written valued at the respective sums after mentioned To Wit / a yaul with saills Masts Cable and
anchor at L~ 5-10 shillings / and a young Quey at fifteen shillings both the forsaid sums being sterling money /
Sum of the Inventary L~ vi.v sterl[ing]
Crown copyright, National Records of Scotland, CC12/3/6, p74
Explanation of the bill of exchange
Robert Firline had agreed the terms of the loan from James Fullarton in the bill dated 15 April 1749, by which Firline would pay 6 pounds 6 shillings 3 pence on 11 November 1749 (Mart[ima]s then next) (lines10-13). Firline failed to pay off the loan, so Fullarton protested the bill for non-payment at the sheriff court of Bute and had an instrument of protest registered on 8 May 1750 (lines 14-17). This empowered Fullarton to take steps to enforce payment (in Scots law this is termed diligence) and one of the ways of doing this was to have himself declared executor dative qua creditor by the commissary court when Firline died, presenting in evidence the extract instrument of protest.
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| yaul | a type of small boat |
| quey | cow which had calfed or heifer |
| decreet dative | act of court appointing someone executor |
| anent | concerning, about |
| more fully bears | more fully indicates |
| Martimas | the legal quarter day Martinmas (11 November) |
Note the abbreviations for executor, creditor, years, against, martimas, november and sterling.
Exercise 4
How much money in total had Firline paid to Fullarton by the time of his death?
To work out your answer you may find it helpful to use Exercise 4 worksheet (opens in new window)
Read the answer to Exercise 4.